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These flavorful quinoa burgers are easy to make and keep well in the fridge for several days. Top with hummus and avocado and dig in!
At risk of repetition, I’ll say again something I repeat often: I’m not a natural born cook. Four years ago, I had no idea what quinoa was. Six years ago, I couldn’t even boil a pot of water to make pasta (true story). A change came when Alex and I got married and wanted to have others over for dinner. Our first meal was a bit rough, but luckily our guests were gracious! Gradually, we kept learning and exposing ourselves to people who really, truly loved being in the kitchen. It was contagious. A formative moment was when we read a book called Food Matters that challenged us to consider the way we ate. To make a long story short, we made a commitment to start eating all unprocessed, real foods and started this blog to share about it. Keep reading for more about real food, and this veggie quinoa burger recipe!
Another great veggie burger? Try our Best Chickpea Burgers.
Eating real food
I say all this to introduce Lisa Leake. A mom of two, she had a similar turning point several years ago when she read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food,which caused her and her family to take a challenge of eating real food for 100 days. It changed their lives, and she now chronicles all things real food-related on her immensely popular blog, 100 Days of Real Food.
There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to healthy eating; one I hear often is that you have to be some kind of naturally-talented kitchen god or goddess who’s been cooking since kindergarten. The good news: not true. I think Lisa would agree when I say we’re just normal, everyday people who heard about a different way of eating and started passionately pursuing it. We’re not the best chefs or amazing gourmet masters; we grew up eating Easy Mac instead of kale. But we’ve come to love eating honest, delicious, real foods.
How to make these quinoa veggie burgers
These quinoa veggie burgers are from Lisa’s new book, 100 Days of Real Food. We’ve struggled with veggie burgers in the past, but these turned out wonderfully. If you’ve never made veggie burgers or fritters before, it takes a little practice pan-frying them, but it’s worth the learning curve. The main idea is to make quinoa, combine it with egg, cheese, and some sauteed veggies, and then form them into patties. Then, pan fry the patties in a bit of oil until they’re lightly browned and crispy! These quinoa burgers turned out moist and flavorful! The burgers keep in the refrigerator, so we ate these quinoa burgers for several days after we made them.
Lisa’s book is full of wonderful recipe ideas like this quinoa burgers recipe! 100 Days of Real Food is great for families, with a whole section on school lunches, and has options for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Check it out if you’re looking to take a small step, a baby step even, towards real food eating. You won’t be disappointed!
Looking for more vegetarian dinner recipes?
Along with this quinoa burgers recipe, we have tons of vegetarian recipes on our blog, but a few of our all-time favorites are:
- Classic Vegetarian Chili
- Easy Calzone Recipe
- Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich
- Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce
- Grilled Vegetable Pasta with Romesco
- Vegan Banh Mi Sandwiches
- Cozy Farro and Brussels Sprouts Soup
- The BEST Grilled Veggie Burger
Looking for more quinoa recipes?
Outside of these quinoa burgers, we have many quinoa recipes on A Couple Cooks! Here are a few of our favorite quinoa recipes:
- Veggie Packed Quinoa Fried Rice
- Tropical Mango Quinoa Bowls
- Feta and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
- Artichoke & Quinoa Vegetarian Enchiladas
- All our quinoa recipes!
This recipe is…
This quinoa burgers recipe is vegetarian.
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Quinoa Burger Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
These flavorful quinoa burgers are easy to make and keep well in the fridge for several days. Top with hummus and avocado and dig in!
Ingredients
For the quinoa burgers
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup minced carrot (2 to 3 carrots)
- ⅓ cup minced onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For serving
- Hummus or Special Burger Sauce
- Sliced avocado
- Salad greens or lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa, according to Master Recipe: Perfect Quinoa or Instant Pot quinoa.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add carrot and chop enough for ¾ cup. Remove and add onion and chop enough for ⅓ cup. Remove and add 3 peeled garlic cloves; process until minced.
- When the quinoa is done, in a large bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients except the oil. With wet hands, form the quinoa mixture into 8 patties about 1 inch thick and place on a clean plate or cutting board.
- In a large sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the burgers to the pan, cover, and cook until the bottoms are browned, 6 to 8 minutes. (Covering the pan ensures the burgers cook all the way through the middle without overcooking the outside.) Flip the burgers and repeat, adding another tablespoon of oil if necessary (The pan should not be dry). Sauté in a few batches if necessary, and let cool for a few minutes to firm up.
- Serve warm topped with hummus and avocado and wrapped in big lettuce leaves, or over salad greens.
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: quinoa burgers, veggie burgers
These patties look SO yummy. I love how you can see the quinoa in them. Definitely trying this!
These look so yummy! I think it is also safe to say that I could get away with serving these to my husband. I love sneaky veggie recipes :D
Thanks for introducing Lisa – am checking out her blog immediately. These burgers looks awesome!
I sometimes struggle with veggie burgers coming out right too, but I love making these kind of patties/fritters. Especially because they freeze well and are easy to keep on hand for a quick and satisfying meal when needed last minute.
Eating real food is so important! I feel like it would solve a lot of the problems so many people have! These look great :)
I couldn’t agree more with your journey. It takes time and courage to delve into cooking, and the abundance of food blogs and Food Network shows doesn’t make it seem any less intimidating, or open to experimentation and less-than-perfect results. But once you do venture into home-cooked meals, there really is no going back – homemade, real food just tastes so much better, while making it also gives you an experience!
It’s been so long since I’ve had a good veggie burger. Feeling inspired to give yours a try! I hope I can get mine to looks like yours. :)
Even though I’ve been vegetarian for over four years now I haven’t really gotten into veggie burgers, but summer is coming up and these sound like the perfect summer grilling dinner. 2014 is the year!
Yes! Not all of us who are passionate about eating whole foods now started out that way. Thank you for talking about it and reminding us all to keep it real.
These look amazing! Love the touch of cheddar in them, bet that adds heaps of flavour!