I have found an amazing marinating secret. I’m going to share it so you can enjoy it too! I’m so excited to share because this works so well! If you like mushrooms, you’ll love this amazing marinating secret plus marinated balsamic mushroom cap burger recipe:) This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, and paleo. Fire up your grill!
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This marinating trick soaks up all the marinating juice and adheres marinade juices to the mushroom. I marinated portabella mushroom caps for almost two hours and all of the marinating sauce soaked into the mushrooms like magic. This packs an enormous amount of flavor into the mushrooms.
Do you want to know what my secret is? It’s chia seeds!
I love using chia seeds in recipes because they are so healthy. My Amazing Marinating Secret Plus Marinated Balsamic Mushroom Cap Burger Recipe will knock your socks off it’s so good. My husband even said these mushrooms are better than steak!
Why Chia Seeds?
Chia seeds act as a thickening agent. I see many recipes where chia seeds are used in oatmeal, however, this recipe uses them in a marinade and it works so well in the recipe. The marinade sauce is soaked up by the seeds and mushroom caps, and the seeds adhere to the mushroom too.
I love this because the seeds add nutrition to the mushrooms with omega fatty acids, fiber, protein, calcium, and iron. My package of chia seeds (@Navitas Naturals brand) calls chia seeds an Aztec superfood. Because these seeds contain omega fatty acids, they are a great food for people, especially vegetarians and vegans.
Easy Recipe to Make
This marinade recipe is super easy to make. It requires the following ingredients:
- Lawry’s Seasoned Salt®
- jalapeño seasoning (containing ground jalapeño, onion, salt, garlic–purchase premade or mix your own)
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- black pepper
- chia seeds
That’s it!
This marinade is used per two large portabella mushroom caps and marinate them for about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Simply add the mushroom caps and marinade to a sealed bag and let it sit in the refrigerator. The final step is grilling the mushrooms.
Navitas Organics Chia Seeds, 16 oz. Bag — Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free
Portabella Mushrooms are a Great Vegetarian & Vegan Option
I am a vegetarian and I have been one for many years, however, my family eats meat. When they eat burgers, I often make myself a large portabella mushroom to put on a bun for myself. And, I don’t forget the pickles!
My husband loves the mushrooms too, so I often make more than one so he can have a mushroom cap too. This is a great option for vegetarians and vegans when everyone else is eating a hamburger, though they might get jealous of the delicious aroma from the mushrooms and want to try one for themselves! These mushrooms really are a great vegetable side dish alongside a burger, or plop it on top of the burger to make a double decker mushroom burger.
I’ve made this marinade recipe with chia seeds many times and it never disappoints. You’ll love it!
Potatoes for a Side Dish
Try a side dish of potatoes to go along with your mushroom burger. We love the onion soup mix potatoes at our house. Or, another favorite is to make oven fries. To make, simply bathe peeled potato sticks in canola oil (about 5-6 small potatoes to 1/4 c. canola oil), sprinkle with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt®, stir and cook on a cookie sheet in a single layer for 20 minutes at 400°, then at 450° until cripsy on the bottom. So yum!
I hope you enjoy this recipe:) Let me know how it goes for you.
P.S. My Cookbook is out now:) with many Hybrid Recipes. Recipes in the book are for a split table of vegetarians and meat-eaters, plus easy to make vegetarian recipes. Cooking tips are included in the book for cooking in a hybrid way, simple meal ideas for when the meal doesn’t work for the vegetarian in the family, and tips for pregnant vegetarians.
It’s not hard to cook for a split table, it’s just a matter of being mindful about when and where to add the meat. For more tips on split table cooking, check out this post How to Cook for a Split Table of Vegetarians and Meat Eaters.
Please note: this cookbook is meant for lacto 0v0 vegetarians, the recipes are not vegan.
One Dish Two Diets: Recipes for the Hybrid Vegetarian and Meat-Eating Family
See these recipes for more hybrid recipes containing both a meatless portion and a meat portion in one recipe: Two Crockpot Hybrid Chili Recipe to Feed Vegetarians and Meat Eaters and Spicy Comfort Food Baked Hash Brown Casserole with or without meat.
This is an original recipe by Julie Hoag @7/11/2017. Copyright © 2017 Julie Hoag. All Rights Reserved.
Amazing Marinating Secret Plus Marinated Balsamic Mushroom Cap Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Portabella Mushroom Caps, large
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt I use @Lawry's Seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon jalapeno seasoning containing ground jalapeno, onion, garlic, plus salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
Instructions
- To make the marinade, combine 1/2 tsp. @Lawry's seasoned salt, 1 tsp. jalapeno seasoning, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/8 c. balsamic vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. chia seeds in a bowl and stir well.
- Add two large portabella mushroom caps to a bag that can be sealed. Add marinade to bag and seal it. Turn bag all different directions and upside down to coat marinade all over mushrooms. Use a spoon to cover mushrooms with a marinade if needed. Place bag with marinade and mushrooms in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Grill mushrooms for about 20- 25 minutes until tender, periodically flipping.
- Add mushrooms to a hamburger bun with Romaine lettuce and sliced pickles or simply eat mushrooms alone.
Oh my-Chia seeds, thats awesome! this is a really good secret. I would have never thought to do that. Thanks for sharing this little treasure. And if hubby says it measures up to a burger, than I may be able to get my family in on this.
Chia seeds are awesome for marinades! I hope you like this recipe! My husband loves these mushrooms and he’s a meat-eater!
Yumm! I’ve been wanting to try mushroom cap burgers forever !
I hope you like this recipe! We sure love it! Thanks 🙂
I never would have thought to put Chia seeds with a burger but this is an interesting concept and I will have to give it a try
Chia seeds are awesome! I hope you like the recipe 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This looks delish! Saving to make this weekend!!
I hope you like them! They are super flavorful and delicious!! Thanks!
OMG we are a “hybrid” family too! Ive been veg for 21 years, my 8 year old refuses meat and my hubby and daugther are big carnivores. I cannot wait to get your book! Plus I need to try chia seeds!
Oh wow! Your family is the same as mine! Awesome! I’ve been a vegetarian since I was in the 8th grade. You’ve got to try chia seeds if you haven’t yet. They have great nutritional properties, and they are perfect for vegetarians with their nutrients. You can’t taste them but they are a thickener. Thanks so much for the comment and I hope you find my book useful!
Oh this sounds delicious! I love mushroom burgers and adding a marinade is a great idea!!
Yes! Thanks, it is so delicious! I hope you enjoy it:)
I’ve never tried this before but this is an awesome recipe for when I grill out and have my vegetarian friends over! So much better than a normal veggie burger!
Yes, it’s a great alternative for vegetarians! Meat-eaters love these too! Thanks, I hope you enjoy!