Mediterranean Portobello Beef Burgers are a healthy BBQ recipe topped with garlic herb cheese, roasted red peppers, arugula & basil mayo.
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How to make this recipe
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Prepare veggies and toss red peppers with olive oil and salt. Roast veggies.
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Meanwhile, mix together ingredients under the burger patties heading. Make patties and cook.
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Cook burgers for about 5-6 minutes per side (you'll know they're ready to flip when they easily come unstuck from the grill).
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Remove red peppers and add portobellos and cook another 5 minutes.
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Add red onions and cook another 5 minutes then remove veggies from the oven altogether and set aside.
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Make basil mayo by blending mayo, lemon juice and basil together.
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In the last minutes of cooking, add cheese to burgers and lightly toast buns on the BBQ.
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Remove and serve burgers topped with roasted veggies, arugula and basil mayo. Enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any neutral oil like sunflower oil, avocado oil or peanut oil will work in place of olive oil.
- Garlic and herb cheese – this will add great flavour to the burgers. Use grated white cheddar cheese in place of garlic and herb cheese.
- Red bell pepper – use any other bell pepper colour or use another mild pepper like poblano peppers.
- Portobello mushroom – portobello mushrooms are a burger patty size, but you can slice and saute other mushrooms (like shiitake or cremini) and add them as a topping instead.
- Red onion – replace with white or yellow onion or leave out entirely.
- Arugula – spinach or lettuce will also work in place of the arugula.
- Burger buns – buy regular burger buns, brioche buns or ciabatta buns.
Burger patties
- Extra-lean ground beef – ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork can also be used to create the burger patties.
- Portobello mushroom – feel free to use another type of mushroom instead.
- Breadcrumbs – rolled oats, unsweetened corn flakes, crushed potato chips or crumbled crackers can also be used.
- Yellow onion – use red onion, white onion or sweet onion in place of yellow onion.
- Egg – soaked chia seeds, oatmeal or breadcrumbs can be used to replace egg.
- Dijon mustard – use yellow mustard or brown mustard instead.
- Garlic powder – garlic salt can also be used.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Basil mayo
- Light mayo – plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt or sour cream can be substituted for light mayo.
- Fresh basil leaves – basil is important to make basil mayo. Alter this by using mint leaves or cilantro to make a different style of mayo.
- Lemon juice – fresh or bottled lemon or lime juice can be used.
Removing the mushroom gills
Mushroom gills are edible but they can create a very bitter taste to the recipe. That's why I always suggest removing the mushroom gills from portobello mushrooms! To remove the mushroom gills, hold the portobello mushroom in one hand and then use a spoon to scrape out the brown scaley part of the mushroom. Make sure to remove the stem as well!
After removing the gills, wash the mushroom again to make sure it is entirely clean and then pat completely dry.
Storing and reheating
Reheating a burger can be pretty tricky. With all of the toppings and a bun, it’s pretty difficult to do.
If your appetite isn’t turned off by a soggy bun, the warmed arugula might make you regret the decision. To avoid a soggy burger, assemble burgers as they're being eaten so you can store the ingredients separately in the fridge.
Extra burgers can be stored separately and this will ensure a much better leftover burger experience. The burger patties and toppings will all keep well in the fridge for a 3-5 days.
Freezing the beef patties
Freeze extra beef patties by stacking them with a small piece of wax paper or parchment paper between them. This makes it easier to separate the frozen patties.
Place the stack inside of a freezable container. Once they are in the freezer, they will keep well for 3 to 4 months.
More burger recipes
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing leftover patties
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
Mediterranean Portobello Beef Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 block garlic and herb cheese, grated or white cheddar cheess
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 portobello mushroom, sliced
- 1 medium sized red onion, sliced
- 1 package Arugula
- 4 burger buns
Burger patties
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1 portobello mushroom, finely minced
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Basil mayo
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat BBQ to med-high heat, and preheat oven to 450 F. Prepare veggies and toss red peppers with a bit of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together ingredients under the burger patties heading. Divide mixture into four 1/2-inch thick patties, then place gently on grill.
- Cook burgers for about 5-6 minutes per side (you'll know they're ready to flip when they easily come unstuck from the grill).
- Meanwhile, remove red peppers from the oven. Add portobellos and cook another 5 minutes. After that, add red onions and cook another 5 minutes then remove veggies from the oven altogether and set aside.
- Make basil mayo while everything is cooking by blending mayo, lemon juice and basil together in a Magic Bullet or food processor.
- In the last two minutes or so of cooking time add cheese to burgers and lightly toast buns on the BBQ. Remove and serve burgers topped with roasted veggies, arugula and basil mayo. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
No one is going to miss the meat in these gorgeous burgers! Lovely photos!
Ross says
These were outstanding – 5 stars! My family loved them. Mid-burger, my daughter paused and said, “Dad- this is just like restaurant food. My friends don’t get to eat like this.”
Boom. Thats a win for Dad.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy to hear this, Ross!!! So glad you guys enjoyed 🙂