Quinoa Burgers

The very best Quinoa Burgers should be full of flavour and surprisingly delicious. Top them with sauteed mushrooms, a few of your favourite toppings and a spicy aioli making them an excellent choice when you have vegetarian friends coming for dinner, hosting a gathering or even to serve for tasty game day eats.

Quinoa Burgers

Following a week of making a new quinoa salad recipe each day, I got tired of salads and decided to create a quinoa burger. Some days I like them in lettuce cups without the bun, others with the bun.

These burgers are a powerhouse of flavours brought on from mashed cooked sweet potato, sauteed onion and mushrooms with spices, old cheddar cheese, and toasted pecans.

The Inspiration

Did you know every recipe I make is inspired by some moment in time, from my past or present?

When I was going to University in Vancouver I had a class mate who worked out daily and was very health conscious with her food choices. She was always bringing interesting food with her for lunch (grains I’d never heard of like quinoa & millet). I was so intrigued!

My mom started cooking with grains in the late 80’s so this combined with my class mate’s healthy lifestyle really helped spark my interest in healthier food. When I lived in Vancouver the only place you could buy these grains were health food stores (1990’s).

The inspiration for this burger comes from a memory from those school days. Another classmate of mine invited me over to a BBQ at her place one weekend. Her name was Ana and she was tall with a full mane of thick, stunning red hair. She made vegetarian burgers on the BBQ and it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The main component in her burger was sweet potatoes/yams.

And that my friends is why there are mashed sweet potato in this recipe.

The Sauce

I love spice but my alter ego gut doesn’t. So we meet in the middle and I get a little bit of spice keeping everyone happy. Chipotle in adobe sauce is spicy so when I say use a little, use a little in your sauce. Unless you love to feel the burn, then go big.

Sometimes I mix fresh basil, dill, taragon or parsley in with some mayo, a little lime juice and slather it on. Other times it’s all chipotle sauce. Whatever you mix with your mayonnaise, know that is how you make an Aioli sauce perfect for any burger.

Toppings

So many great toppings go with this quinoa burger. Give any of these a try:

• Anything pickled. Fennel, onions, beets, pickles, cucumbers, carrots, radishes.
• Sauteed mushrooms.
• Spinach, arugula or kale as your lettuce of choice.
• Any kind of thinly sliced onion.
• Salsa, bruschetta or guacamole. I KNOW right?
• Avocado.
• Sprouts or pea shoots.
• Caramelized onions. Oh man.

For toppings I added some sauteed, seasoned mushrooms, a spring lettuce mix or butter lettuce and onions. The sauce included mayo mixed with chopped cilantro, salt, pepper and lime juice.

PRO TIPS:

• Make sure your sweet potato is mashed well before adding to the mix.
• If your mixture is not sticking together as one of our followers commented, add another egg, more mashed sweet potato or a little more bread crumbs to help bind.
• They will be delicate so I cook them in the oven.
• I always have cooked quinoa in the fridge so I can grab a cup, toss in some salad ingredients, whisk up a dressing and have a quick lunch or dinner.
• I avoid big chunky items on burgers like fries, onions rings or any thing that just doesn’t fit. I’ve had these kinds of burgers at events and they really are not my jam.

The Weather Network

Once I did a live segment about these burgers, quinoa and kitchen hacks with video journalist and local news reporter Deb Matejicka from the Weather Network. It was a ton of fun and I think she loved the burgers!

Like quinoa? Give these recipes a try:

• Blueberry & Halloumi Quinoa Salad with Charred Corn
• Quinoa Stuffed Peppers with Red Chili
• Quinoa Porridge
• Grain Salad with Edamame
• Leftover Turkey Quinoa Salad
• Cucumber and Mint Quinoa Salad

If you made this recipe tag Wanda Baker on Instagram and hashtag it #bakersbeans or #wandabaker. Please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating!

Quinoa Burgers

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 tbsp sesame oil olive oil or butter
• 1/2 cup spanish onion minced
• 1 cup mushrooms minced (approx. 3-4 large)
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 2 tsp combined fajita & bbq spices use any spice you like
• 1/3 cup cubed cooked yam or sweet potato, mashed
• 2/3 cup old cheddar cheese grated
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans chopped small
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp soya sauce or hoison sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 F.
• Put your water & quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for 10-15 minutes. Take off heat and let sit another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
• Heat oil or butter in pan and add mushrooms & onions. Cook until they start to soften slightly then add your spices + your minced garlic. Cook on low for an additional 5-10 minutes.
• IN a bowl beat your egg. Add cooled quinoa, mushroom mixture, yam/sweet potato, cheese, pecans, dried bread crumbs, and sauce. Season with pepper and just a pinch of salt. Stir it all up.
• Scoop approximately 1/3 cup out and form into a patty about 1 inch thick. Mixture will be sticky but still workable. Place patty on parchment lined baking sheet. You should end up with 4 patties on the baking sheet.
• These burgers need to be baked for 25 minutes.
• Patties will become a little brown and crispy.
• Serve with your favourite bun & fixins.