Can’t decide between a burger or Italian? The Margherita Lentil Burger is the perfect choice! It has Italian herbs and veggies made into patties with lentils and quinoa flakes — then dressed up on a gluten-free bun with fresh basil, roasted red bell pepper, and vegan mozzarella cheese!
I don’t have an elaborate story for this one. I wanted to create a new burger and when trying to decide what flavors I’d like to use everything Italian kept popping up in my head. I’d think of one delicious flavor, another would hit me, and they all kept flowing through perfectly.
Beans can sometimes make a burger mushy, which is why I went with the lentils. Also, who doesn’t love lentils!? I chose the quinoa flakes because I’ve used them as a substitute for oats in past recipes, and they work beautifully!
Speaking of mushy burgers, I found out the hard way that it is very important to follow my exact instructions when it comes to constructing theses patties. I’ve made them three times now, and the second time I simply read the ingredients and had forgotten my exact method for making these. They were over processed and, you guessed it… mushy!
The third time I read back over my notes and realized everything that had gone wrong. Yes, I read my own recipes! People completely laugh at me when they come over for dinner and see me reading my own website for instructions, LOL! Hey, I’m allowed to forget things, aren’t I?
All three times the flavors were spot on and still incredibly delicious, but once I read and remembered exactly what I’d done, I was able to again make these successfully and present not only delicious burgers, but delicious burgers with amazing texture as well!
My first step was to grate a zucchini and measure out a cup and a half. I used my food processor, but you could use a hand-held cheese grater if you prefer. I put the grated zucchini inside a piece of cheesecloth and squeezed out as much liquid as I possibly could. Once squeezed, I set it aside for later use and wiped my food processor dry.
Next, to my food processor I added a quartered portobello mushroom, a half a cup of black olives which were patted dry, and one packed cup fresh spinach. I now pulsed these ingredients with the metal blade attachment until everything was minced and combined. A little chunky is better than a bowl of mush!
This is the important part and where I messed up the most! You now must change your blade out to the plastic dough blade. After I changed my blade, I added the remaining patty ingredients, which includes lentils, the grated zucchini, quinoa flakes, garlic, and my Italian spice blend. I pulsed everything until combined and a dough was formed, but be careful. Even with the plastic blade things can still get over processed.
Now that my burger’s dough was made, I formed four equal sized patties and placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The patties baked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes on each side.
Once I removed the patties from the oven, I turned on the broiler. I topped each patty with vegan mozzarella, and placed them under the broiler, along with four gluten-free burger buns, cut-side-up. Make sure to watch closely! I removed these once the cheese was melty and buns were toasty.
While the burgers and buns were under the broiler I heated a skillet to medium heat, and warmed some roasted red bell peppers briefly on both sides, until hot.
To prepare, I spread some vegan mayonnaise on the inside of each bun. I topped the bottom buns with the burger patties, fresh basil, roasted red bell peppers, and then closed them up with the top bun. Traditionally, Margherita would actually have tomato instead of the roasted red bell pepper and you can use that instead, but trust me, the roasted red bell peppers are delicious on these!
Burger + Italian = YUM! I hope you love these too! Let me know by dropping a comment below, or take a pic and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
The Margherita Lentil Burger
Ingredients
For the patties:
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
- 1 large portobello mushroom (3.5 - 4 0z), quartered
- 1 cup fresh spinach, packed
- 1/2 cup black olives, patted dry
- 1 cup cooked lentils, canned are fine but make sure to drain and rinse them well. Pat dry.
- 2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
- Italian Spice Blend (below)
Italian Spice Blend:
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
For serving:
- 4 gluten-free hamburger buns (ensure vegan and soy-free, if needed), or regular vegan hamburger buns if gluten isn't an issue
- 4 oz (approx.) Miyoko's Kitchen Fresh Mozz, or vegan mozzarella of choice
- 4 large roasted red bell peppers, homemade, jarred, or canned are fine
- 16 leaves basil (large)
- 4 Tbsp (approx.) vegan mayonnaise (I use Follow Your Heart Vegenaise — if needed they have a soy-free variety available)
Needed Items:
- cheesecloth
- food processor with both steel blade and plastic dough blade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Squeeze grated zucchini inside cheesecloth to remove excess water. Set aside.
- Add portobello mushroom, olives, and spinach to food processor with the steel blade attachment. Pulse until minced and combined, but be careful not to over-process, we don't want mush!
- Switch food processor blade out for the plastic dough blade. To the mushroom-olive-spinach mixture add the remaining patty ingredients (including zucchini). Mix until combined and a dough can be formed, but again, be careful not to over-process. A little texture is good!
- Form your dough into 4 burger patties and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (or a lightly oiled one). Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Flip patties and cook another 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Change oven setting to broil. Top burger patties with vegan mozzarella. Add hamburger buns to baking sheet, cut-side-up. Place baking sheet with patties and buns under your broiler and watch carefully to prevent burning. Once buns are toasty and cheese is melted, remove from oven.
- In a lightly greased skillet (or on a grill), over medium heat, add roasted red bell peppers and heat 1 - 2 minutes on each side, until hot.
- Spread a light amount of vegan mayonnaise on the inside of each bun half. On top each bottom bun add a burger patty, 4 basil leaves, a roasted red bell pepper, and finally the top bun. Serve with fries, salad, or your favorite burger side!