Quinoa and Black Bean Burger From Grain Mains
How to make a healthy blackbean and quinoa burger
Servings: 6 Burgers
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup dry quinoa
- 1 can 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats not instant
- 3 Tbsp barbecue sauce
- 2 Tbsp pickled pepperoncinis
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1.5 tsp chipotle chile powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 Tbsp canola oil for cooking
- Options:
- burger buns
- swiss cheese
- avocado
- lettuce
- sliced tomato
- condiments mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, etc
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa-Fill a medium sized sauce pot halfway with water and add the quinoa. bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and the grain has expanded. Drain in a fine mesh sieve. Allow to cool about 10 minutes. Click here to see more on cooking quinoa.
- Pour the quinoa into a food processor. Add in the rinsed black beans, the rolled oats and all the other ingredients (see specific ingredient notes above) except the oil. Pulse the food processor until all the ingredients start to blend together. Stop a few times and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The recipe describes the end result as a “pastelike batter”, though I found it to be thicker and drier than I expected.
- The blended mix yields about 24 ounces. Using damp hands, form 6 equal sized patties out of the mix, about half an inch thick. These come out about the size of a traditional burger and fit nicely on a standard bun.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add half the oil (see note about oil above). Use a spatula to add the burgers to the oil and cook until deeply browned (about 4 min). Use the spatula to flip the burger and if you want cheese, add it now and cover the pan with a lid to melt the cheese as the other side of the burger cooks. Repeat if cooking all the burgers at one time.
Notes
Recipe Notes:
I had to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe because I didn't have all of the specific ingredients but that's the beauty of cooking; most recipes can be cooked exactly as written or adapted as needed. Quinoa- The recipe called for black quinoa and I used red. I assume you could use the more common white quinoa, though the final burger might look a little different. Pepperoncinis- The recipe called for pickled jalepeno rings which I could not find, so I substituted the pepperoncinis which are a little more mild in flavor. Worcestershire sauce- Most people aren't aware but Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. If vegan, substitute a vegan Worcestershire. Chili Powder- One of the book's "Tester's Notes" mentions that standard chili powder is actually a blend of ground dried chiles, cumin and oregano and "pure" chili powder is made from a single dried chili. I happened to have Chipotle powder so I used that, but be aware, it's much spicier than regular chili powder. The original recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons and I've cut the amount in half. Oil- The recipe recommends using a nut oil such as walnut or hazelnut. My local store did not have any. The first time I cooked one of the burgers I used olive oil and it burned quickly on the outside so my guess is that nut oil is recommended because it has a higher burn temperature. I used canola oil after that and kept the heat at a low medium and that worked much better.
I had to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe because I didn't have all of the specific ingredients but that's the beauty of cooking; most recipes can be cooked exactly as written or adapted as needed. Quinoa- The recipe called for black quinoa and I used red. I assume you could use the more common white quinoa, though the final burger might look a little different. Pepperoncinis- The recipe called for pickled jalepeno rings which I could not find, so I substituted the pepperoncinis which are a little more mild in flavor. Worcestershire sauce- Most people aren't aware but Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. If vegan, substitute a vegan Worcestershire. Chili Powder- One of the book's "Tester's Notes" mentions that standard chili powder is actually a blend of ground dried chiles, cumin and oregano and "pure" chili powder is made from a single dried chili. I happened to have Chipotle powder so I used that, but be aware, it's much spicier than regular chili powder. The original recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons and I've cut the amount in half. Oil- The recipe recommends using a nut oil such as walnut or hazelnut. My local store did not have any. The first time I cooked one of the burgers I used olive oil and it burned quickly on the outside so my guess is that nut oil is recommended because it has a higher burn temperature. I used canola oil after that and kept the heat at a low medium and that worked much better.