Healthy family recipe: Black bean quinoa burger
Try this veggie burger for dinner tonight!
I'm not usually a sneaky chef, but I tricked my husband into eating mushrooms with this recipe. He was fine with the burger until I revealed I had pureed mushrooms into it. So for him it wasn't a taste issue with the mushrooms...he said that didn't like the fact that "it's a fungus." (This is the kind of pickiness that I deal with sometimes!) Both my girls liked their burger. I adjusted some ingredients from the orginal recipe to make it more kid-friendly. The mixture will seem slightly mushy, but it held up during cooking.
Black bean quinoa burger
Ingredients:
1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots (or yellow onion)
5 tablespoons uncooked quinoa, rinsed, drained, and divided
6 tablespoons water
4 ounces cremini mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or 1 tablespoon dried cilantro)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 large egg
guacamole (See recipe here.)
4 whole-grain bakery-style hamburger buns, toasted
4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices red onion
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Spread half of beans in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Place toasted beans in a large bowl.
3. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots or onion; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Add 3 tablespoons quinoa; cook 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Add 6 tablespoons water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
4. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons uncooked quinoa, mushrooms, garlic, and remaining (untoasted) beans in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the cooked quinoa mixture, cilantro, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, chile powder, and egg; pulse until combined. Add mixture to toasted beans; stir well to combine. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions; shape each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
5. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add patties; cook 10 minutes, gently turning once.
6. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun. Top each patty with 1 tomato slice, 1 onion slice, and about 2 tablespoons guacumole. Top with top halves of buns.
Adapted from Cooking Light
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