Smoky, savory, texture-rich, power-packed - these vegan hickory quinoa burgers have a lot to offer. If you could have been a fly on my wall the last few days, you would have seen a great variety of people both small and great scarfing these patty wonders down in a bunch of different ways; on the bun, off the bun, dipped in ketchup, swathed in gravy, etc. So far, everyone who has tried them has loved them, and that does include my two-year-old!! 😉 (Yay for this mama!)
First off, I must tell you, this is a recipe from the kitchen of one of my best friends forever and ever. (At least it feels like that if you've been besties since you were a child!) She is an awesome vegan cook who also loves to dump and pour and generally avoids measuring things. BUT, her hubby loved these so much when she first came up with the combo, that he asked her to please write it down so he could enjoy exactly the same burger again! 😉 So she measured everything up, and we get to benefit!! 😉
I love that she chose to use Red quinoa in it. The color really adds to the 'meaty' charm of this burger, but overall, quinoa is really a wonder ingredient. It has all the essential amino acids in it, AND it is a better source of protein than most other grains.
There are also plenty of nuts in this recipe; both ground walnuts, and sunflower seeds. Nuts are so necessary in the diet of a vegan, and they give this burger some real nutritive properties. Ever eaten a vegan sandwich and felt like you need just a little something more to keep you going through the next five hours? This gives you that pro-longed energy combination to fuel your active lifestyle.
In the ingredient list you may find one or two things you aren't familiar with. Braggs Liquid Aminos can be unfamiliar but it's popularity is well-founded. It is generally considered as an alternative to soy sauce. It is unfermented, gluten free, and has a much lower sodium content than soy sauce. Plus it's another great source of 16 of the 20 amino acids! If you're not sure you are ready to go out and find Bragg's (carried in most health food/health food sections of grocery stores), you can always sub soy sauce. (You may need to decrease the amount slightly to prevent over-saltiness.)
Wright's Hickory Smoke is another newbie for some. Available at most local grocery stores in the seasoning or condiment section, Wright's Hickory Smoke is just what it says; liquid smoke in a bottle. Nothing more, nothing less. But it gives a wonderful flavor to this burger!! Simply a must! And it's cheap too. 🙂
Another plus about these burgers is that they freeze great. Since they take a little time and effort to prepare, it is nice to be able to just prepare a bunch at once, and then pull a few out of the freezer whenever you need a quick meal.
I LOVED these burgers served with a little coleslaw salad on them (finely chopped red and green cabbage, a smidge of vegan mayo, a few drops of lemon, and a little salt) and served with a side of these totally addictive baked potato wedges from my previous post. Try this recipe and let me know what you think!!
Serve these burgers with:
Other vegan burgers and sandwiches you will love:
- Vegan chickpea burgers
- Vegan lentil burgers
- Vegan chicken salad sandwich
- Vegan egg salad
- Vegan BBQ mushroom sandwich
- Vegan mushroom oat burger
Recipe
Hickory Quinoa Burger
Ingredients
- 1 ½ C. Cooked Red Quinoa
- 4 C. Water
- ½ C. Sunflower Seeds
- ¼ C. Whole Flax Seed
- ⅓ C. Braggs Liquid Aminos
- 1 T. Liquid Hickory Smoke Flavor
- 1 T. Garlic Salt
- 1 T. Onion Powder
- 1 C. Ground Walnuts
- ⅓ C. Ground Flax
- ⅓ C. Rolled Oats
- 1 ½ C. Quick Oats
Instructions
Cook your Quinoa:
- First step is to cook your Red Quinoa. The ratio for cooking is 1 C. dry quinoa to two cups water. Bring to boil in a medium saucepan, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for approx 15-20 minutes or until water is mostly absorbed and quinoa is soft and chewy. (If you cook 1 C. dry quinoa you’ll end up with about double of what you need for this recipe, but I love the extra as breakfast cereal or whatever so I just made the full cup.)
While the Quinoa is cooking:
- Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare a couple of baking trays with pan spray or a brush of olive oil.
- Also grind your walnuts. I took a heaping cup of raw walnuts, ground them, and went with what they produced.
- Assemble your ingredients and you should be about ready to start!
Assembling the Burgers:
- Bring first ten ingredients to a boil in large saucepan.
- At a rolling boil, add quick and rolled oats. Turn off heat, and stir a few times, allowing mixture to thicken. Allow mixture to cool and firm for about 10 minutes before attempting to shape burgers.
Shaping and Baking the Burgers:
- I use a wide-mouth canning lid and ring to shape my burgers. Approx ⅓ c. of mixture per burger will make 20-22 of these burgers. I use pan spray on the lid every once in a while to help them slip off neatly. If shape doesn’t matter us much to you, just use a scoop and some fingers, and I promise they’ll taste just as good! ????
- Bake for approx 40 minutes, flipping about half-way through to lightly brown burger on both sides. You can feel really great about all the amazing things you just ate while you enjoy the super awesome flavor and texture this burger provides!!
Janice
By whole oats do you mean rolled oats? Or actual oat groats?
Rebecca
Good point thanks! Rolled oats!