This veggie burger is chock full of flavor and texture, packed with quinoa, black beans and mushrooms. It’s topped with a creamy avocado-tomatillo guacamole!
Let’s rewind for a sec back to the second part of our recent vacation. Read about the first part here.
For the second half of our vacation, we headed back West to celebrate Nick’s sister’s wedding! Nick’s been gone a lot this year for work, so I’m really glad he got to be home for the festivities. The wedding was at a gorgeous ranch in the mountains and everything about the day was just so, so pretty.
I got to meet a bunch of Nick’s family I hadn’t met before, and got to see some that I hadn’t seen for a while. I also got to check out my in-laws’ new house! They just moved to ski country, so we’re really excited to go back and visit in the winter. We’re just hoping this winter brings a lot more snow than last.
All in all, we had an amazing vacation. It was super relaxing, filled with love, and just exactly what we needed.
So, food. Here’s another veggie-friendly meal that was a huge hit with the hubs. I don’t get a ton of cooking magazines anymore, since I read tons (hundreds!) of food blogs and get lots of ideas from the internet. I still get Cooking Light, though, it’s one I’ve always really enjoyed. I’ve made a lot of their recipes and they always turn out great– and never taste light!
I saw these veggie burgers in one of their recent issues and I immediately bookmarked the page. I’ve only made veggie burgers a handful of times, but these ones looked and sounded especially good. I was intrigued by the recipe, which uses half baked and half uncooked black beans, as well as half cooked and half uncooked quinoa. Such an interesting contrast of textures!
The burgers turned out really well. Both the flavor and the texture was great, and the tomatillo guacamole on top was exceptional. I was also really impressed with how well they stayed together once we dug in. Some veggie burgers really fall apart, but these stayed in their buns nicely. We had Nick’s grandma over for dinner, and both of them gave these burgers 5 stars.
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
- 4 tsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
- 5 tbsp uncooked quinoa, rinsed, drained, and divided
- 6 tbsp water
- 4 oz baby bella mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tsp minced jalapeno
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ⅝ tsp kosher salt, divided
- ¼ tsp chipotle chile powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 medium avocados, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 small tomatillo, finely chopped
- 4 buns, for serving
- Tomato slices, for serving
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread half of the black beans in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes.
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the quinoa and stir, cooking a couple minutes until toasted. Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- In a food processor, combine remaining uncooked quinoa, mushrooms, garlic, and untoasted beans, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Add the cooked quinoa mixture, cilantro, jalapeno, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, chile powder, and egg, then pulse until combined. Pour mixture into a bowl and add toasted beans. Stir well to combine.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into a ½-inch-thick patty.
- Heat remaining oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Carefully add the burgers and cook 5 minutes. Gently flip the burgers and cook and additional 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the avocado, lime juice, tomatillo, and remaining salt in a small bowl, and mash with a fork.
- Serve burgers on toasted buns with guacamole and tomato slices!
Original recipe from Cooking Light.
I’m glad you had a great vacation, Jess! These burgers look great, too — I saw them in Cooking Light but didn’t get around to making them. I love the sound of the avocado-tomatillo guacamole, too — delicious!
I’m with you Jess – Cooking Light is *still* one of my favorites, and I pour over every page every month. It’s the one I always find something to make out of. And these burgers look absolutely amazing! Pinned!
Yes! They definitely have the best recipes, and it never tastes like it’s healthy– that’s a good thing!
I love seeing all of your vacation pictures, Jess! Sounds like you had a great time at the wedding! And these burgers look amazing! I’ve only had a black bean burger once, so I’m loving the addition of quinoa in here. Sounds so fresh and delicious!
The wedding looks gorgeous! So fun getting together with family. This burger looks perfect Jess! I bet the black beans and mushrooms give it a great meaty flavor.
Love the gorgeous wedding pictures, Jess! So glad you so much fun! These veggie burgers look fantastic! What a neat idea to use uncooked and cooked beans & quinoa. I can just imagine how amazing they are with the avocado and tomatillo.
I love the combo of cooked and uncooked! And that tomatillo guacamole…drool. Can’t wait to try them! Pinned :).
The picture of you and our hubby is beautiful! You two are so cute together! Hopefully I could get my sailor to eat extra veggies too! I’m sure the guise of a burger would help!
LOL, it definitely help! Tricky, tricky. 😉 Thanks, Shelby!
These veggie burgers look amazing… and not to mention that vacation!! So jealous!
Ummm HELLO gorgeous!! Love the wedding photos, looks like you two had fun! 😉
And these veggie burgers look a-mazinggggg! Going on the must try list (that is getting VERY long lol)
Thanks, Mariah! We had so much fun, it was SUCH a pretty wedding!!
Ooh, I’m intrigued by the baked/unbaked / cooked/uncooked combination of ingredients. These look and sound like they turned out AMAZING. I have a couple veggie burger recipes pinned, but I still haven’t made one – these might be the first I need to try! =)
Yes, it was the perfect texture combo! It’s the first time I’ve ever used uncooked quinoa, but it totally worked!
These look so hearty! I totally love Cooking Light magazine!
Jess! It’s so nice to e-meet you! I just read your “about me” section and I love, love, love meeting fellow CA food bloggers – even if you are just settled here for a little while. I’m always looking for more great vegetarian options, and this looks delicious. Yum!
Hi Dani!! Yay! I love meeting people closeby, too. I’m heading over to check out your blog….! 😉