Quinoa Burgers Finally! Another Quinoa Recipe I Love

If you've followed my blog for awhile you know I'm not a big quinoa fan. I could never understand how people loved it so much. I tried it so many ways over the years in salads, stews, as a hot breakfast cereal type thing, as a filling in stuffed peppers. You name it, I tried it over and over and HATED it every time. A couple of years ago I developed a modified Bite (Crustless Quiche) with quinoa added which I really loved but that was the only quinoa dish I ever enjoyed eating (or was deemed blogworthy) until now.

I picked up a bag of Red Quinoa at Trader Joe's the other day despite the disapproving comment from my Mum who was with me, "Shell Quinoa!?" She knows. She has been the taste tester of many of my failed quinoa experiments over the years. This is usually how it goes... Hey Mum I'm going to try this magically awesome quinoa recipe. I cook it. We sit down to eat and we both look at each other with scrunched up faces. Quinoa Fail.

Guess what?! THIS is the magically awesome quinoa recipe I've been waiting for. I sort of modified my Lentil Burger recipe. They are soooo good. Mum and I both loved them and had smiles instead of scrunchy faces. Hope you love them as much as we do.

Shelly's Quinoa Burgers

2 cups Cooked Red Quinoa, cooled
2 Eggs, beaten
2 Green Onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
1 Tablespoon Dried Chives
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
a few twists of Black Pepper
Salt to taste
Canola or Olive Oil to saute

Cook dry quinoa in broth (1 cup quinoa to 2 cup chicken or mushroom broth, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer till no liquid remains, fluff with fork) and allow to cool. Basically the directions on most packages on quinoa. I just use broth versus water for taste.

Mix all the ingredients together. Using a 1/4 cup measure make 8 "burger patties." Place in pan and flatten slightly. I saute 4 at a time in a 10" non stick pan with a Tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes on one side. Flip once and continue about 5 minutes on other side till golden brown and crispy. Leftovers keep in fridge for a few days. To reheat, nuke a minute then place under the broiler a few minutes to crisp back up.

Serve with Parmesan Yogurt Dip
3 oz. Greek Yogurt, plain
1 Tablespoon Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
Salt to taste

Mix till well blended.

This is a perfect Meatless Monday recipe or dinner for a vegetarian in your midst. It's hearty and filling enough that guys and non-ops with be satisfied. I don't do bread but you could certainly serve them like a traditional burger in a bun with the fixings (lettuce, tomato, cheese.)