Quinoa Kale Veggie Burgers

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I stayed up in Wisconsin and we grilled out a lot! Luckily, we stopped in at a little local gourmet shop called ‘The Mushroom Farm’ and they happened to have three different kinds of vegan veggie burgers.

THREE!!!

Remember, this is Wisconsin we’re talking about… the land of cheeseheads and die hard meat lovers. To say I was pleasantly surprised to find homemade veggie burgers is an understatement. Times are changing! I’ve been going up to my family’s lake house in Wisconsin since I was born and while it is my favorite summertime getaway, it’s not always the easiest place to be vegan, LOL, but that little gourmet shop is a GEM and my new fave place.

I must say that store-bought frozen veggie burgers have come a LONG WAY in the past couple years and sure, they’re easy to throw on the grill – but they usually taste very bland and fake, if ya know what I mean, which is the exact reason people are turned off to veggie burgers in the first place.

They need to taste a REAL homemade veggie burger made with real ingredients and not soy protein isolate.

So those gourmet veggie burgers inspired me to create my ‘Quinoa Kale Veggie Burgers’ that are super easy to make, have tons of flavor and are perfect for your summer festivities. Since they already have quinoa, I decided to serve them over some curly kale instead of a bun, but do as you please!

You can cook them one of three ways:

1. on the grill 
2. on the stovetop in a grill pan
3. in the oven

1) Cooking them on the grill seems to be the easiest way (especially for clean up) BUT keep in mind, they are veggie burgers and need to be handled with care. They are not made with eggs to hold them together, they are made with plants. They need to be flipped GENTLY or they may fall apart. My advice is to place them on aluminum foil (that has been sprayed with nonstick spray) and grill them that way – about 4 minutes on each side or until browned. They won’t have the grill marks, but who really cares? They’re homemade and so worth it!

2) You can also grill them in a grill pan on the stovetop. You will need some non stick spray or olive oil so they won’t stick. Grill on medium-high heat on each side for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Remember, flip them GENTLY!

3) Bake them in the oven on a lined (and sprayed/oiled) baking sheet at 375 degrees F for 7-8 minutes, then gently flip them and bake for another 7-8 minutes or until they’re nice and browned. 

How you cook them is up to you and all 3 ways work great. People can get frustrated when veggie burgers fall apart, but I’m not exactly sure what they expect? This recipe holds together nicely but I’ve made plenty of veggie burgers in my day to know that unless you buy them frozen and store-bought, they might fall apart. 

While everyone is grilling up burgers (and hopefully veggies!) you too can grill up some healthy veggie burgers.

No need to feel left out! Show them they don’t need meat to fulfill their craving for that grilled summer taste. Would pair nicely with my three bean summer salad, crunchy broccoli raisin salad, basil cucumber salad, fiesta lime and black bean rice or my raw pineapple salsa!

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Quinoa Kale Veggie Burgers

• Prep Time: 25
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 35
• Yield: 6

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Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup bread crumbs (can sub for gluten free oats)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup kale, shredded
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 15-ounce can cannelini beans, drained & rinsed (or any white bean; garbanzo, northern)

Spice Mix

• 1/2 cup vegan bbq sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa and breadcrumbs.
2. Heat a medium-sized pan on the stovetop with 1 tablespoon olive oil (or 1/3 cup water for oil-free). Sauté the onion and garlic (plus a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper) for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Then transfer to the large bowl.
3. In a food processor, pulse the kale, cilantro and carrots until grated/shredded. Transfer to the large bowl. Next, add the white beans to food processor and pulse until mashed (doesn’t have to be completely smooth, leave a few chunks). Transfer to large bowl.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for spice mix. Pour over burger mixture and mix well. Form 6 burger patties.
5. Cook one of three ways: on the grill, on the stovetop or bake in the oven.
6. 1) Cooking them on the grill seems to be the easiest way (especially for clean up) BUT keep in mind, they are veggie burgers and need to be handled with care. They are not made with eggs to hold them together, they are made with plants. They need to be flipped GENTLY or they will fall apart. My advice is to place them on aluminum foil (that has been sprayed with nonstick spray) and grill them that way – about 4 minutes on each side or until browned. They won’t have the grill marks, but who really cares? They’re homemade and so worth it!
7. 2) You can also grill them in a grill pan on the stovetop! You will need some non stick spray or olive oil so they won’t stick. Grill on medium-high heat on each side for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Remember, flip them GENTLY!
8. 3) Bake them in the oven on a lined (and sprayed/oiled) baking sheet at 375 degrees F for 7-8 minutes, then gently flip them and bake for another 7-8 minutes or until they’re nice and browned.

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Notes

• Leftover burgers can be refrigerated up to 3 days, or frozen up to 3 months.