I admit, I started making blended burgers—that’s a burger made from a blend of ground meat and vegetables (usually mushrooms)—out of sustainability concerns. But once I realized how much flavor and juiciness mushrooms in particular can add (and how astoundingly similar they are in texture to an all-meat patty), I never looked back. Many recipes rely on a 2:1 ratio of meat to veg, but I bump the mushrooms up to half by weight.

These chicken burgers are grilled and finished with gooey Muenster, stacked, and topped with shredded lettuce, sweet pickles, and curry mustard (Brooklyn Delhi makes a great one flavored with tamarind and spices). If you have a smaller appetite, you may be able to get by with one patty per person, but there’s just something about a double-stack that makes burger night feel like a real celebration.

One note: When squeezing the liquid out of your chopped mushrooms, don’t toss it out—that liquid is full of flavor. Save it to add to your next soup broth or combine it with water to cook grains like barley or farro.

Recipe information

Total Time
30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb. crimini mushrooms, halved if large

½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more

1 lb. ground chicken or turkey, preferably dark meat

Vegetable oil (for grill and drizzling)

1 small onion, trimmed, sliced crosswise into 4 rounds

Freshly ground black pepper

8 thin slices Muenster

4 potato buns

4 Tbsp. mayonnaise

4 Tbsp. curry mustard (such as Brooklyn Delhi) or other mustard

Bread-and-butter pickles and shredded iceberg lettuce (for serving)

Preparation

Step 1
Pulse mushrooms with ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a food processor until very finely chopped. (Alternatively, finely chop mushrooms by hand, then toss with salt in a medium bowl and let sit 2 minutes.) Transfer mushrooms to a clean kitchen towel, gather ends together, and wring over bowl to remove as much moisture as possible. Reserve liquid for another use.
Step 2
Mix mushrooms and chicken in a large bowl with your hands until well combined. Divide mixture into 8 balls and gently form into patties about ¼" thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 3
Prepare a grill for high heat; lightly oil grate. Drizzle onion with oil and season with salt. Grill on cooler edges of grill, turning occasionally, until slightly softened and charred, about 8 minutes. Transfer onion to a platter.
Step 4
Season tops of patties with salt and pepper. Place, seasoned side down, on grate and season second side with salt and pepper. Grill until edges are browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and top with cheese. Grill until patties are cooked through and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Transfer patties to platter with onion.
Step 5
Grill buns, cut side down, until lightly charred, about 30 seconds. Spread cut sides of bottom buns with mayonnaise and top buns with mustard. Layer pickles, grilled onion, 2 patties, and lettuce on bottom buns, then close up burgers.

TagsBurger Crimini Mushroom Mushroom Vegetable Ground Chicken Chicken Poultry Ground Turkey Turkey Cheese Dairy Main Dinner Nut Free Grilling Food Processor Epicurious

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Reviews (12)

I used mushrooms and dark turkey meat. I found the recipe sounded a bit bland so I added some chopped fresh sage and garlic powder. I was also worried they would be too small/thin but actually really liked the thickness and the double stack. I'd definitely make again.
- cndbaconeh
- Vancouver, Canada
- 7/3/2021
These are tasty but can be pricey-pre ground chicken was $4.50/# and the mushrooms were $5.00/#. I also found the mix bland as written (no seasonings except a minute amount of salt!) and added some cumin and garlic. They held together well on the grill. Stacked them on pretzel rolls, using cheddar instead of Munster and some red onion bacon marmalade on the side.
- bheydeman
- Chicago, IL
- 7/3/2021
I made these expecting them to have lots of flavor, but as others have said, they were bland. I agree with the other reviewers that they definitely need something else. They held together well but were less than impressive.
- keyze3
- San Clemente, CA
- 7/3/2021
I made these with a few modifications and we really liked them! We prefer shiitake mushrooms so I subbed those and added a bit of dried green Chile flakes to the burger mix to season. The double patty helped these feel like true burgers but next time I'll go down to two 3oz patties per burger to keep them close to a third pound, which is my personal burger ideal. Muenster was good but swiss might be on the menu next time. Don't skip the grilled onions! We also liked these with Trader Joe's magnifisauce.
- amandawalwood6042
- Minneapolis, MN
- 7/3/2021
Disappointing! I love the idea of these but they were super bland. I might try them again with more seasonings but not sure that'll be enough to make them as delicious as they look in the pic.
- kwied
- San Francisco, CA
- 7/5/2021
After well over a decade reading epicurious, I'm writing my first review, mainly about the patties, because a lot of people said they found this bland. We found these to be quite flavorful, and very juicy. (We halved the recipe.) Here's the thing: I make a lot, I mean a LOT of things like homemade potstickers, meatballs, ravioli, etc., and the first rule is ALWAYS **cook tiny bit of filling first**, and then adjust seasoning! (Trust me, you don't want 50 bland potstickers in the freezer.) For this recipe, I immediately thought Lea & Perrins, so added a half tablespoon of that, and some garlic. Fried up a little and tasted, and we thought it needed a bit more salt/savory, so I added a teaspoon of soy sauce, and cooked a tiny bit more. With the salt and pepper per the recipe, it was perfect. Used thin Swiss, because that was what we had. We didn't do the onion - we have a tiny mini-Webber, lol...no cool side - and the one thing my husband said was, "Maybe mix some onion with the mushrooms next time?" So I may add scallions to the mushrooms in the food processor, much as I do with potsticker filling. I was just shocked that my saturated-fat-loving husband was already looking forward to the "next time".
- Anonymous
- Washington State
- 7/5/2021
Delicious!! Instead of potato buns , I used brioche buns. All the ingredients make for a great burger. A very moist burger !!Loved it!!!
- sanmc tex
- Hurst Texas
- 7/5/2021