A hearty, delicious, extremely healthy vegan chickpea quinoa burger patty loaded with chickpeas, quinoa, spinach and a few yummy seasonings. It is hefty enough to stand up to the summer grill but does just as well in a frying pan. Dress it up any way you want to -- I serve these burger patties with a dollop of guacamole and salsa on my homemade vegan whole wheat burger buns.
This hearty, DELICIOUS vegan chickpea quinoa burger with a southwestern flair is perfect eats when the weather warms up and you crave a hearty burger to sink your teeth in.
This is not just a yummy burger, though--I created it to be hefty enough to throw on the outdoor grill and to be incredibly healthy as well, just like other veggie burger recipes I've shared with you, including this black bean burger and this quinoa bean burger.
Everything in this burger is great for you--it's loaded with heart-healthy fiber from chickpea, quinoa and spinach. The rest of the ingredients come from your pantry.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this burger
- Delicious. Cumin, chili powder and oregano add so much yum and a tasty, smoky flavor to this chickpea quinoa burger. It has great texture from the chickpeas and quinoa.
- Easy and quick. You can put this burger together in a few minutes, especially if you use canned chickpeas.
- Healthy. Each burger patty has six grams of heart healthy protein and five grams of dietary fiber, along with vitamin A and other nutrients.
- Soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and vegan. This chickpea quinoa burger is good eats for just about everyone.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas. You can use chickpeas cooked from scratch or canned chickpeas. Drain them before using.
- Quinoa. This adds more texture, heft and health to the burger patties.
- Spinach. You can use fresh or frozen spinach.
- Seasonings: chili powder, ground cumin and red pepper flakes.
- Herbs: garlic and dried oregano
- Chickpea flour. This helps bind the patties.
How to make vegan chickpea quinoa burger patties
Add olive oil to a pan and saute the garlic and red pepper flakes for a few seconds until the garlic turns lightly blonde.
Add spinach and salt to taste, mix, and let it cook until it wilts down. Continue to cook a few more minutes until all visible moisture evaporates.
Place the spinach in a bowl with mashed chickpeas and cooked quinoa.
Add the seasonings--chili powder, ground cumin and oregano-- along with the chickpea flour. Mix until everything comes together. Add salt to taste.
Divide the mixture into eight portions and form each into a round patty. Heat a skillet or grill pan or the grill. Brush a bit of oil on it and wait until very hot before you carefully place the patties on it.
Grill the patties until char marks appear. For a cross-hatch pattern, rotate each patty at a 90-degree angle after a couple of minutes. Flip and cook the other side before serving.
Helpful tips
- When cooking quinoa, add a few seasonings to it for great flavor. I usually throw in some oregano, salt and ground black pepper.
- For the best texture for the chickpeas, pulse them in the food processor 5-6 times. There should be some larger pieces for texture but no whole chickpeas left.
- Make sure there is absolutely no moisture left in the spinach when you add it to the chickpea burger mixture.
Serving suggestions
- Because these chickpea burger quinoa patties have a southwestern flair, I served them with healthy guac and an easy tomato salsa on whole wheat burger buns.
- You can also serve these with more traditional toppings like vegan mayonnaise and cole slaw (try this yummy beet carrot slaw for a change!).
- Make a double batch of the sauteed spinach and reserve half to top the burger bun with!
- Hummus is a great topping for healthy burgers. Try this black bean hummus or this eggplant hummus.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate the cooked patties for up to three days.
- Freeze: Flash-freeze the burger patties before stacking them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to three months.
- Reheat: Reheat frozen patties on the grill or in a griddle.
More yummy veggie burger recipes
If you love these vegan chickpea quinoa burgers, be sure to check out more veggie burger recipes on Holy Cow Vegan!
Chickpea Quinoa Burger
Equipment
- Saute pan or wok
- Skillet or grill pan
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 oz spinach (frozen spinach works as well)
- 2 cups chickpeas (cooked or canned, drained)
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- 3 tablespoons chickpea flour (finely milled chickpea flour like besan works best for this)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a pan and saute the garlic and red pepper flakes for a few seconds until the garlic turns lightly blonde.
- Add spinach and salt to taste, mix, and let it cook until it wilts down. Continue to cook a few more minutes until all visible moisture evaporates.
- Place the spinach in a bowl with mashed chickpeas and cooked quinoa.
- Add the seasonings--chili powder, ground cumin and oregano-- along with the chickpea flour. Mix until everything comes together. Add salt to taste.
- Divide the mixture into eight portions and form each into a round patty. Heat a skillet or grill pan or the grill. Brush a bit of oil on it and wait until very hot before you carefully place the patties on it.
- Grill the patties until char marks appear. For a cross-hatch pattern, rotate each patty at a 90-degree angle after a couple of minutes. Flip and cook the other side before serving.
Recipe notes
- When cooking quinoa, add a few seasonings to it for great flavor. I usually throw in some oregano, salt and ground black pepper.
- For the best texture for the chickpeas, pulse them in the food processor 5-6 times. There should be some larger pieces for texture but no whole chickpeas left.
- Make sure there is absolutely no moisture left in the spinach when you add it to the chickpea burger mixture.
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate the cooked patties for up to three days.
- Freeze: Flash-freeze the burger patties before stacking them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to three months.
- Reheat: Reheat frozen patties on the grill or in a griddle.
in2insight
Love how wholesome these are and the flavors were wonderful.
Found the mixture to be rather dry and while was able to create patties from it, the were very crumbly and did not hold together well during and after cooking.
(I should have just added some water... hindsight...)
Thank you for sharing.
Vaishali
Hi, next time try blending or mashing the chickpeas more and also adding a bit more chickpea flour!
John Kaplan, MD
The recipient for Chickpea burgers recommends to "flash freeze" patties before stacking and wrapping for the freezer. What is flash freezing please Dr John
Vaishali
Hi, place the patties in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for a couple of hours. Then stack them in the freezer safe bag or container. It's not absolutely essential but it is a good idea because it will keep them from sticking to each other.
S
Hello, can this be baked instead ? How high Fahrenheit ? How long? Cheers?
S
Vaishali
Hi, bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes on each side.
Kristina
How many calories per serving?
Vaishali
Added!
Anonymous
Can I use fresh spinach
Vaishali
Yes!
Nichole
Can these be frozen, and if so, before or after cooking?
Vaishali
After cooking! Heat on a griddle before serving.
Vaishali
Mike, you need to process the ingredients enough that they hold together. If you can't mash it to a fine enough consistency, use a food processor. That should help them hold together.
Rachel
These are delicious! I'm a long time vegetarian but not the biggest fan of veggie burgers/patties. I could eat these regularly, though. Thank you!
Anonymous
I tried these and they are great. I used basil Mayo as a topping.
Vaishali
Awesome, so happy to hear!
Kim
These were yummy. Curious why the recipe calls for an entire pkg of spinach but only uses half.
Rachael Russon
The other half is used at the very bottom to dress the bun
Anonymous
The rest is for garnish.
Olivia
How much quinoa would I need if it's cooked already?:)
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen
First time on your blog! This CHICKPEA QUINOA BURGER looks absolutely YUMMY and delish! Loved those gorgeous clicks too! 🙂
Vaishali Honawar
Welcome, Anu, and thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Miss Messy
these look heavenly! I love a good veggie burger and these are right up my street.
Mario Leto
Strange how so many comments on recipes are by people who haven't tried the recipes yet.
Anyway, I made these today. They were fabulous. They were rather soft, but what veggie burger isn't? I substituted flax meal for the chickpea flour because it was at hand, and I doubled the spinach in the burgers because spinach rocks and I wanted a bit more moisture to form the burgers. Thanks for the good eats. I'm always looking for new ways to mash together nutritious foods for a ride on a bun with fresh veggies and condiments.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Mario, so thrilled you tried them, and thanks for letting me know. Great idea to add flaxmeal and more spinach-- the healthier the better. 🙂
narf77
These looks simply amazing Vaishali. It's hot, humid and oppressive here at the moment and cooking is something that I just don't want to do but these burgers could be cooked up on the bbq outside and look really scrumptious. Thank you for your creative and most wonderful recipes 🙂
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Narf77, I am a little envious of the heat right now. 🙂 And yes, these would be great on the bbq. Hope you try, and thanks for your kind words!