For me, veggie burgers don’t necessarily need to taste like a burger. Instead, they can be a delivery system for fun flavors. Like these Jamacian Jerk Plantain Burgers, or these Moroccan Carrot Veggie Burgers, or today’s recipe for vegetarian quinoa pizza burgers.
I think one of the best ways to get great flavor in something like a veggie burger is to load it up with different seasonings. Make it complicated for your taste buds to figure everything out, and you will likely enjoy the flavors more.
Don’t get me wrong, simple can also be delicious. However, simple works best in places like soup, salad, and other basic dishes. That is why the ingredients list on this recipe, and all of my other veggie burger recipes, is sooo long. I think these burgers taste better with many seasonings.
I keep a fully stocked pantry, and I think that also helps me as a cook to make more delicious meals on the fly. Options. If you are exploring the world of cooking more, I encourage you to stock lots of seasonings, and use them! You can thank me later 😉
Tips and tricks for the Vegetarian Quinoa Pizza Burgers recipe:
- Make extra quinoa. Batch cooking is a great method to cut down on prep time for making meals. Other recipe ideas for your quinoa include: Apple cinnamon quinoa breakfast bowls, Vegetarian lentil quinoa meatballs, or Vegetarian quinoa stuffed poblano peppers.
- I prefer smashing the chickpeas between a plate and cutting board. Do this in at least 3 batches. Alternatively, you could mash with a fork, or pulse in a food processor.
- I always taste test my veggie burger before I add the egg. This allows me to adjust seasoning. Tasting during cooking is a great way to ensure that you have used enough seasoning, especially salt.
- Add your favorite pizza toppings with the cheese! Try olives, minced onion, diced peppers, or sliced mushrooms!
- Small onion, diced
- Splash olive oil
- 1 TBS white wine vinegar
- 1 cup chickpeas, smashed
- ⅔ cup cooked quinoa (from ⅓ cup dry)
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp each: Italian seasoning and dried basil
- ¼ tsp each: salt and pepper
- ⅛ tsp red pepper flake
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup pizza sauce or marinara, plus more for serving
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 whole wheat burger buns
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Combine onion with a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute 5-10 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent. Mix in white wine vinegar and stir until absorbed.
- Smash chickpeas using the bottom of a cutting board or plate, working in batches.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together cooked onions, chickpeas, cooked quinoa, bread crumbs, Parmesan, tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flake. Taste test mixture and adjust seasonings accordingly.
- Mix in egg. Form mixture into 4 patties, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Top each patty with 1 TBS pizza or marinara sauce, and ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the patty is firm.
- Serve on buns with additional sauce, if desired.
