Tomato Basil Quinoa Smash Burgers
The best tomato basil quinoa veggie burgers that are moist, flavorful, and packed with nutrients that will fuel your body. These tomato basil quinoa burgers are super easy to make, budget friendly, and require only a few simple ingredients.
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Tomato Basil Quinoa Smash Burgers
Welcome back to the blog everyone! Today I wanted to share a savory recipe with you all since I’ve been doing quite a few sweeter recipes lately. I already have a delicious black bean burger recipe on the blog (which you can check out here), but other than that, my burger recipes are pretty scarce.
So, I thought it was time that I shared a quinoa burger recipe, as it’s one of my go-to’s when I don’t want black beans. This recipe gets amazing flavor from the quinoa, fire roasted tomatoes, and simple spices.
The combination of flavors truly is perfect. Plus, these burgers are so much fresher than the veggie burgers you’d buy at the grocery store in the frozen aisle (and way cheaper).
I call these smash burgers because they’re super versatile and crumbly. You can literally crumble them up into tacos or on top of a salad, or smash them onto a burger bun. But, if you don’t want them to crumble as much, you can pan fry them rather than bake them to help them stick together more. Now, let’s take a look at the ingredients you will need to make these super tasty tomato basil quinoa burgers.
Tomato Basil Quinoa Smash Burgers – Ingredients
- Quinoa – I used tri-color quinoa for my batch of burgers, but you can really use whatever color you have on hand. If you want them to have more of an overall red color, you will want to use white quinoa.
I honestly don’t know if there’s a difference in taste between the colors, I just had some leftover tri-color quinoa in my cupboard from my oil-free one pan Mexican quinoa recipe, so that’s what I went with.
I do want to make it clear that you need uncooked quinoa for this recipe, so make sure you don’t buy the pre-cooked kind. We are going to cook it with our diced tomatoes, so if you buy it already cooked, the recipe won’t work.
- Diced Tomatoes – I used fire roasted diced tomatoes, so that’s what I recommend. They have extra flavor and taste a lot better than regular diced tomatoes (in my opinion). You’ll want to use a good mix of the liquid and the tomato chunks in this recipe, as the quinoa absorbs the liquid, which gives it a nice tomato flavor.
- Water – The water adds additional liquid for the quinoa to cook in. It will absorb all the liquid and get nice and fluffy and soft.
- The Following Spices – For this recipe, we are sticking with dried basil, dried oregano, and onion powder to achieve that classic tomato basil taste. These spices blend super well with the quinoa and fire roasted tomatoes to create an incredibly flavorful burger.
- Chickpeas – You’ll want to drain and rinse your chickpeas before mashing them. The beans serve as a nice thick base for the patties, and they work really well with the quinoa. They are one of my favorite beans, and the perfect addition to this recipe.
- Ketchup – The ketchup adds extra tomato flavor and moistness to your burger patties.
- Flax Egg – The flax egg acts as the binding agent for this recipe to ensure the quinoa burgers stay together and don’t crumble apart completely. To make a flax egg, you can simply follow this tutorial on my blog. Essentially, you just combine 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water, let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes to let it thicken, and then add it to your recipe. It’s as simple as that!
- Veggie Burger Toppings – While you could certainly eat these burgers by themselves if you wanted, I think they taste amazing on top of a bun with sliced tomato, yellow onion, avocado, and fresh spinach. I love the Dave’s Killer Bread Buns. They are a little pricy, but they taste amazing, and they are super big and fluffy.
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Tomato Basil Quinoa Smash Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (I used tri-color)
- 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup (I used Trader Joe's organic ketchup)
- 1 flax egg (combine 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Bring your quinoa, fire roasted tomatoes, and water to a boil in a large pot.
- Turn heat to low and simmer the quinoa covered for about 10 – 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Mash your chickpeas in a mixing bowl.
- Mix in the ketchup, flax egg, and spices.
- Add in the quinoa mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Shape the mixture into five patties with your hands and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until your burgers are firm, flipping halfway through.
- Add burger bun and desired toppings.
- Enjoy!
Notes
These tomato basil quinoa burgers are the perfect food to meal prep and enjoy all throughout the week. They taste awesome on a burger bun with a side of healthy baked French fries.
However, they can also be crumbled on top of a salad for some protein and flavor. You can double the recipe and you will have enough for one to two weeks. Or, you can keep the amount the same and include some extra variety in your weekly meal prep. I personally like to do a couple different lunch and dinner options when I’m meal prepping so that I don’t get bored.
I love to have a lot of variety in my lunches and dinners, but this burger recipe makes it into the rotation pretty often because it’s just that good, and the flavor isn’t overpowering which makes it versatile and easy to use in so many ways. I hope you guys enjoy!
Sending happiness & light your way!
-Alyssa 🙂
