This recipe has been a long time coming! I love a good veggie burger, one with beans, vegetables, grains, and spices. Recently though, I wasn’t into a lot of the veggie burgers I’d been finding in stores or restaurants. I found them a little too pulverized and lacking in texture – something I look for in a solid plant-based burger. I am obsessed with super textured veggie burgers where you can actually tell what real ingredients are inside. Which is why I decided to make my own!
It is surprisingly easy to make your own veggie burger at home. I’ve found that for maximum flavor and texture it requires a few things — beans, grains, spices, and – here’s the important one: mushrooms. The beans for protein and binding, the grains as a base, and mushrooms — I have found these to be a crucial component for a meaty, hearty, and satisfying burger.
I decided that I wanted my homemade veggie burger to have my own personal flair to it — hence the addition of masala spices! What’s cool about this recipe is that the spices are totally customizable – you can even use a taco seasoning packet if you don’t have all of these spices on hand. But I of course recommend you use the masala as I’ve written — it adds a delicious kick, not to mention all the amazing benefits from additions like turmeric and cayenne!
In order to maximize the sturdiness of your Masala Quinoa Black Bean Burger, there are a couple things I recommend you do. The first, is to roast the beans and mushrooms in the oven (on separate sheets). For the mushrooms, we do this to essentially take out all of that extra moisture and liquid out – this will help the burger stay together and not be too soft. I roast the mushrooms until they become dry and tender – about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, first drizzling with olive oil and seasoning them with all of the masala spices before they go in the oven. As for the beans, I like to roast them until they dry out just a little bit – it will help the burger bind and feel sturdy. Again, I season these with masala before I throw them in the oven too – for about 15 minutes! Of course, you want to keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. Same thing goes for the black beans, I like to roast them in the spices and a touch of olive oil until they dry out just a little!
The second I wrote this recipe I went straight onto Thrive Market’s website to order all of the necessary ingredients. It was so easy — I looked straight at my list and went down the line adding everything to my basket! From the black beans (which come in absolutely adorable little packets, might I just add), to the EVOO, to the sprouted quinoa, I loved the flexibility of being able to order all my groceries from the coffee shop I was working at that afternoon. If you don’t know where to find the masala spices that I used in this recipe — cayenne, turmeric, and cumin, don’t worry because they are all available on Thrive! Same with the ground flaxseed and oat flour which helps to bind these burgers together. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m obsessed with grocery shopping, and Thrive is truly the only place I’ll shop for groceries online. Their products are 25-50% below retail (yes savings honey), and you can sort the ingredients by diet and preference which is pretty gorgeous. My favorite part about Thrive is that they donate a membership to a low-income family, teacher, veteran, or student every time someone signs up thorough the Thrive Gives program. For only $59.95/year (literally $5/month!!), you can get access to all of these discounted goodies AND get to help someone in need.
These veggie burgers are amazing paired with a fluffy bun, some of my Avocado Hummus, and arugula. You can even eat them on top of a salad. They’re so versatile, flavorful, and might make you reconsider buying another veggie burger from the freezer aisle ever again!
When you make them, tag me @DADAEATS and #DADAEATS on Instagram so I can see your creations!! x
Masala Quinoa Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms I used baby bella mushrooms and recommend these for a sturdy, meaty texture.
- 10 oz black beans
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 1 tbsp oat flour I used storebought, but you can grind rolled oats in a blender until flour consistency is achieved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, one will be for the beans, and the other for the mushrooms.
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Slice mushrooms — it should yield about one cup total after slicing. Spread them out on one of your baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 12 minutes, or until mushrooms have dried up slightly and are tender.
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Drain beans. Spread them out onto the second parchment lined pan. Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp turmeric. Roast in the oven until beans have dried out slightly – about 12 minutes as well. You can put them in the oven at the same time as the mushrooms, just make sure to watch them so that they don’t burn.
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Boil water. When water is boiling, cook quinoa – you want a yield of 1 cup , so this is about 1/3 cup of dry quinoa. Let cool once cooked.
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While mushrooms, black beans, and quinoa are all cooking, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a pan. When heated, add onions and garlic and stir fry until translucent.
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Once onions are translucent, add remainder of masala spices — 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp turmeric, and 1/2 tsp cayenne, plus salt and pepper. Stir fry until masala spices have cooked – about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool.
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When mushrooms are dry and tender and beans are slightly dry (don’t stress if the beans aren’t completely, we are just doing this to remove some of the excess moisture), let cool.
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In a medium bowl, combine cooled cooked quinoa, oat flour, and ground flaxseed. Season with salt and pepper.
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Add onions to quinoa mixture. Stir to combine.
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In a separate bowl, combine mushrooms and black beans. Using a fork or a potato masher, smash the mushroom bean mixture slightly so that about half of it is well mashed, and the other half pieces remain. We want a textured burger so pieces are all good!
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Now add black bean/mushroom mixture to bowl of quinoa. Stir to combine.
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Add 2 tbsp olive oli to the burger mixture. Stir well to incorporate.
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Now, form mixture into patties. I recommend oiling your hands with a bit of olive oil to keep the mixture from sticking to your hands!
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Once you’ve formed all of the mixture into patties (yielded about 10 for me, but you can feel free to make the burgers bigger, or mini!), heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on a skillet, and cook burgers until each side is golden brown and crisp.
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Store cooked or uncooked patties in the fridge for a week. Enjoy!
Could you do something besides quinoa I’m not really big on quinoa. Try to watch the carbs too
Also love lentils
To be honest, I’ve never tried any other grain! This is a plant-based burger so mainly consists of grains and veg 🙂
When do we use the garlic??
when you stir-fry the onions until translucent!
Going to make them this week! How many burgers should this mix make??
yay!! depends on the size. I find about 6-8 🙂