Spicy Lentil Quinoa Burgers with Avocado Dressing

These gluten-free vegan spicy lentil quinoa burgers offer a flavorful blend of protein-rich plant-based ingredients with a little kick.

Veggie burgers can go in many directions. Some offer a hearty burger-on-a-bun dining experience. Others are best enjoyed with a fork. These spicy lentil quinoa burgers are the latter. But don’t let their delicate texture deceive you. They are packed full of protein and flavor. Try them on a bed of baby romaine with chunks of baked sweet potato, sliced tomato and a tart avocado dressing.

Ingredient Prep

You can mix up these spicy lentil quinoa burgers in less than 15 minutes if you have a few ingredients prepared ahead of time. These include:

• Lentil Taco “Meat”
• Baked sweet potato
• Cooked quinoa

Lentil Taco Salad is one of my most popular recipes. Now I’ve given you another reason to make lentil taco “meat” - as well as a reason to keep baked sweet potatoes and cooked quinoa on hand.

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Spicy Lentil Quinoa Burgers with Avocado Dressing

Recipe makes about 1 ½ dozen patties - perfect for family dinners - or to freeze for later use.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Author Veggie Primer

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. ground chia seeds
• ¼ cup water
• 1 15.5 oz can low sodium pinto beans rinsed and drained
• 2 cups lentil taco meat
• ⅓ cup mashed baked sweet potato
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 Tbsp. salsa
• ½ medium onion chopped
• 1 large stalk of celery chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• ½ Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ¼ cup olive oil

Avocado Dressing

• ½ large avocado peeled
• ½ cup water
• juice from ½ lemon
• 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
• ¼ tsp. garlic granules
• ⅛ tsp. fine sea salt

Instructions

Burgers

• Preheat oven to 400ºF.
• Add ground chia seeds to ¼ cup of water and stir with a wire whisk. Set aside to thicken.
• Add pinto beans to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher. (I find twisting the masher as I press down works well.)
• Add chia seed mixture, lentil taco meat, mashed sweet potato, pumpkin sees, salsa, onion, celery, garlic, nutritional yeast and taco seasoning to the mashed pinto beans and stir with a large spoon until well mixed.
• Add cooked quinoa to the mixture and stir until well mixed.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Form burger mixture into patties by rolling and flattening large spoonfuls between your hands.
• Place patties on parchment paper and lightly brush tops with olive oil.
• Bake at 400ºF for approximately 15 minutes then carefully turn patties, brush tops with olive oil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Avocado Dressing

• Combine avocado, ½ cup water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic granules and salt in a blender (or immersion blender cup) and blend until smooth and creamy.

Notes

Prep time assumes baked sweet potato, quinoa and lentil taco "meat" have been cooked in advance.

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.