Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson Shares His Go-to Plant-Based Recipe

This coming March, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson is slated to release his first cookbook, co-authored with his cooking partner Julie Tanous, Food Between Friends, but he’s getting the culinary fun rolling early with his new partnership with OZO, a new plant-based protein brand.

"Cooking has become a creative outlet and passion of mine, and I enjoy finding new recipes to share with my family and friends," said Ferguson in a press release from Planterra Foods, OZO’s parent company. "What I love about OZO is that its versatile line of plant-based foods adds a boost of nutrition to my dish, are full of clean ingredients and most importantly, taste great. Giving back is also important to me, and I'm grateful that throughout this partnership Planterra Foods is donating $1 million worth of OZO products to food banks and non-profit restaurants across the country to support those in need." The donations will be heading to the Colorado Community Food Share, Irvine Food Bank, Central Illinois Food Bank, Feeding America, and the Salvation Army, among several other worthwhile organizations.

In celebration of his collaboration with OZO, the Emmy-award winning actor and LGBTQ activist cooked up a storm in a virtual cooking class for members of the media, which The Beet was lucky enough to attend. The recipe we can’t get enough of? You guessed it: The umami-packed burger, pictured above, with a hint of heat from green chiles. It’s so easy to make you’ll feel like you’re cheating.

Few things in life hit the spot like a savory, juicy burger, loaded with toppings, and chased with a guilty pleasure TV show or a favorite magazine. This burger from Ferguson delivers. And it tastes so good you won’t even notice it’s packed with satiating pea protein made with a blend of fermented shiitake mushrooms.

“We are excited about our new partnership with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and our OZO plant-based protein brand. He’s inclusive, approachable and given his love of food and cooking, is an authentic brand partner for OZO," said Min Jung Tavella, Planterra Foods Chief Marketing Officer, in a statement emailed to The Beet. "Jesse's home state is New Mexico so when it came time to collaborate on our virtual cooking class, we were excited he was able to share the Swiss & Green Chile Burger recipe with attendees, paying homage to his upbringing.” Even better, it only requires a few ingredients to make, with the whole surmounting to far more than the sum of its parts.

So gather up the ingredients, heat up your pan, and let’s make dinner.