Monday, October 1, 2012

Quinoa Burgers (Mmmm)


Admittedly, I was really skeptical of these, but we LOVED them! In an effort to find more gluten-free, low-calorie but tasty meals, I was willing to give them a try. You should too!

What you'll need:

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa (make sure it's rinsed if you buy the kind that's not pre-rinsed. I'll never do that again!)
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF Flour)
  • 2 green onions, including white parts, chopped (kitchen scissors is great for this!)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Any other seasonings you love to put in your burgers!
  • Olive or Grapeseed Oil

The how-to:


  1. Cook quinoa as directed. Usually it's 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa. It's a lot like cooking rice--just keep an eye on it while you prep the rest of the ingredients:
  2. Grab a large bowl and combine everything else, mixing everything (except the oil) together.
  3. Add the quinoa once it's finished cooking
  4. Mix well and grab a 1/4 cup measuring cup
  5. Cook them, scooping 1/4 cup at a time, emptying it onto the pan and then flattening. Here are your options:






  • You can fry them for 4-5 minutes on each side on medium low, using the oil that was in the ingredient list. This resulted in really crunchy outsides, which we loved. Just be careful when scooping the mixture into the hot oil!

  • OR you can bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. This was nice for the second set so that I could sit down and have dinner with my family while the rest baked in the oven, but didn't result in that crispity-crunchity outside. Both are good options, depending on your preferences!


This recipe made about 10 burgers using the 1/4 cup measure as a guide. The best part--they're only 140 calories and have 8 grams of protein each! We ate them plain (oops, out of ketchup or it would have been a great topping!)

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