Quinoa Burgers Topped with Beer Caramelized Onions & Cheddar

My daughter is a huge fan of Pinterest and often will send me photos of dishes she wants me to try. Since my family loves Quinoa (nutritional benefits) these Quinoa Burgers caught her eye and she begged me to make them. 

After reviewing the recipe I too thought they sounded great, and having most ingredients on hand I decided I’d make them for dinner last night. The recipe called for Red Quinoa, but the store I went to didn’t have those, so I decided I’d just use the White Quinoa that I had at home.  Red Quinoa would have given the burgers on the bun a bit more contrast without changing the flavor, which I think would have looked more appealing.

In my classes and on my blog I always say “read the recipe from beginning to end at least 2 times before preparing a recipe.”  I did this, but my eyes apparently scanned over one word, “cooked” as in “cooked Quinoa.”  We all make mistakes and even though these turned out great I’ll be adding more beans (black beans this time) to the remaining Quinoa.

Reading a recipe can sometimes be tricky.  For instance let’s take these instructions which can be stated 2 different ways:

1. 2 cups sifted flour
2. 2 cups flour, sifted

The first way means to sift the flour then measure it.  While #2 means to measure 2 cups of flour, then sift it.

I overlooked the directions for this recipe which stated, “2 cups cooked Red Quinoa.”  Instead I cooked 2 cups of raw Quinoa which then doubles when cooked.

I’m telling you this because mistakes like this can make a HUGE difference in your recipe. Fortunately it didn’t really affect these burgers by much, but the proportions were a bit off.  With the remaining Quinoa I’m going to add black beans to add more bean flavor.  Also, next time I would add less chipotle chile powder – I think it would be too strong with the proper Quinoa proportions. However, that’s my taste, yours may be different.

I had never made a Quinoa burger before, but since we all love this Quinoa recipe, I think I’ll make it next time, omit the tomatoes, and use large slices as a garnish.  I will still add the cheese, Panko and egg (from the recipe below) which help to bind it together.

Overall I liked the process of the recipe below and flavor from Half Baked Harvest.  I did include my recipe for Sweet Potato Fries which Half Baked Harvest places on top of her burger.  We ended up eating ours on the side.

If you like Quinoa, and burgers, use this recipe as a guide to create your own Quinoa burgers.  They’re healthy and  filling.

Here’s the recipe……