{"id":32846,"date":"2020-04-20T19:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T01:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/?p=32846"},"modified":"2021-04-27T09:36:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:36:46","slug":"vegan-lentil-pizza-burgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/vegan-lentil-pizza-burgers\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Lentil Pizza Burgers"},"content":{"rendered":"

These vegan lentil pizza burgers are topped with zesty basil aioli and gooey cashew mozzarella. They're protein packed and super satisfying.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Vegan<\/p>\n

These vegan pizza burgers are the perfect melding of nourishing and comforting wrapped up in petite, bun-snuggled packages.<\/p>\n

If you you've made the lentil sliders from my cookbook<\/a>, you'll find the techniques in this recipe to be quite similar.<\/p>\n

Those sliders are one of my favorites from the handhelds chapter (close runner-up to the shaved carrot reuben). They're hearty, meaty in a totally plant-y way, and super satisfying.<\/p>\n

The recipe for the sliders in my book was inspired by a vegan\/vegetarian hotspot in Chicago called Mana Food Bar. I fell in love with them when I was vegetarian and craved them like wild once I went vegan. Thus, they called out to me to be veganized and remixed.<\/p>\n

During the development stage of the book, the recipe was one of the first my awesome volunteer recipe testers went wild about. I remember smiling and breathing a sigh of relief as the testing feedback rolled in.<\/p>\n

It was on the heels of a week where I'd received\u00a0mixed feedback for two out of three recipes (one of which I cut, the other of which I\u00a0majorly overhauled), and so the surge of rave reviews was a\u00a0massive vote of confidence to my sensitive heart.<\/p>\n

If you think you've developed thick skin and want to put that hunch to the test, create with all your heart and then ask for the most honest, authentic feedback on what you've created. Humbling and sometimes a little painful. But so, so valuable and important to the end result.<\/p>\n

The process taught me to separate myself from the work I was creating and helped me realize that no matter how much heart I put into my work, I was not actually my work. What a liberating and freeing realization.<\/p>\n

Of course, these revelatory insights were most sincerely put to the test once public reviews for the book started rolling in after its release.<\/p>\n

The great ones reassured and lifted. But all it takes is a few harsh apples to sour the bunch. It took me about a year to be (almost) totally ok with seeing a negative review.<\/p>\n

For the first many months, every time I'd check Amazon or Good Reads, my heart would start pounding out of my chest. Thankfully, most of the negative reviews weren't about the recipes but merely about the font size in the book. Still hurts when it's your name on the cover. (For the record, I completely agree with that complaint. As the author though, I had very little say in the matter.)<\/p>\n

One day after a good sob from a hurtful 2-star review that made me question why in the world I'd written the book at all, I called my brother Brad and asked for his wisdom. He's basically a teddy bear in human form but with a brutally and beautifully authentic edge. He tells it like it is without holding back. I needed his realness in that moment. And so I asked him what wisdom he could offer me to care a little less about what people think about the book.<\/p>\n

His response:<\/p>\n

\"Ash, I know it hurts. But sometimes you just gotta say f*ck 'em and move on. If you're pleasing everyone, that's a problem. If you're p*ssing some people off, that's a win.\"<\/p>\n

Just the smack of supportive realness I needed in that moment. From that point on, reviews, good or bad, had a whole lot less of an effect on me. I did me in that book, and I did it with all my heart. Not everyone will love or even like me or what I create, and I don't need them to.<\/p>\n

I've gone off on a tangent here, but I suppose it's because I've noticed that so few authors talk about the sting-y-ness of the public review process. It's as if we're afraid that acknowledging the monster in the room will give the monster more power.<\/p>\n

It's actually quite the opposite. Each time we bring thoughtful awareness to the sting-y stuff, it melts away a bit of its power over us.<\/p>\n

It reminds us that as much as we love our work, our creations, our soul-projects, these physical manifestations of our ideas are\u00a0not<\/em> us.<\/p>\n

And it's in realizing what we're not that we reclaim our power and align fully with the magic of what we are. Which is so, so,\u00a0so<\/em> much more than our work.<\/p>\n

\"Vegan<\/p>\n

So these vegan lentil pizza burgers... let's chat about them.<\/p>\n

They're made with a base of lentils (green or brown) and sunflower seeds. I've written the recipe to be all stovetop friendly, because not everyone has an instant pot (IP). But you can absolutely save time by using the IP to cook the lentils and sunflower seeds.<\/p>\n

Just follow your usual IP instructions for cooking lentils, add a touch more water to ensure the sunflower seeds are submerged, and you're good to go.<\/p>\n

Once the lentils and seeds are cooked, you'll mash about a third of the lentils.<\/p>\n

\"Lentil<\/p>\n

While the lentils cook, you'll whip up a pizza-y tasting concoction on the stove.<\/p>\n

Saut\u00e9 a bit of yellow onion with garlic, crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic, and dried spices until it looks about like so...<\/p>\n

\"Sun-dried<\/p>\n

Add the tomato mixture to the lentil mixture along with a flax egg, oat flour, and rolled oats and mix, mix, mix until you have something that looks like this:<\/p>\n

\"Lentil<\/p>\n

Form the mixture into small patties (we're going for about slider size here as they cook up best this way), and chill the patties in the fridge for about an hour to firm them.<\/p>\n

FYI, you can chill the patties up to two days before cooking them. Keep this in mind for advanced prep to make day-of serving a breeze.<\/p>\n

\"Vegan<\/p>\n

While the patties chill, you'll get to work on the basil aioli.<\/p>\n

You have a few topping options for these mini burgers but the basil aioli is a non-negotiable in my book. It offers a lovely brightness and zesty tang that brings these earthy pizza burgers to life.<\/p>\n

To make the aioli, you'll add the following to a blender on blend on high until smooth:<\/p>\n

Raw cashews or hemp seeds.
\nFiltered water.
\nBasil.
\nGarlic.
\nVinegar.
\nSalt.<\/p>\n

\"Vegan
\n\"Vegan<\/p>\n

Chill the aioli until ready to serve.<\/p>\n

If you're opting to also make the vegan cashew mozzarella<\/a> (so good), you can go ahead and gather the ingredients, add them to a blender, and blend. Then, you'll heat and thicken into stretchy mozzarella just before assembling the burgers.<\/p>\n

To cook the burgers, you'll pan-fry them in a bit of oil until golden-brown, slightly crunchy exteriors develop. I'm sure you\u00a0could<\/em> bake these (I'd guess 400F for 20 to 25ish minutes), but I highly recommend cooking them according to the recipe. Extra tasty this way.<\/p>\n

Once the patties are ready, assemble your mini burgers and top to your heart's content.<\/p>\n

\"Vegan<\/p>\n

I hope you love these vegan lentil pizza burgers! \ud83d\udc97 If you make them, let me know! Leave a comment, rate the recipe, and don\u2019t forget to tag a photo #blissfulbasil<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\"Vegan<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcd6 Recipe<\/h2>
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5<\/span> from 2<\/span> votes<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Vegan Lentil Pizza Burgers<\/h2>\n
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These vegan lentil pizza burgers are topped with zesty basil aioli and gooey cashew mozzarella. They're protein packed and super satisfying.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Course <\/span>Bigger Bites, Sandwiches<\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cuisine <\/span>Italian<\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Keyword <\/span>plant-based, vegan<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Prep Time <\/span>25 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cook Time <\/span>25 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span> chill time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hour<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Total Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hour<\/span> 50 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Servings <\/span>12<\/span> sliders\/mini burgers<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Author <\/span>Ashley Melillo | Blissful Basil<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/h3>

Vegan Lentil Pizza Burgers<\/h4>