Vegan Caramelized Mushroom Cheeseburger
If you love caramelized onions, mushrooms, and cheeseburgers, you’ve come to the right place. If you seek to wow yourself and challenge conventional perceptions of what it means to eat vegan, dive right in to this delicious recipe inspired by the first ever meal to get me hooked on cheeseburgers and mushrooms.
Who doesn’t love a caramelized onion and mushroom cheeseburger?
Me, that’s who. Or at least I thought I didn’t, until my roommate my sophomore year of college convinced me to try the one and only Parmalee dining hall burger.
Somehow, I was convinced until my sophomore year of college that I just didn’t like cheeseburgers. That seems so crazy to me now.
Carly finally convinced me to let go of my preconceived notions and get in line one day at our university dining hall, Parmalee, which specialized in cheeseburgers. I just got a normal cheeseburger with no toppings, as I was timid and still somewhat convinced I would not like it. I didn’t even like mushrooms at that time.
Let me tell you — I was BLOWN AWAY by this first meal. I immediately realized that no, I do not dislike burgers — the ones I’d had up until that point had just sucked.
My world would never be the same — every day that I decided to treat myself to a Parmalee burger was a good day indeed. Eventually, I ventured further out of my comfort zone and began adding the caramelized onions and mushrooms as toppings. To my delight, the experience only ascended.
Thus began my love of both cheeseburgers, and then mushrooms shortly thereafter. This development is one of the most significant and memorable events to come out of my college experience, I kid you not.
Parmalee dining hall later underwent a renovation while I was still a student at CSU, and the dining hall closed temporarily. I was not around long enough to discover whether the cherished burger joint reopened for business.
Ever since that renovation, I have reminisced about those burgers which signaled my explosive love and taste for American food. I have felt a twinge of sadness knowing I cannot revisit those days and lunches which I so greatly enjoyed and took comfort in.
Then, after witnessing the popularity of the patty melt I created, it dawned on me — I need to be a vegan recipe developer of American food. Sure, the Impossible Burger is widespread now in our restaurants, but how many Americans know that they can enjoy the exact same foods they have always enjoyed, particularly at restaurants right at home, and much less make these meals vegan? The answer I came to upon the mind-blown reaction to my patty melt, is not enough.
So, my friend, I bring to you now the utter DELIGHT that is this vegan caramelized mushroom cheeseburger. I was thrilled when I nailed it on the first try, and nearly shed a tear when I discovered not only does it look like the Parmalee burger I fell in love with, but it tastes like it too.
If you are making this just for yourself, I’d suggest keeping the Beyond Beef raw until you are ready to cook and eat the burger at that sitting. Alternatively, you can try cooking the patties with the cheese melted on them all at once, and then reheat the pre-cooked cheeseburgers in the oven at 350°F for 7 minutes or so, heating the mushrooms and onions in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
Vegan Caramelized Mushroom Cheeseburger
Equipment
- 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet with lid that covers pan
- Spatula
- Large plate
- Medium bowl
- Heat safe ramekin
- Microwave
- Small heat safe jar or bowl
- Food brush
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms* sliced
- 2 tbsp vegan butter* plus 1 tbsp for spreading on buns
- 1 lb package ground Beyond Beef separated into 4 patties
- 4 slices Daiya American style cheese
- 4 vegan brioche buns
Instructions
- Dice the yellow onion, and wash the mushrooms. Preheat the cast iron skillet on medium while you slice the mushrooms.
- Once skillet is hot, add the 2 tbsp of vegan butter. Roll the butter around in the pan until fully melted.
- Add the onions, sauté for 1 minute and mix to coat fully with butter. Add the mushrooms, mixing again to coat well with onions and butter. Continue to cook on medium for 8 to 10 minutes, mixing regularly (but not constantly) until mushrooms and onions become deeply golden brown and caramelized, as shown here.
- As veggies are cooking, open the package of Beyond Beef and divide into 4 evenly sized/shaped patties on a large plate. Shape the patties to your buns and keep in mind they will retain this exact shape and thickness while cooking, unlike ground beef.
- Once the onions and mushrooms are caramelized to your liking, transfer to a medium bowl, scraping out as much of the mixture as you can, and set veggies aside. Place the skillet back on medium heat, hovering your hand over it to make sure it is still radiating heat.
- Add the 4 patties to the skillet – you should hear a sizzle upon contact. Allow to cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes, checking the bottoms for browning at that point. Once bottoms are browned, flip each patty. Add one slice of cheese to each patty immediately after flipping, cover the skillet with a lid (it does not have to fit perfectly — just cover the food), and allow to cook on this side for 4 to 5 minutes.
- As the patties are cooking, wash the plate that they were just on. Place 1 tbsp of vegan butter in a heat safe ramekin, and heat butter in 10 second increments in microwave until melted.
- After patties have cooked on the second side for up to 5 minutes, remove lid and check bottoms of patties for browning. The cheese should be nicely melted at this point (you may hear spontaneous sizzling while the patties are covered – this indicates the melting!). Once nicely browned, transfer the patties to the now clean plate, and turn the heat off. Drain off excess liquid from patties into a heat safe jar or bowl.
- With the skillet on the still-hot burner, place as many buns as can fit on the surface of the pan, insides down. Use a food brush to dip into the ramekin of butter, and spread butter over the exposed sides of the buns. Allow the bread to sit in the pan for up to a minute, but no longer in order to avoid burning.
- Begin assembling the burgers in this order — bottom bun, patty with cheese, ¼ of the mushroom/onion mixture for each, and top bun. Enjoy!!