Packed with nutritious ingredients, this Chickpea Quinoa Veggie Burger is full of delicious flavor and satisfying texture. Great with a variety of toppings. Vegetarian and Gluten-free, Vegan-adaptable!
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be ~ Lao Tzu
I crave a good veggie burger! This is one is close to my dream burger. Full of homey savory goodness, the texture is not too mushy and not too firm. Just right!
I grew up eating a lot of veggie burgers, some that came frozen or a mix in a can. They were tasty, but the ingredient list was so loooonnngggg and some words unpronounceable.
These Chickpea Quinoa Veggie Burgers are packed with fresh, wholesome ingredients. Roasted mushrooms, carrots, and chickpeas give the veggie burger a savory flavor. Red quinoa has a chewy hearty texture that works great to give the burgers substance. Pecans add richness and depth. The veggie burgers are lightly baked and then pan-seared for a delicious crusty crunch. The flavors totally lend to a variety of toppings and sides. Our hands-down favorite accompaniment are these pickled onions! Such a perfect compliment.
Filled with so many nutritious ingredients!
Chickpea Quinoa Burger Ingredients:
- red quinoa
- mushrooms, carrots, onion and garlic
- chickpeas
- pecans
- fresh sage, oregano
- tomato paste, stoneground mustard, Worcestershire
- egg (or sub flax egg)
- salt and pepper
These Chickpea Quinoa Burgers may be just a teensy bit fussy, but I promise you they are worth it.
Steps to create delicious Chickpea Quinoa Burgers
- Cook the quinoa.
- Roast vegetables.
- Process ingredients in food processor.
- Form patties.
- Bake.
- Pan-sear in a skillet to serve.
Step 1: Cook the Quinoa
- In a saucepan add quinoa, garlic, sage, oregano and Braggs Liquid Aminos (soy sauce works too).
- Simmer quinoa covered for 15 minutes.
- Take off heat, but don’t lift the lid! It will continue to steam while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
Step 2: Roast the Vegetables and the Chickpeas
- Roast the onion, mushrooms, carrots and chickpeas for 20 minutes in the oven. Roasting gives flavor and dissipates the water content giving more texture to the patty.
Step 3: Process the Ingredients:
- Grind pecans in food processor to a coarse meal dump into a separate large bowl. No need to clean the processor, add the cooled roasted vegetables, tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire, egg, salt and pepper.
Pulse together enough to adhere mixture leaving small chunks of veggies is good! You want some texture.
Step 4: Mix it all together and form burgers
- Mix ground pecans with veggie mixture and quinoa. Form into 6 patties abound 4.5 ounces each.
Step 5: Bake!
- Bake 20 minutes at 400F. Baking firms up the burgers. This can all be done ahead of time, up to two days before serving.
Step 6: Pan-sear to make it crispy!
Heat the veggie burger on a pan with a little oil until golden and crisp on the outside. About 3-4 minutes on each side, then build your perfect burger!
Serve veggie burgers with:
- Quick Sourdough Buns
- Pickled Red Onions
- Microgreens
- Chipotle Mayo
- Avocado, tomato or lettuce
- Fermented Pickles!
Enjoy! Tonia
You may also like:
- Black Bean Burgers (in under 30 mins!)
- Spicy Miso Portobello Mushroom Burger (Vegan)
- Sprouted Lentil Burgers
- Our 20 Best Chickpea Recipes!
- Falafel Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce!
Quinoa Chickpea Veggie Burger
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 (4 1/2 oz patties)
- Category: Veggie Burger
- Method: Bake and Pan Sear
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Packed with nutritious ingredients, this Chickpea Quinoa Veggie Burger is full of savory delicious flavor and satisfying texture. Great with a variety of toppings.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red quinoa, rinsed (or regular quinoa)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Braggs liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 10 ounces mushrooms, halved or quartered
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1 onion, chopped
- 15 oz canned chickpeas (1 1/2 cups cooked)
- 1 cup pecans (sub walnuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons stoneground mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire (I like the vegan Wizard brand)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Optional garnishes: buns, pickled onions, chipotle mayo, avocado, microgreens, fermented pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a saucepan add quinoa, Braggs, sage, oregano, garlic cloves and water. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, set aside without lifting the lid!
- While quinoa is cooking, place drained chickpeas, mushrooms, carrots and onion on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Slide into the preheated oven, and roast for 20 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes.
- In a food processor pulse pecans to a coarse meal, scoop out and set aside.
- Without cleaning out the processor add roasted chickpeas, veggies, tomato paste, dijon, Worcestershire, egg, salt and pepper. Pulse just enough to adhere mixture leaving small chunks of veggies is good. This just takes a handful of pulses, you want some texture.
- Mix together ground pecans with veggie chickpea mixture and quinoa.
- Form into 6 patties abound 4.5 ounces each.
- Bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan, in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Up to this step can all be done up to two days ahead refrigerating the baked burgers in a sealed container.
- To serve pan sear with oil until deep golden crisp on the outside and warm through. Enjoy with your favorite condiments.
Notes
Meal Prep: Make these ahead (bake ahead) for meal prep and store in the fridge or freezer to use throughout the week.
Vegan Adaption: Substitute a flax egg for the egg. ( 1 Tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 2 1/2 tablespoons water)
For optimal “holding together power”, let the burgers rest about a half hour to set up after baking before pan frying. For optimal texture, make them a day ahead and refrigerate, frying cold directly out of the fridge seems to help them bind together more.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
Keywords: veggie burger, chickpea burger, chickpea quinoa burger, quinoa burger, the best veggie burger
I don’t have red quinoa so would regular quinoa work in your recipe?
Yes, I think it should work fine!
These were a huge hit with my family! Delicious and held together beautifully! The only minor changes I made were to use more Italian seasonings/dried herbs and less sage. I also added a bit of leftover marinara in place of some of the tomato paste.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Love the adjustments.
Could I use anything else in place of quinoa? I’m hoping to pass this beautiful recipe on to my mom, but I’m not sure she’d use quinoa.
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I bet short grain brown rice would work!
The burger had the best flavor of all I’ve tried, and I’ve tried quite a few. I skipped sage in cooking the quinoa, but doubt it made much difference. The burger tends to break apart if I’m not careful, probably due to the crumbly nature of the quinoa. Should I increase the amount of flax egg next time?
★★★★★
You could try that? I would perhaps.
Delicious! I was out of chickpeas so used kidney beans instead, otherwise made as written. So good!
Thank you for a yummy burger!
★★★★★
Great Connie!
These were a little “fussy” but worth the extra steps. Mine unfortunately began to crumble after attempting to move them from baking tray to skillet. Having said that; I’m not giving up because the flavor and texture are perfect!!
Suggestions on perhaps one more binding element?
Also I have a question on Braggs vs Soy Sauce vs Tamari.
I made two recipes from FAHome in the past two days, both called for Braggs (which I was out of) so I substituted in my Tamari (all I had on hand) How will this change the flavors? I know it changes the appearance but does it affect then taste quality?
Thank you for responding. This is my go to site for just about every recipe I make!!!
★★★★
Hi Karen- Braggs is saltier than soy sauce, and Tamari is the saltiest- saltier than both Braggs and soy- so go light when using it. 🙂
Hi Karen, glad you enjoyed the flavor. The longer they rest out of the oven, the more staying together power they have- at least 1/2 an hour. Hope that helps!
Have been a vegan for a while now and miss eating burgers.
This Quinoa Chickpea Veggie Burger looks so good.
Can not wait to eat one!
I have a tomato allergy. So I wonder what I could use in place of tomato paste? Any suggestions?
I bet you could just leave it out? maybe add a bit more mustard?
These burgers were perfect for a quick week day meal. Delicious and nutritious, Win/win!
★★★★★
Awesome Allyson- glad you enjoyed them!
I always look forward to Saturday mornings when I receive an email from Sylvia with inspirational recipes. Today I cooked the quinoa chickpea burgers and they were absolutely delicious. I let the burgers cool a little bit after baking and skipped the pan frying step. The burgers stay together fine after cooling a little. Enjoyed by the whole family. Thank you Sylvia for providing wonderful recipes that feed our bodies and our hearts.
Thanks Claire- so glad you enjoyed the burgers! This is one of Tonia’s recipes- so tasty!
Just made these tonight- so yummy but they fell apart. Any tips?
I’m sorry about that Jennifer- did you make any changes to the recipe? Also, just curious, did you egg or flax egg?
Used an egg, made no changes but may have added a little too much Worcestershire. Also, mine went right from oven to pan. I’ve frozen a few for later- hoping that helps keep them together.
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Ok-Let us know how it goes after freezing.
Oh bummer! I found that It definitely helps to let the burgers rest about a half hour and set up after baking, before pan frying. For optimal texture, make them a day ahead and refrigerate, frying cold directly out of the fridge seems to help them bind together more.
Made these today and absolutely loved them!
Thank you so much for this wonderful blog.
★★★★★
Oh so good to hear! Happy you are enjoying the blog!
This quinoa chickpea burger recipe is perfect for the vegetarians in my family and one that we can all enjoy!
For me this is one of the best Quinoa recipes! I’m a burger fan, and never loved veggie & vegan burgers until I found this one! Thank you.
★★★★★
I love the idea of baking these first and then pan searing, veggie burgers always seem to fall apart on me.