Stovetop Mushroom Burgers with Pesto Spread (in under 15 minutes)

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Tired of regular hamburgers? Want to beef up your diet without the actual beef? Portobello mushroom burgers are your new bff.

This dinner will take you just 15 minutes to make. I swear. It’ll take you longer to prep your burger toppings than to actually cook a fat mushroom burger on your stovetop. This succulent burger is totally satisfying and filling, and it’ll get you ready for the swimsuit season. You can eat the mushroom burger by itself, place it on top of a garden salad, put it between two buns, and call it a day.

Click here for the recipe for ‘Stovetop Mushroom Burgers with Pesto Spread (in under 15 minutes)’

Or, you can stack it between a toasty french baguette and a good schmear of zesty pesto, packed with a ton of crisp lettuces, ripe tomatoes, thick mozzarella cheese slices, and a juicy roasted red bell pepper. It’s up to you.

My former college roomie is allergic to all types of vinegars, so I wouldn’t dream of making this dish in her presence. The fragrance of vinegar would probably send her into anaphylactic shock. (I love you, Sabean! I’m still sorry for that one time when I sat next to a fan and ate a salad with balsamic vinaigrette) If you don’t like balsamic vinegar, feel free to omit it! You will need oil, garlic, salt, and pepper at the very least to make a tasty ‘shroom burger.

Here’s what I used:

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Obese portobello mushrooms, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried basil, and dried oregano. Salt and pepper, too. Duh!

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Give your ‘shrooms a little rinse and wipe them off with a damp towel or cloth. Then cut that little nub of a stem off your portobello mushrooms. Discard or save for compost. (Go Green!)

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Mince up some gahlic.

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In a bowl larger than I used here, mix some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. It’s like we’re making a salad dressing. Almost.

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Now add your dried herbs. These add some extreme kick to your burgers. I used oregano and basil, you can use thyme, parsley, rosemary… w/e works. Fresh herbs work, too, but not as well as dried herbs for this recipe.

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Salt and pepper, if you please. Come on, add that flavor. I hate bland food.

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Now whisk it all together!

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Til it’s totally combined. Use that muscle you got.

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Now dunk those shrooms in the marinade. I already said use a bowl larger than I used here…. (how embarassing).

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Coat the shrooms. Totally and completely. Every square inch, every mushroom gill, every single bit.

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In a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, place your mushrooms in the pan, gill (the black part) side up. Use another kind of nonstick pan if you don’t have cast iron. I’m not sure stainless steel would work here. I don’t suggest risking it.

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Pour the extra marinade over the mushrooms. They’ll happily soak it all up.

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Cook the first side for 5 minutes….

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Then flip them over. It should look nice and golden brown, just like this. If your pan is too hot, turn it down. We’re not trying to scorch these beautiful shrooms.

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What gorgeous shrooms. They’re oozing juices, and that’s fine. Cook the other side for about 3 minutes, just until the entire thing is cooked.

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This is what they look like perfectly cooked. They’re still slightly firm, not too soft or overcooked. Now turn off the heat…

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And cover with a fat slice of mozzarella cheese. Let it chill for a bit to melt and cool down.

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Now onto the other ingredients. Mix some pesto and mayo. Omit the mayo for a lower fat schmear.

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Mix until combined. It’ll look like a heavenly goddess green spread.

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Now slice a fat French baguette in half. French bread, country bread, hamburger buns. I don’t care what bread you choose. It should just be large enough for the shroom to rest on. Toast it until nice and lightly golden.

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After the bread is toasted, schmear some of that schmear on it. Both sides of the bread.

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Lay the mushroom burger on the bottom slice of bread. Mhm. … .. . almost done.

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Stack on some fresh juicy tomato slices.

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And a roasted red pepper. I drained some jarred roasted bell peppers I got from Trader Joe’s. It’s delicious.

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Pile on a bunch of salad greens. This is like a salad burger/sandwich.

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Place the other bread half on top….

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And press down until all the ingredients are compressed. If you had a panini press…. nevermind.

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Otherwise, go ahead and slice that burger in half. Eat immediately.

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Stovetop Mushroom Burgers with Pesto Spread in under 15 minutes

Total time: 13 minutes
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 8 min
Yield: 2 servings
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
For mushroom:
2 Portobello mushroom caps, with stems removed
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Optional ingredients for burger:
2-4 Mozzarella cheese slices
4 tablespoons pesto
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Toasted French baguette (or other bread)
1 tomato, sliced
2 jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
Lettuce mix or romaine lettuce

Directions:
Heat a large skillet(preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat.

Slice the stems off the mushroom caps with a small knife and discard stems. In a large bowl, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper until combined. Coat mushroom caps thoroughly in marinade until covered.

Place mushroom caps, stem side up, into heated skillet. Cook first side for 5 minutes, or just until browned and softened. If heat is too high, adjust heat to medium-low. Using a spatula, flip mushroom caps over and cook stem side for about 3 minutes, or just until mushrooms are fully cooked, softened but still slightly firm, and golden brown. Turn off heat and place sliced mozzarella over mushrooms to melt.

In a small bowl, mix together pesto and mayonnaise until combined. To prepare one burger: On a large baguette that has been halved and toasted, spread pesto mayo evenly on interior of bread. Place mushroom with melted cheese on bottom bread slice. Then place 2 tomato slices over mushroom, then one roasted red bell pepper, and finally lettuce mix. Close the burger with other bread slice, and press down on burger until ingredients are tightly packed. Cut burger in half and serve immediately.

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