Black Bean and Portobello Quinoa Burger Sandwich

There’s on thing in my house that I need to know, and that’s how to cook meatless meals from time to time! Not for me but for the queen of the house how gets her cravings! This Quinoa burger have been a hit in our house, with some Portobello mushrooms, and this week I decided to change it a little and add some black beans and add seasonings similar to my standard hamburger recipe.

I usually like to snazz it up with a little more toppings so that I get that “protein” satisfaction… aka BACON, and smother it with cheese. I mean there’s already a very good amount of protein coming from quinoa and the black beans, but my “meat eater” mentality can’t accept that.

Tip: if you’re trying to cut some of the carbs out of this, feel free to eat this open faced!

Instead of using a hamburger bun, I put the burger on toasted sourdough bread to give more “bite” bite to the burger. You probably can’t tell from the pictures but the sourdough bread is toasted, I realized immediately after shooting, that I should have toasted longer so it would show that in the photos.. #PhotoFail

This is a great meal too for all the savory “umami” lovers out there, It’s got a very earthy pallet from the Portobello and quinoa  along with rich flavors from the shallots, garlic, Worcestershire, and mustard added into the burger mix. I’m a fan of making meatless tasting as close as possible to something that I would marinate as if it were meat, and this really comes out well!

Prep Tips

Make Ahead For Best Results

This obviously isn’t ground beef, and doesn’t handle like ground beef. Keeping it to stay in form is a little tricky, and I suggest placing in the fridge overnight after you’ve formed the patties, This will help keep its form as you handle it, as well as let some of those rich flavors really set in.

If you feel it’s not holding up to you’re liking feel free to add about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs to help hold

Reheating

If you have leftovers, like I did for this recipe, because I can’t eat much of this right now because of my diet, the leftovers can last a few months in the freezer, and can been heated up on the pan or in an oven at 400 for about 12-15 minutes.

Black Bean and Portobello Quinoa Burger Sandwich

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Quinoa Burger

• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 large portobello mushroom
• 15 ounces canned black beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small shallot
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1 whole egg

Burger Toppings

• 8 slices sourdough toast
• 8 oz cheddar cheese
• 1 large tomato
• 16 sliced dill pickles yes. 16. j/k you just need some pickles : )
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 head read leaf lettuce
• 8 slices cooked bacon optional of course

Instructions

Preparing the quinoa patties

• Bring 1 cup raw red quinoa in 2 cups water to a boil, simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed
  
• While the quinoa is cooking, blend 1 can of drained black beans with Portobello mushrooms. I like to pulse it so i have a mix of mashed beans and whole beans along with the mushrooms. Set aside.
  
• This would also be a good time to prepare your toppings, and mince the garlic and shallots.
  
• After 15 minutes, check your quinoa, it should be close to done, if not done. it should look like this when done
  
• In a mixing bowl, mix the mushroom/black bean mix, egg, shallots, garlic, mustard, salt/pepper, and the quinoa together until equally mixed. Form patties on a sheet of wax paper, and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.
  
• Note: To get a bite of burger in each bite, I formed the patties to match the shape of sourdough bread. This will make handling a little hard if you don't have a long spatula to flip, so this is up to you.
  

Cooking the Patties

• When the patties are ready, Preheat your Oven to 425 and heat up a skillet on medium heat with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Cook on each side for about 5-7 minutes.
  
• On a cooling rack place the burger on top of the sourdough bread with slices of cheese, along with the other side of bread to toast. Keep it in there until the cheese is nice and gooey.
  
• Add all your topping, cut in half and enjoy!!