This quick and easy quinoa burger recipe is one of our favorite dishes to cook together. Bonus, it’s a fantastic option for meatless Monday.
Quinoa and kids can be a tough combination. It may be a super grain because of it’s rock star nutritional profile (it’s packed with more protein than brown rice), but the texture and flavor of this healthy grain can take some time to warm up to. At least it did for my kids. Which is when you call in Mini Quinoa Burgers!
When you’re introducing a new ingredient to your family table, the place to start is cooking with your kids. That’s where this recipe sings! Making these mini quinoa burgers is like working with play clay. You don’t need to be perfect, which is exactly the right combination with kids and cooking.
This recipe is loaded with apples to give these mini sliders a sweet and satisfying crunch. Start with the base recipe and when you’re ready to take it up a notch, challenge your kids to add a new ingredient. Mushrooms, kale, and cherry tomatoes are all yummy mix-ins that work well with this dish. You can also have fun with the toppings. Try your mini quinoa burgers with a dollop of sour cream, or Greek yogurt, or apple sauce and garnish with pomegranate seeds, or chives, or green onions. Get creative!
Not only are these little darlings a quick and easy weeknight dinner, they can go from family to fancy in a flash. I like to serve them up as hors d’oeuvres when we host friends for dinner. They even made it onto the menu at our launch party at Williams-Sonoma last week. They were a huge hit!
The Best Mini Quinoa Burger Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: about 20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients for Mini Quinoa Burger Recipe
2½ cups cooked quinoa
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium apple, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
½ medium onion, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sour cream or Greek yogurt and chives for garnish
Directions for Mini Quinoa Burger Recipe
1. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa and eggs.
2. Add the bread crumbs, Parmesan, apples, onion, and salt to the quinoa mixture. Encourage your kids to grease their hands with olive oil, then combine the ingredients pressing firmly, until a handful of the mixture easily forms into ball. The oil will prevent the mixture from sticking to their fingers. If it falls apart too easily, add a touch of water.
3. Craft the quinoa mixture into small cakes, about the size of your child’s palm. You should end up with between 12 and 14 cakes.
Tip: At this step, you can cool then freeze the mini burgers. When you’re ready to eat, just pull them out of the freezer and transfer them straight to the frying pan for a quick and easy dinner.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil (or enough to coat the pan evenly). Add half of the cakes and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy. Using a spatula, flip the patties and cook the other side for 5 to 7 minutes more.
5. Repeat with the remaining quinoa patties, refreshing the oil between batches.
6. Cool the cakes on a plate lined with paper towels before serving. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a few chives.
- 2½ cups cooked quinoa
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 medium apple, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt and chives for garnish
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa and eggs.
- Add the bread crumbs, cheese, apples, onion, and salt to the quinoa mixture. Encourage your kids to grease their hands with olive oil, then combine the ingredients pressing firmly, until a handful of the mixture easily forms into ball. The oil will prevent the mixture from sticking to their fingers. If it falls apart too easily, add a touch of water.
- Craft the quinoa mixture into small cakes, about the size of your child’s palm. You should end up with between 12 and 14 cakes.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil (or enough to coat the pan evenly). Add half of the cakes and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy. Using a spatula, flip the patties and cook the other side for 5 to 7 minutes more.
- Repeat with the remaining quinoa patties, refreshing the oil between batches.
- Cool the cakes on a plate lined with paper towels before serving. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a few chives.
