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Mariel here. After four years of feasting on the cheap, this recipe is one of our first truly collaborative dishes. I found an inspiring Quinoa Veggie Burger over at Prevention RD (who had adapted it from The Foodie Physician) and since my son is now full-on eating finger food, I wanted to whip up something everyone could enjoy. My mom came over one Tuesday night – as usual – and in a twist on our tradition, I was the one who cooked HER dinner. We both loved these veggie burgers but agreed that the chipotle was a bit too spicy and bitter for the baby.
I then passed the torch to my mom, who took my notes on the original recipe and adapted it even further, adding sweet potatoes, honey and Old Bay. The results were phenomenal. And while neither of us are avid Veggie Burger aficionados, we both agreed these were the best we’ve ever had. They even pleased my little man who happily double-fisted sloppy gobs into his mouth, which is his highest culinary honor.
Mary Anne here. Like a beef or turkey burger, we served these with melted cheese on a whole wheat bun. Mariel’s go-to condiment of choice is ketchup but I liked whipping together some Greek yogurt with a dollop of leftover tomato paste, cilantro, and a splash of honey. I shared part of a batch with one of my very favorite anesthesiologists, Sara, and she suggested dousing them with salsa. In the end, Sara ate her first one RAW (I totally freaked out!), because she was seriously so starved from a full day in the O.R. and simply couldn’t wait to plow into one. She did cook the remaining patties (thankfully no salmonella reported) and is now patiently waiting for this recipe to appear here so she can make them for herself!
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Veggie Burgers with Black Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and Quinoa
Makes 8
Inspired by The Foodie Physician
Ingredients:
½ cup raw quinoa – $3.29 (for a full box)
1 Tablespoon olive oil – stock
small Bermuda (red) onion (about ¾ cup), finely diced – $0.84
1 small Jalapeno, minced – $0.22
4 cloves garlic, minced – stock
1 cup ¼-inch diced cooked sweet potato – $0.71
1- 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained – $0.79
1 egg, lightly beaten – stock
2½ Tablespoons tomato paste – $0.80
¾ cup corn kernels – $0.79
1 teaspoon honey – stock
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped – $0.99
1 ½ Teaspoons Old Bay seasoning – stock
pinch of cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup rolled oats – stock
¼ cup wheat flour – stock
Grand Total Assuming a Well-Stocked Pantry: $8.43
Total Per Serving: $1.05
Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions. (In general, it’s 1 cup of water to a ½ cup of quinoa.) Set aside.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a full boil. Add the diced sweet potato and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Drain into a colander and run cold water over. Set aside.
3. In a medium sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook over medium high flame, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until the onion is beginning to caramelize.
4. Add the garlic and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium size bowl. Add the black beans and the cooked sweet potato. Using a potato masher or large serving fork, mash the mixture until the beans and the sweet potatoes create a pasty mix. (It will still be a bit lumpy.)
6. Gradually add the remaining ingredients, combining well after each addition.
7. Divide the mixture into 8 equal mounds and then form into patties. Place on a cookie sheet; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
8. Spray a griddle or a heavy sauté pan with vegetable oil. Over medium high flame, “fry” the burgers for 6 or 7 minutes on each side until crispy and golden. Note: While cooking the second side, I melted a slice of cheese on the burgers. Serve hot with the condiment of your choice.
These sound amazing! Great job Mary Anne and Mariel – can’t wait to try them! So many good things going on here!
I am going to try these over the weekend. I’ve had my eye out for a veggie burger, but hadn’t seen one that seemed like it would be the right fit. This one is exactly what I’ve been looking for – the texture looks great, but they still seem to be moist and substantial. Thanks, as always, for the great tips!
Just a follow-up to say that I made these tonight and they are amazing! Thank you for the great recipe!
I’m so glad! My mom is actually staying with me this weekend and we plan to make them again. They were a huge hit in my household…or both of our households, actually.
A very tempting veggie burger, maybe the most tempting one I’ve ever seen! Melted cheese makes it even more divine! Even my husband, who is a big fan of meat, will love this!
OK. Now that’s what I call a burger. I love veggie burgers, and I love it when they’re absolutely chock-full of veggies and flavors. I could take a bite out of my screen this looks so good! Adding to my long list of veggie burgers now 🙂
What a great collaboration! There is so much goodness and protein in this burger, I’m sure it’s hard to tell it’s veggie! And what a beautiful burger it is.
hi, that looks really good! what kind of bun is in the photo? thank you!
It’s a whole foods brand whole wheat bun!
Can these be frozen?
absolutely. i’d recommend freezing them individually for easier thawing.
These look perfect! I will have to try them!
I just made these and they are AWESOME!! My 15 month old son thought so too! I did personalize just a bit, replacing the oats with rye bread crumbs, wheat flour with wheat germ, and the egg with flaxseed. This is the first of your recipes that I have tried but I will be back on this site a lot now! Thanks!!
So glad you enjoyed them! They’re a hit with my 8-mo old too!
I gave one to my mom to and now I have been commissioned to make a batch for her also – cannot rave about these enough. Great left overs too!
These looks delicious! I will try them:)
I’m so glad you loved these! I always have some in my freezer for quick meals 🙂 A new fan here…love the blog! 🙂
We’ve made them SO many times since the first run. A new staple, we were thrilled to find YOU!
Great post and beautiful photo! I’m so glad you like the burgers! As credited by Prevention RD, the recipe is actually mine. Is there any chance you could site my blog as the original source? Thank you 🙂
http://www.thefoodiephysician.com/2012/06/dining-with-doc-black-bean-quinoa.html
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Has anyone tried cooking these on the grill?
I have not, but if you do, let us know how they turn out!
What’s a diva to do? Well, I decided to give it another shot. Just like you, I googled “quick and tasty veggie burgers” and found a recipe online that sounded too good to be true since I miraculously had almost all of the ingredients chillin’ in my kitchen waiting for me to use. Score!
Hiya! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My site looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be
able to fix this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share.
Appreciate it!
Fantastic! can’t wait to make ’em. – I am currently on a 3 week lover detox – so
I will substitute, gluten free buns. I bet Empire Mayo would be tasty on it too – keeping it in the family
For sure you should try some Empire Mayo on these! I bet the bleu cheese would be awesome!
oops, LIVER detox, not lover (ha)