Quinoa Burgers – The future of all burgers
- Updated on Mar 05, 2019
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What would you say if we told you the future of burgers is vegetarian? Well, you’d probably say something along the lines of ‘I know that already, fool! Of course the world is slowly waking up and turning veggie’.
But what if I told you that quinoa burgers are the future of burgers? Then your answer might be something like ‘ahhh really? Quinoa burgers? But don’t they just fall apart?’
And the answer is, no quinoa burgers don’t fall apart if you follow this recipe, and yes, quinoa burgers frikkin rock (try these veggie burger recipes too if you enjoy these!). And they rock hard.
Quinoa burgers have quickly become one of our go-to meals. Try the recipe just once and you’ll see why.
It wouldn’t be fair to claim this recipe as one of our own, however. Nope, that accolade belongs to wonderful pro chef (and good friend), Jansen Schouten (who is also author of the Lunch in Six and Breakfast in Six book series).
It could also be that this is the future of burgers – lab grown. It’s certainly an interesting prospect. We’ll see.
But for now, the future is quinoa burgers
This is one of those recipes that worked so well first time it barely needed to be tested again. But test we did, as we’re nothing but perfectionists. We want recipes that work every time, and won’t let you down.
Through testing we also noticed that the measurements need to be accurate. Try not to deviate from the measurements in the instructions – they’re there to help.
Also make sure not to skimp on the oil or heat – a flash fry is important to hold the burgers together. If the heat is too low, or there isn’t enough oil and the patty sticks, it’s going to fall apart soon after.
Give your health a boost
As the world slowly tries to get healthier, quinoa is really leading the way. It’s touted as a ‘superfood’ as are so many things, and we hate these silly names.
But for once we’ll admit that quinoa does get pretty damn close, and there are various reasons for this.
Quinoa is REALLY high in fiber. So many people don’t get enough fiber, and not only does it help with all sorts of all internal health benefits.
It also helps to keep you feeling full and satisfied after a meal – ensuring you don’t give in to temptation and snack on naughty things when you hadn’t planned to (for the record, we don’t think snacking is bad at all – quite the contrary, but we do believe in moderation and consistency for success).
(Note: if you’re in the need of weight loss help we have a free meal plan over here)
Why quinoa?
Well apart from being mega-tasty when done right, quinoa is also full of protein. And very unusually, it is full of complete proteins. Complete proteins are normally only found in animal products – it’s very rare they’re found in plants.
Complete proteins are needed by our bodies, and vegetarians and vegans normally need to mix and match their protein sources to ensure they get the full complement.
Quinoa is one of those exceptions, and one that we’re grateful for. If you want to know more about protein, then get a free high-protein meal plan over here.
It’s also worth noting that quinoa is naturally gluten-free – great news for those with gluten intolerances or those with coeliac disease.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to impress with these quinoa burgers!
Ingredients
- 4 burger buns
- ½ cup quinoa (½ cup = 100g)
- ¾ cup grated cheese (¾ cup = 100g)
- 2 figs, fresh
- 1 avocado
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ lime (juiced and zested)
- 1 bunch cilantro/coriander, fresh
- ½ red onion
For garnish:
- 1 tbsp cilantro/coriander, fresh (or mint)
- 1 cup spinach (or lettuce)
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa, use double the amount of water to quinoa, add a little salt, and cook until the water has evaporated. Then take it off the heat and cover with a tea towel for five minutes. It should expand and go fluffy and light.
- Let it cool down well.
- Add the egg, cumin, ground coriander, lime zest and grated cheese.
- Season with salt and pepper and stir really well.
- Form patties.
- Fry them on medium heat with normal oil, both sides roughly 3-4 minutes.
- Mash up the avocado with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lime juice and chopped coriander.
- Thinly slice a red onion, wash the baby spinach.
- Layer out from top to bottom: Bread, mashed avocado, salad leaves, onions, figs, quinoa patty, mint or coriander leaves, mashed avocado, bread.
NOTES
Nutrition
Comments
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11 comments
I haven’t had a recipe from you that wasn’t delicious! And, the recipes continue to amaze me! This Quinoa Burger is so damn delicious! Thank you! I used Egg Replacer in place of the egg and prunes in place of the figs and oh so yummy!
Ahh thank you, Jamey! Very kind of you to say! Good to know the Egg Replacer worked well, I thought it might. Prunes is a cool idea, too. Thanks for writing!
Really delicious, but fell apart a little in the frying pan. Does refrigerating help with that? I used a hand cheese grater, which grated small threads. Should the cheese be bigger? I used cheddar cheese. Would a different cheese work better, like parmesan, to keep the burgers together? On the second batch, I added bread crumbs and there was no crumbling. But I would prefer not to use bread crumbs.
The burgers were really tasty and I didn’t get hungry for hours! The only reason they didn’t get five stars is because of the crumbling. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Hi Ellen, and really pleased you enjoyed the burgers! Sorry to hear they crumbled. Cheddar cheese is absolutely fine, it’s what I use as well. I think the bigger gratings are fine too. Did you use egg in the burger? Maybe the egg could be bigger – it definitely a big part of the binding. You could also try a flax egg – 1tb ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp (very) hot water and stirred until thick. That might help. Would love to hear how it goes! 🙂
I enjoy this recipe and l always wants to include this kind of vegetarian protein to build my body strength. Thank you so much for your information.
Another very good and easy recipe. i mixed up the burger ingredients and refigerated over night. It is my experience this works well. Making the patties went smoothly, except I couldn’t get the quinoa off my hands 🙂 Thanks again.
Ah awesome, thanks bab! I’m really pleased you enjoyed this one as well. So what’s next? Haha yes, quinoa can get a bit sticky! A little water on the hands first can help 🙂
Thanks so much for these yum recipes!
You’re very welcome, Shahnaz! Enjoy 🙂
I want to try this recipe, can you advise replacement for egg as are pure vegetarin and dont eat eggs
Thanks
Hi Harveen, I haven’t tried it in this recipe yet, but you could definitely try a flax egg replacement. 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds stirred with 3 tablespoons of hot/boiling water, left to cool and thicken for a few minutes. It works well as a replacement for eggs in other recipes for binding foods together. I hope that helps 🙂