The recipe for these Quinoa Peanut Burgers was born out of a trip to St. John, US Virgin Islands, aka Paradise, with my friend Cat to visit our dear friend Susie. She had just moved into her cabin and did not have a lot of ingredients stocked in her cupboards. What she did have was quinoa and peanut butter, two of my favourite protein packed food. Together with the spices on hand and some Caribbean vibes we created these unforgettable burgers. I still have the original recipe tacked to my wall with World’s Best Burger written on the other side. I do hope you enjoy, we sure did after a hard day soaking up the sun. If you do not have the exact spices listed in your cupboard, swap and change based on what you do have.
Quinoa Peanut Burgers
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp liquid amino acids or tamari
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 cup rolled oats or gluten free oats for gluten free burgers
3 tbsp plain flour or chick pea flour (gram flour) for gluten free burgers
1. Dry toast quinoa in a pan, until fragrant add hot water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff quinoa with a fork and let sit, covered for 5 minutes.
2. Chop onion and garlic finely by hand or using a food processor. In a big bowl, combine onion, garlic, grated carrot, oregano, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, salt, amino acids and peanut butter. Add quinoa, oats and flour, mix well, clean hands are the best tools.
3. Form 8 large burgers. Pan fry burgers over medium heat in an oiled pan for about 10 minutes, each side or until golden. It is tempting to continue flipping these burgers, but try to only flip once or twice and they will stay together much better. Turn the heat down if the burgers are browning too quickly, add more oil to the pan if needed. Serve with all of the normal burger fixings and sweet potato wedges.
Quinoa Peanut Burgers