I’m so excited to be guest posting this recipe on A Cup of Jo’s “best you’ll ever have” series. Although, I have to say, it was a little bit daunting to come up with something that was going to be called “the best.”
Of course we think this veggie burger is the best we’ve ever had… but since tastes are subjective, I’m hoping you at least find this to be “a pretty darn good one.”
While I love both chickpea and black bean patties, I didn’t go that route because I don’t love them between bread… they can get a little dense and starchy for my taste.
However, this walnut-mushroom patty – perfect between bread. Chopped up mushrooms create a sort of meaty quality without becoming dry. The walnut-miso paste creates a really rich flavor, and also helps bind the burger together.
Since this is an asian take on a veggie burger, I stirred some sriracha into my ketchup… and not pictured (but delicious with these) are some sliced avocados and a little bit of Japanese Kewpie mayo.
walnut-mushroom veggie burgers
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 teaspoon miso paste
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 6 ounces mushrooms (mix of cremini & shiitake), chopped small
- Splash of tamari sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- Splash of mirin (or rice vinegar)
- ¼ teaspoon honey
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs, divided
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 6 soft mini slider buns
- Chopped scallions
- Sprouts
- Sliced avocado
- Mayo
- Sriracha and/or ketchup
- Crush the walnuts and miso together to form a chunky paste. Use a mortar & pestle if you have one.
- In a medium pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and let them cook down for about one minute. Add the mushrooms, tamari, garlic powder, onion powder and five-spice powder and stir. Cook until the mushrooms are cooked down, 5 to 8 minutes. Add a splash of mirin to deglaze the pan, then add in the walnut/miso paste mixture and drizzle with the honey. Stir everything together then remove from the heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Set it aside to cool for several minutes before adding the egg.
- Stir in the egg and ¼ cup of the panko, and let the mixture chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining ¼ cup of panko and the sesame seeds on a shallow plate.
- Remove the mixture from fridge and form into 6 small 3-inch patties. Lay each patty in the breadcrumbs, then spoon more over the tops to cover. Use your hands to firmly press them into shape. It’s ok if they fall apart a little, but if they're falling apart too much, let the patties firm up in the fridge for another 10 minutes before you cook them.
- Wipe out the pan you were using before and drizzle in a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the patties for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve on buns with desired toppings.
Optional: For a heartier burger mix in ¼ cup of pre-cooked brown rice before forming into patties.
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Hi hoping you will see this before I attempt! I’m going to bake these. Do you think 400 for 20 minutes? They look amazing and I’m heading out to buy a few ingredients I don’t have. Thanks for a lovely recipe
Hi Jodie, I haven’t tried baking these so I’m not sure.
Can you freeze the patties to use later or does it affect the texture too much?
Hi Laurie – yep, I freeze them after they’re cooked and then just reheat until they’re warmed through.
We tried them and they were great!
I will be making more for the freezer (and fresh too)
Hi Jeanine,
I’m thinking about making this burger, but my only doubt is about the miso paste . . . which type of miso did you use for this recipe? There’re several kinds (white, awase, shiro, red, dark aged, mild, just to mention some) and I wouldn’t want to use the wrong one! Thank you! 🙂
Hi susy, I used white miso!
Thank you so much!!! Have a nice weekend!!! 🙂
I want to make these so bad!! But I can’t do walnut because of my kids allergies…any alternative ideas? My kids actually EAT the things I make from here, lol.
Could you make these without the panko. They sound delicious but looking to make them gluten free. Thanks!!
Hi Rose, the panko is very necessary here, but you could try using gluten free panko – I haven’t tried it in this exact recipe (I’m not sure if it will affect the binding), but I do buy this brand all the time, I find it at whole foods (and similar stores) in the gluten free section: http://iansnaturalfoods.com/products/gluten-free-original-panko-breadcrumbs/
I made these with the egg Substitute “veg egg” and omitted the honey. So impressed with the result. The combination of Walnut-miso paste and mushrooms is AMAZING!! Thanks for this wonderful recipe 🙂
Very inspiring Blog!
I’m so glad the veg egg worked out, yay! Glad you liked – I just love that flavor combo 🙂
Hi, I just found this recipe in an email from Whole Foods Market. I was thrilled until I read the word “egg.” My husband is allergic to eggs, corn, dairy & chocolate so that’s out + I’m vegan so no eggs or honey for me. Can you tell me how much of the veg egg you used? I’d really LOVE to try them if I could come up with a egg substitute that will work & not distort the flavor. Thank you!
Thank you for your response! I’ve decided to make them using a “flegg” (flax seeds & water) to bind them. As far as the honey goes, I’ll either use maple syrup or maybe a Deglet Door date & either make date syrup or just soak it so it’s soft enough to blend in with the other yummy ingredients! I’ll let you know how they turn out!
I have been following your blog a couple years now and had to write how much I absolutely love this recipe. I’m in charge of food and wine pairings at a winery and made 400 of these babies for an event and they were a huge hit! I’ve made the recipe several times, but for this many I had to bake them and they turned out just fine, I just sprayed the tops of them with PAM to mimic the pan frying. The sriracha ketchup was the perfect addition on top and went amazingly well with a good grenache or syrah. The perfect vegetarian option for wine! Thank you so much, I love this site!!
We tried these tonight, they were really great! The sriracha ketchup was a great addition to balance out the taste of the burgers. Yum!