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The very best Crispy Quinoa Burgers Topped with Sweet Potato Fries and Beer Caramelized Onions. Perfectly spiced vegetarian quinoa burgers, pan-cooked until extra crispy on the outside, yet soft and cheesy in the middle. Top each burger with beer caramelized onions and spicy gluten-free sweet potato fries. Yes, this burger is every bit as DELICIOUS as it sounds. It’s the ultimate quinoa burger that’s anything but boring. Perfect for your game day eats…and any other burger day in between.
Sandwiches of any kind are one of the foods I struggle with most when it comes to photography. It’s stupid, but because I struggle with them so much I always avoid sharing any kind of sandwich recipe. I literally cringe at the thought of photographing them. The fear of an ugly food photo stops me in my tracks.
I know, I know, stupid. But hey, look at me today! Here I am with my favorite quinoa burger. I can’t say I find these photos are Pinterest worthy, but it’s a burger, and it may never be gorgeous. The brothers said they looked good, Mom said they look good. So I’m trusting their opinions and sharing despite what I think.
Point is that these burgers have been a favorite since the very, very beginning of HBH. And with the Super Bowl on Sunday, I obviously had to share them…these really are the BEST quinoa burgers.
Yes, these burgers are EVERYTHING. And that’s not an exaggeration in the least, they just have so much going on. These are what we call the “epic” crispy quinoa burger. Crispy, cheesy burgers topped with melted Gruyere cheese, buttery beer caramelized onions, spicy-sweet potatoes fries, fresh herbs, and even a little avocado.
Everything about this recipe is SO GOOD. These are not your average quinoa burgers.
The burger details…
Here is what I will say, this is not my most “super simple” recipe. But nothing about making these burgers is hard. There are a handful of steps, and you do need to have a little time to make them. But you can do so much ahead of time, and trust me, the extra time in the kitchen is worth it.
Start with the burgers themselves in a large bowl. The mixture is made up of quinoa, white beans, bread crumbs, and egg. The key to creating the best quinoa burger? The combination of the spices and cheese in the burgers themselves. You have to give them flavor, so I use a touch of chipotle chili powder and plenty of sharp cheddar cheese.
Form the quinoa mix into patties and keep them covered in the fridge while you prepare the sweet potato fries.
Now for those sweet potato fries…
They’re simply the best thing to ever be put on top of a burger. Dramatic, but true.
I like to cut my fries super thin and skinny and then toss them with a mix of chili powder and smoky paprika. Roast in the oven until crisp on the outside, but still soft in the center. Fair warning, these fries are addicting. You might just double the recipe. Some for the top of the burger and some to snack on.
Just a thought…
Ah, and those beer caramelized onions…
Yes, you need these too, because you can never go wrong with caramelized onions. I know it seems like a bit much, but go with me on this.
Using beer to caramelize the onions not only adds additional flavor right into the onions but it also helps them to cook down and caramelize faster. If you love caramelized onions, you will love these onions even more. They’re truly so good, even onion haters enjoy them.
Once the onions are cooked, the fries are ready, and the burgers have been crisped in the skillet, it’s assembly time. Find your favorite buns, toast them up, then add a cheesy burger to each bun. Add the beer caramelized onions and sweet potatoes. At this point, you could be done. OR you can take the burger a step further with mashed avocado, a fried egg, and fresh herbs.
Do what you’d love most here, completely up to you as to how you finish these. Just be sure not to skip the onions or the fries. These are two key toppers that you really do NEED.
A few tips…
The burger patties themselves don’t need to be put in the fridge for chilling. I just recommend doing so while you make the fries for a nice texture. If you need to pan-fry these up right after forming, that works just as well.
You can make the burgers up to four or five days in advance and keep in the fridge. Or you can pop them in the freezer for up to four months. If you plan to freeze the burgers, I like to wrap in parchment paper for storage.
If you don’t enjoy cooking with beer, just caramelize the onions without the beer following these directions.
These make for a fun Monday dinner. Or plan to make them on Sunday for the Super Bowl. Either is great, but once you make these, my hope is that you’ll be making them on repeat throughout the year! They’re healthy(ish), easy(ish), and so very delicious.
Fingers crossed you all love them as much as we do!
If you make these crispy quinoa burgers topped with sweet potato fries and beer caramelized onions, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Quinoa Burgers Topped with Sweet Potato Fries and Beer Caramelized Onions
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 969 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Quinoa Burgers
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup cannellini beans mashed
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 6 burger buns, toasted
- fried eggs, mashed avocado, and herbs, for serving (optional)
Sweet Potato Fries
- 4 sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for cooking
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
Beer caramelized onions
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup beer, such as pumpkin, lager, or pilsner
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, mashed beans, Panko, egg, garlic, chili powder, cheese, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Form the mix into 5-6 equal burgers. Place on a plate, cover, and transfer to the fridge. 2. To make the fries. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Spread the fries in an even layer. Do not overcrowd the pan, if needed, divide the fries between 2 baking sheets Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, then flip and bake for 15-20 minutes more. You want the sweet potatoes to be tender, yet crisp. 4. Meanwhile, make the onions. Melt the butter and onions together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. At this point, you want to slowly add the beer, 1/4 cup at a time, until the beer cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until you've used all of the beer and the onions are deeply caramelized. Remove the onions from the skillet to a plate.5. Cook the burgers in the same skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the burgers and cook until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes per side. During the last minute of cooking add the Gruyere cheese, cover, and cook 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted. 6. To assemble, place each burger on a bun, top with caramelized onions and sweet potatoes. If desired, add a fried egg, mashed avocado, and fresh herbs. ENJOY.
Notes
To Make Ahead: the burgers can be formed and kept in the fridge for up to 1 week. Cook as directed.
Freezing: the burgers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 4 months. To cook, thaw on the counter for 1-2 hours, then cook as directed.
Baking Instead of Pan Cooking: you can bake the burgers on an oiled baking sheet at 425˚ for 20 minutes, flip and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until crisped. Note that you will not get as crispy of a burger this way.
This post was originally published on January 27, 2020
I’m a vegetarian, family is not. I told them we were having veggie burgers for dinner, you probably heard them groaning in Colorado! EVERYONE (including teenage guest) loved the burgers!! Thanks for a great and easy recipe.
That is amazing!! Thank you so much Lori!
Well.. company coming for dinner tomorrow evening.. im doing these. Im late to this party.. but glad i found these. YUM!
Let you know how they go over
Janei
Has anyone developed a way to make these “vegan”? It has made them without the egg and cheese?, what to substitute. I make them a lot as is nut asking for a friend
Excuse my early morning typos!
Should read:
Has anyone made them without the egg and cheese?, What to substitute?. I make them a lot various beans and cheeses ~ asking for a friend!
Thank you!! I hope everyone loves these Janei!
I wish I could share this recipe to Facebook and have the thumbnail image and description be for this specific page, and not the default home page of your blog. Love your stuff! I would share more often your recipes if the site was optimized a bit better. (If you have questions on how to make these kinds of changes – let me know and I would be happy to help!)
HI! We finally fixed the facebook share button, so you should be able to share now. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Just fyi–the Gruyere isn’t on the ingredient list. Thank God that beautiful image with gooey cheese was still stuck in my brain when I was at the grocery store so I didn’t forget it!! Amazing burger!!
Thank you so much Angie!
These quinoa burgers are amazing!! I love how crisp the burgers get, it tastes the closest to a meat burger of any recipe I’ve found! I didn’t put the sweet potato fries on but I toasted my bun in a tsp. of butter in a pan and it was delish!! Great recipe!
Thank you Kristen!
I ran into this recipe a couple of weeks ago and said I would make it soon. Well, yesterday was “soon”.
I wanted to eat it before I posted my thoughts, and I have to tell you that this was a hit! I didn’t add the egg (ran out his morning during breakfast) or sweet potatoes yet. I did cut an avocado on top of it, and for lack of gruyere cheese, I added a little Manchego…
I made it yesterday and left it in the fridge until I cooked one today. The onions are amazing. I’ve caramelized onions before, and it is a lot of work to do it the way restaurants do it. This way is not as time consuming, and the beer was a phenomenal touch flavor flavor.
Very happy with this recipe, and I’m not a veggie type person…Tomorrow I will cook me another and will add egg and sweet potatoes…and munchies avocado which matched really well with it….
I am so happy you enjoed this recipe Tony! The additions sound amazing! Thank you!
Such a great burger and so easy to whip up!
I added some baby beetroot to it! which made it so amazing!
and rocket lettuce!
MUST HAVE!
Sounds so great! Thank you Rochelle!
Hi I am Lakbir from India.Generally I am not a big fan of burger.But this one makes me to try it.I don’t how does it taste.But I will get back here once I tried this recipe.But It looks fabulous….
Great! I hope you love this burger and yes let me know! Thank you Lakbir!
Do you still have the video to this recipe?
Hi Stacey! Yes, I do. It should be on this recipe page right under the first photo. Let me know if you have any other questions or cannot find it!
https://fett-weg.today/epic-crispy-quinoa-burgers-topped-sweet-potato-fries-beer-caramelized-onions-gruyere/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I know I am not really late to this post but I just found it the other day and decided to try out these burgers tonight for dinner. And oh. My. God. They are amazing. Easily the best veggie burger I have ever tried to make. I think my favorite part are the beer caramelized onions. I want to eat those on everything! Thanks for the great recipe!!
I am SO happy you loved these Kristina! Thank you so much!
Wow! Truly one of the best burgers I have ever had. Next time I will make triple the batch so I can have more on hand. I turned mine into mini burgers with Hawaiian rolls and my toddlers absolutely LOVED them. They freeze beautifully and I can cook them right from frozen. Thank you for introducing me to Red Quinoa, as this was my first experience with it. True proof that plant based recipes can have a place in every home, any night of the week.
Wow, that makes me so happy to hear that these burgers worked out so well! I love the idea of making them into mini burgers for your little ones, and I am glad to hear that they freeze so well!
Thanks so much, Kristen!
Can I use kidney beans instead of the cannellini beans?
The color of the burgers will be slightly different, but yes I think kidney beans should be fine. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love these!
Tieghan,
Your recipes never disappoint me! You’re my favorite blogger on Pinterest!
probably the BEST veggie burger I’ve ever had! I followed your recipe to a “T” and was notttt disappointedddd ! I am much a skeptic when it comes to alternative burgers, loafs, meatballs etc.. they never work out…. but these were amazing, amazing, amazing! I will be making them again, and at this point I’m just speechless, impeccable!
Everyone try these burgers! You will love them!
Mwahhh love your food it’s pure genius &delicious ???
Awh wow thank you so so much Kaitlyn!!
I’m so so happy you liked it, its probably my favorite one as well!!
Again thanks so much! (:
This is a fantastic veggie burger recipe, best one I’ve made to date. Easy to throw together, not fussy. All five patties held together beautifully. I used black beans and white quinoa because that is what I had on hand. Very flavorful and texture was great. The finished burgers were something you’d grab your camera for and like a big dork, brag to your friends about on social media. I was too busy putting this in my belly to bother but next time, probably I will be that dork. 🙂
That is so great that these turned out perfectly for you Stephanie! So so glad you loved them as well! Thank you & I would absolutely love to see your photo next time you make this, so tag me! ?
I have made these burgers a few times for my family (minus the sweet potato fries and the fried egg) and they love it. My daughter very much dislikes frozen pre-made veggie burgers, she loves these…plus they are so easy to make! I’m going to try grilling them this time, but since they can be a little crumbly to flip I found a grilling basket that supposed to help with flipping delicate foods…hope it goes well
Yay, so happy the family loves it! Grilling them should be delicious! They can be pretty delicate so be careful and enjoy!