I know you’re probably thinking that the title sounds a little hyped up, but trust me…this burger lives up to it. I modeled it after one of my favorites, the veggie burger at the Burger Fi restaurant chain (there’s one dangerously close to where I live). This is not a vegan burger! If you’re looking for one, try this awesome one from Oh She Glows or stay tuned for my own vegan burger recipe coming soon. This burger is for cheese lovers. This is the veggie burger you want to feed to meat eaters to see their eyebrows raise after the first bite. This is an EPIC burger.
- 2 t. olive oil
- 1/2 c. onion, chopped
- 2/3 c. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 c. carrots, shredded
- 1/2 c. zucchini, shredded
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
- 1 2/3 c. cooked white quinoa
- 1 can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 c. Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 T. white wine
- 2 T. shredded or grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 c. fontina cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
- 2/3 t. salt
- 1/2 t. pepper
- cheese slices of choice (optional)
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
- Add the onions and sautee until translucent.
- Add mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini, and continue to sautee for about 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables have softened and started to brown.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and sautee for another couple minutes to cook through.
- Remove the vegetable mixture from the heat and let cool to room temp.
- In the bowl of a food processor, process the oats until they become a powdery texture.
- Add the quinoa and beans to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a puree (the beans should be almost completely smooth).
- Add the cooked vegetable mixture, breadcrumbs, wine, parmesan cheese, fontina cheese, egg, salt, and pepper to the food processor, and pulse together just until all the ingredients are combined.
- Generously flour your hands and a board and form the mixture into round patties using about 1/2 c. of the mixture for each patty.
- Place the formed patties in the refrigerator to set, and in the meantime coat the bottom of a cast iron pan in vegetable oil and preheat it over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is hot, fry the patties in batches until they are golden brown on both sides.
- If you’d like to serve the patties as cheeseburgers, placed sliced cheese (I used American, it’s the only kind I like on a burger!) on top of each patty in the final minute of cooking and cover the skillet (or tent it with aluminum foil) to melt the cheese.
- Serve on a toasted bun with fixins of your choice and ENJOY!
As you can see from the recipe, there’s cheese all up in (yes, that’s proper grammar) these burgers. The patty has a crispy crust on the outside and is tender (without being mushy!) on the inside. The cooked veggies give it loads of flavor, and the quinoa and beans pack in the protein and give it a firm texture. Jason the Carnivore (also known as my husband) ate one with me for dinner and even he could not deny that it was delicious! Just go get the ingredients. Trust me. Go now!
I hope there are some fellow cheese lovers out there who will enjoy this recipe!
-Lauren
5 Responses
Lee
I think I need to try this for my Jason the carnivore.
Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes
This looks delicious!! Love quinoa, love veggie burgers, and I love cheese!
Annie @Maebells
Okay, you convinced me! I have to make a quinoa burger! This is too fantastic and so much cheese! Yum!
Brian
You can’t go wrong with all that cheese. I would have never thought to use quinoa for patties. Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
Bill
tried and loved the quinoa burger