Walnut Pesto Burgers

5 from 3 votes

These flavor-packed Walnut Pesto Burgers are full of mouth-watering deliciousness. Added bonus: They’re wonderfully good for you and are vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free.

Prep Time28

Cook Time40

Total Time1 8

Servings: burgers

Author: All recipes on jenniferskitchen.com are property of jennifer's kitchen and cannot be republished without written permission.

Ingredients

12 cloves garlic See note
2 1/4 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves (about 3 to 4 large bunches, large stems removed)
1 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups black olives
1 cup raw walnuts
2 1/4 cups cooked lentils drained
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking (not instant) oats
1 cup minced onions
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Instructions

Place garlic, basil, seasonings, salt, and lemon juice in food processor and process until garlic and basil are very finely minced.
Note: If your food processor blades are dull, they won’t mince the basil well and you may need to do this step by hand (or buy new food processor blades). Be sure basil is very, very finely minced or you will have leathery pieces of basil in your burgers.
Scrape down sides of food processor. Add black olives and pulse until coarsely chopped.
Add walnuts and pulse just until coarsely chopped (not too small). Do not over chop or your burgers won’t have good texture.
Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl.
Place well-drained lentils, oats, minced onions, and tomato paste in food processor. Pulse until lentils are chopped and mixture begins to stick together a little. Don’t overprocess – you don’t want it to become a paste.
Transfer this mixture to the basil mixture in mixing bowl. Mix well.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Using 2/3 cup of mixture, form into burgers that are 3 1/2-inch diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Turn burgers over and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. Serve topped with tomatoes, sprouts, and creamy cashew dressing.

Notes

Don’t skimp on the garlic. These burgers are NOT garlicky. The garlic flavor so nicely blends with the other flavors in this burger, you’ll be glad you included all 12 cloves 😊

Since a bunch of basil can vary in size, it can be difficult to estimate exactly how much basil is needed to equal 2 1/4 cups. A bunch of fresh basil usually weighs around 2 to 3 ounces, but bunch sizes can vary greatly.
I suggest buying (or harvesting) more basil than you think you need. You can always use the extra basil in another dish, but Pesto Burgers without enough basil may disappoint.