Quinoa-based burgers made with fresh seasonal summer veggies! Oil-free, gluten free, and extra crispy. Perfect for layering on a bun, lettuce, or by itself!
Happy July!
Can we talk about where June went?
Well, it’s July and I’m finding myself craving all of the fun fiery hot weather foods, lately, twin stacks of nutritious burgers included.
I thought I’d kick off the month with an epic plant-based burger combo– in case you needed another one for your Fourth of July shenanigans.
These Crispy Garden Quinoa Burgers require only a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge.
They’re the perfect plant-based, gluten-free, oil-free burger to bite into this summer!
Ever had a quinoa-based burger before?
They’re a great alternative to going soy or bean-based, which is typical in the vegan-burger-sphere.
This one is perfectly crispy, packed with seasonal summer veggies, herbs, and protein-rich quinoa.
We’re talking sweet bell pepper, gorgeous green zucchini, white onion, and cilantro, to name a few.
What I love most about these burgers is how easy they are to mix up in the blender.
Yes, friend, these are blender burgers!
Oh, and did I mention these burgers are baked, too?!
BAKED BLENDER BURGERS.
My plant-based alliteration knows no bounds.
If you’re wondering how these burgers, you know, STICK, let me explain.
The flaxseed meal helps to bind everything together without the need to create a full-fledged “flax egg” with water.
The hydration from the bell pepper and zucchini add enough moisture to the mix to get things going.
To achieve the ultimate crispness, pan-fry baked burgers for 5-ish minutes on each side to add another level of crunch.
This makes the burgers crispy to bite into on the outside, but tender and moist on the inside.
Alternatively, to keep things oil-free, serve the burgers as is hot from the oven.
Drooling.
Enjoy these Crispy Garden Quinoa Burgers any way you see fit.
Although I stacked them on buns here for dramatic emphasis (ta-da!), I most often eat them layered on a bed of raw/cooked veggies.
They’d also be great wrapped in kale leaves, as a salad topper, on a portobello mushroom bun, or your favorite breaded bun (GF, if needed!).
The recipe makes four large burgers or 8 smaller sliders– depending on how big you form your patties.
I recommend making extra and freezing any patties you have left.
They’re great to have on hand to reheat and enjoy as an easy meal when the fridge is bare bones!
Choose your favorite condiments– my favorites are heirloom tomato, avocado, kale, red onion, ketchup, and mustard.
If you make these Crispy Garden Quinoa Burgers, let me know!
How did you eat yours? Share!
Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.
Give me a shout on Instagram and use #floraandvino to show me your creations.
Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later.
For more epic plant-based sandwiches, check out my Oh Em Fee Tempeh Burgers with Portobello Mushroom Buns and Hilary’s Sweet Potato Sliders.
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Crispy Garden Quinoa Burgers
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2-4 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Quinoa-based burgers made with fresh seasonal summer veggies! Oil-free, gluten free, and extra crispy. Perfect for layering on a bun, lettuce, or by itself!
Ingredients
Garden Quinoa Burgers
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, any color
- 1 large zucchini, diced (~2 cups)
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 TBSP Tamari lite
For serving
- bun of choice: ie. gluten-free breaded bun, portobello mushroom bun, lettuce bun, etc.
- sliced heirloom tomato
- kale
- avocado
- red onion
- ketchup
- mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Add all of the burger ingredients to a high-speed blender and pulse until it’s well-combined. You want it to be well mixed and the diced veg broken down, but not completely puréed.
- Form the mixture into 4-6 large patties (~1/2 cup) or 8-12 smaller sliders (~1/4 cup).
- Bake the patties for 35-40 minutes, carefully flipping once halfway, until the quinoa is crispy and golden brown on the outside.
- Serve the burgers immediately, or pan-cook for an additional 5-10 minutes for extra crispiness.
- To pan-cook, burgers, preheat pan over medium-high heat with a bit of avocado oil (skip this step if oil-free). Add the baked quinoa burgers to the pan and heat them for 5 minutes on each side, oruntil they’re crispy and brown. Serve burgers immediately.
- Store the leftover quinoa burgers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Reheat them in the oven or on the stovetop before serving.
- Freeze burgers for longterm storage for 2-3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Tone It Up
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Burger
- Method: Oven-Bake, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free
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They didn’t hold together. 😭
Oh no! Did you follow the recipe as directed or make any subs? I’m so sorry to hear that and would like to help you troubleshoot!
Yes I followed the recipe 100%.
Did you pan-cook or bake?
I don’t usually comment on recipes but like the other comment…these would not hold together. The only ingredient I didn’t have was the flax meal so I subbed flax seed instead. I don’t think flax meal would have made a difference in respect to binding the mix. Fortunately, I had extra quinoa. I also added some cooked lentils and egg replacer to help hold them together. I had to increase the cooking time by at least 10 minutes or so. I think 425 degrees would have worked better. To end on a good note, they finally cooked enough and held together enough for me to remove them from the baking sheet. They did actually appear similar to your photo. We used buns…pesto hummus spread on the bottom bun and guacamole spread on the top. Red onion, sliced tomatoes, and lettuce were the fixings. Thank you for the recipe but I don’t think I will be using it again.
Hi Dennis,
Did you use ground flaxseed or whole flaxseed? The flaxseed mixed with the liquid of the burgers does creating a binding agent similar to that of an egg in this recipe! Let me know– I may need to retest this one again.
Best,
Lauren
The ingredients are fantastic but my burgers did not hold together at all either. I followed the recipe exactly. Perhaps some bread crumbs or another binder may help.
Thanks for the feedback, Patty! I’ll test this one again and see what I can do.