Vegan Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers

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Weather you grill, bake or pan fry, these vegan portobello mushroom burgers are loaded with flavor and a perfect burger alternative! Easy and customizable!

As the weather warms up, I love to take my dinners outside. There’s something about the smell of the grill and the flavor it gives to food that makes me happy. These grilled portobello mushrooms burgers are one of my favorites! But don’t fret, you can bake or pan grill them too!

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers

The key to taking these portobellos from good to fantastic is all in the sauce. I love using my homemade steak sauce to marinate the mushrooms overnight. Then I grill, and even brush a little more on as they sizzle and cook.

How do you prepare a portobello mushroom?

While some say that you shouldn’t run the mushrooms under water because they absorb it and it can affect the texture, I still wash them to make sure all dirt and bacteria are washed away. The key is to allow them to dry well before using, so I do this the night before,

After that, preparing mushrooms only takes a few minutes, you’ll want to start by gently removing the stem. You can do this by wiggling the stem back and forth gently until it detaches from the mushroom. I save it to grill separately or to use in other recipes!

You’ll then want to use a spoon to scoop the gills away.

Can you eat the gills of a portobello mushroom?

You can, but can turn whatever you are cooking a dark muddy color. They also have a stronger mushroom flavor so keep that in mind. For this recipe, you could go either way but since my husband is picky with flavor I remove them. It really is a personal preference though!

Tips for marinating

As I said, the key to an amazing portobello burger is in the flavor. Since mushrooms absorb liquid, marinating them can really amp up the yum. Here are my favorite ways to marinate:

• Homemade Steak Sauce
• Vegan Buffalo Sauce
• Vegan BBQ Sauce
• Some simple lemon, dried herbs and olive oil

Tips for making ahead

Making these mushroom burgers ahead of time is easy to do, although I do recommend eating them fresh. Having them marinated and ready allows them to be grilled pretty quickly, so dinner will be ready in no time.

However if you do want to cook these before hand, I would suggest allowing them to cool completely then wrap in foil and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Serving suggestions

These grilled portobello  mushroom burgers are good in so many ways! You can add the typical lettuce, tomato, etc but change up the bun. Here are a few ways to serve them:

• On a bun
• Open faced on a piece of bread
• In a wrap
• In pita bread
• Use pieces of lettuce for buns for a lower carb option

When it comes to flavor ideas, here are a few ways we have switched them up to keep them exciting:

• Mexican style with guacamole
• BBQ style with my BBQ sauce and grilled onions
• Classic with ketchup, mustard and pickles
• Nacho style with my vegan nacho cheese sauce
• Italian themed with your favorite cheese and my fresh marinara sauce

Portobello Mushroom Burger Sides

As important as the flavors you top your burgers with are, the sides are also as important! I love a good burger side, and we often mix it up so it doesn’t get boring! Here are some of our go-to’s:

• Vegan Macaroni Salad
• Vegan Potato salad
• Homemade Baked Beans
• Oven Baked French Fries
• Mexican Black Beans
• Baked Vegan Eggplant Fries

What to do with leftovers

If you happen to not eat all you made, like when your 5 year old revolts against dinner, I happen to have options! It’s nice to switch things up and not have the same thing over and over again, so here are some ideas of what you can turn your leftover portobello burgers into:

• Serve it as a steak alternative
• As a sandwich mixed with sauce like this vegan pulled “pork” mushroom sandwich
• As tacos like these portobello mushroom tacos
• Top them with farro and serve them open faces like I do in my vegan stuffed mushrooms
• Serve them bowl style like this vegan tikka masala
• Use them to make my vegan grilled burritos

How to reheat

If you need to reheat the portobello mushrooms, you can either give them a quick grill to warm them up, or you can warm them in the oven. You can also microwave them but this will affect the texture and make them more rubbery.

How To Make Portobello Mushroom Burgers

1. Prepare the mushrooms.

   

2. Marinate overnight and grill, bake or pan cook.

   

3. Build however you like!

   

Stove top tips

You can also cook these on the stove top in a pan. Grill them much like you would on an actual grill, over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes on each side.

Baking tips

If you are going to bake these, put them in an oven safe dish and bake about 15 minutes on each side. You can also bake them on a parchment lined cookie sheet