Quinoa and White Bean Veggie Burger

Do you ever have a craving for two completely unrelated foods and then figure out a way to put them together into some presentable dish? Well, that definitely happened to me last week. I was in the mood for a burger....and quinoa. Weird, right? I had been on a crazy quinoa kick a few months ago, but went into hibernation since then because it got a bit out of control.

After a much needed hiatus, my two cravings came together to produce this delicious quinoa and white bean veggie burger. This burger is loaded with a colorful mix of veggies - red bell pepper, corn and shallot - and a great source of protein from the cannellini beans and quinoa. I made a few modifications when cooking the quinoa, using oregano instead of thyme since I couldn't find any at my grocery store and using onion powder in place of garlic powder since I completely forgot that I ran out.

I combined all of the ingredients to make the patties (I used an actual egg instead of the vegan substitute since I had eggs at home), which were huuuuge! If these were beef patties, it would take a lot of effort to finish an entire one. Each patty felt like it weighed a few pounds!

I put all four in one pan together, but quickly realized they weren't going to get as crispy as I would like so I divided the patties between two pans. I got a much better crunch this way, which is a must!

My husband and I were both surprised at how delicious these burgers turned out to be! They were so moist and incredibly flavorful. The cannellini beans give the burgers a meaty texture while the quinoa gives the burger a crunch, especially where it's crisped up on the outside. The mix of veggies and combination of spices make the patties really flavorful and colorful. Served on a toasted bun with lettuce, heirloom tomatoes and some Sriracha mayo, you really can't go wrong!