These Vegan Quinoa Burgers are packed with quinoa, beans, and oats for an incredibly quick and delicious take on homemade veggie burgers!
Who else loves vegetarian burgers? There must be a lot of us, because when you wander up and down the frozen food aisle-- you'll see box after box of pre-made meatless burger patties. Box, after box, after box.
When you buy a box of pre-made burgers, you probably already know that you're taking a risk. The pre-made frozen patties can range anywhere from "highly tasty and fairly nutritious" to "bland hockey-puck-like-disks."
Plus, anyone who eats pre-made veggie burgers on a normal basis can probably relate to the struggle of trying to pry apart the little frozen disk-like patties that, inevitably, have become fused together in the package.
(If, dear reader, you happen to work for a veggie burger mogul, please recommend separating the patties in the packaging. Please.)
Did you realize that making bean or veggie burgers at home is INCREDIBLY easy? Instead of buying your veggie burgers pre-made, take total control of your burger ingredients, and try making these easy Vegan Quinoa Burgers at home!
What is Quinoa?
This bean burger uses quinoa. If you're not familiar with quinoa, here's what you should know.
Quinoa is a gluten-free grain packed with protein. It comes in several different varieties-- but most commonly white, black, red, or a mix of all three. Buy whichever kind you prefer for this vegan quinoa burger.
Before the quinoa is cooked, it'll look like tiny little seeds or balls of grain, and then when it's cooked it'll plump up and appear translucent in the center.
For this recipe we're using cooked quinoa, so either start cooking the grains while you prepare the other ingredients, or make these the day after you use quinoa in another dish. Quinoa cooks fairly quickly, and will also microwave well (just like rice).
Making Vegan Quinoa Burgers
You'll need one sauté pan and a food processor (or blender).
Start by sautéing green onions-- use the whole thing, not just the white onion part-- along with garlic.
Take the onions out of the pan and add them to a mixing bowl along with all your other burger ingredients. Stir it all together.
Add the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend.
Next, form your batter into patties, reheat your sauté pan, and cook them in the oil leftover from sautéing the onions.
Once the patties have browned on each side, set them on buns, pile them high with whatever toppings you want, and dig in.
Quick Tip: If your blender struggles with thick mixtures, it will be easier to use a food processor instead of the blender.
Want more VEGAN recipe ideas? Try these:
Want more SANDWICH ideas? Try these:
Vegan Quinoa Burger
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 green onions, sliced (or sub ½ yellow onion, diced)
- 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- ½ cup rolled oats, plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon mild hot sauce, to taste (I use regular or Chipotle flavored Cholula)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 sandwich buns (optional, use gluten-free buns if needed)
- Suggested Additional Toppings (optional): lettuce, fresh spinach, sliced tomato, sliced avocado, mustard, ketchup, more hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a sauté pan (preferably cast iron or non-stick). When oil begins to ripple, add onions and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes, turn off heat, and remove onions from the pan.
- Add onion mixture, beans, quinoa, oats, hot sauce, and salt to a mixing bowl, and stir with a spoon to combine the ingredients. Add more hot sauce to taste if desired.
- Add mixture to a food processor, and blend until combined.
- Divide mixture into quarters, and use your hands to form four patties. If the mixture is too wet to form patties, fold in extra oats until it's sturdier.Patties should be approximately 3" across and ¾" thick.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the sauté pan, and reheat pan over medium heat. Sear patties 2-3 minutes per side until browned.
- Serve burgers warm on buns with desired toppings.
- Leftovers:Leftover burgers can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in a hot pan.Make Ahead / Freeze: To freeze burgers, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To cook frozen patties, add about 3-4 minutes onto the total cook time. Alternatively, thaw patties overnight in the refrigerator, and cook according the the main recipe directions.
Notes
- Substitute black beans for kidney beans
- Substitute steak sauce or BBQ sauce for the hot sauce
- (Not Vegan): Substitute 2-3 anchovies for the hot sauce
Melissa
I have wanted to try homemade quinoa burgers, but it sometimes is daunting trying to figure out the right measurements of ingredients. These sound amazing. Have you tried freezing them?
champagne-tastes
Yes! They freeze really well- I just added directions to the recipe card 🙂
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
We are huge quinoa eaters. We buy our packages at Costco in the huge bags so we never run out. This recipe sounds ideal for making a filling for lunch. Thanks for sharing.
champagne-tastes
Thanks! And yes it's so quick and easy!
Sarah
I made these as written, and also with chickpeas instead of kidney beans. I like the kidney beans best, but the chickpeas were good too! Loved it!
Sarah
Yayy!! Thanks for letting me know!
Rose
I make these all the time! I like to keep a batch in the freezer for an easy lunch when I’m too tired to cook. Thanks for the idea!!
Sarah
Yay!! I'm so glad you loved them 🙂
David W. Kinney
Absolute mess! No binder! Just made mush! Not cool man!
Taste was there, no burger.
Sarah
Hi David! I'm so sorry it didn't work for you- that's frustrating!
The oats are the binder. Sometimes if your blender purees everything a little too smoothly, it makes them runny. Fold in some extra oats when that happens, it should help!
Holly
Made these with quinoa, butternut squash and onions- all sautéed/ cooked. Added puréed northern beans, mixed with garbanzo bean flour, hemp hearts, quinoa flakes, arrowroot and spices to taste. So good!
Sarah
That sounds amazing!! I’m glad it was delicious!!