The Humble Portobello Burger Gets An Upgrade Thanks To An Equally Humble Superfood

The simplest options when looking to make homemade veggie burgers is to turn to the portobello mushroom. It's a perfect fit from the plant world for a pure, unprocessed "burger," but it can get a little boring too. This recipe, from the kitchens of LEON Restaurants, a U.K. chain that has since spread across the Atlantic to open a location in Washington, D.C., is a perfect update.

Instead of layering the toppings onto the buns, it flips the burgers on their head quite literally so they can be stuffed with spinach, pine nuts, and goat cheese—one of the healthiest types of cheese you can pick. Of the popular leafy greens, spinach is a better source of nutrients like iron, magnesium, and folate when compared to kale, and it lends itself perfectly to any filling, including this one.

The addition of fresh herbs to the recipe, along with a well-timed splash of lemon, gives the flavor a necessary lift to prevent it from becoming heavy. While the recipe calls for serving them on fluffy burger buns, we imagine these stuffed mushrooms would taste pretty amazing on their own, too.