Grill the healthy way with quinoa-sweet potato burgers

At my house, spring and summer are all about barbecues. We pop open the white wine, unload the shorts from the attic and warm up the grills. However, this year, instead of beef patties and “who knows what’s in that” hot dogs, we’ll be grilling up these vegetarian burgers. Trust me, the men won’t even know there’s no meat involved.

I know, that’s a bold statement, but trust me, these burgers hold up in the hefty, hearty department. Each bite is filling and rich and requires both hands to hold. With the luscious buttery toppings and the homemade buns, you’ll be subbing these in for almost every barbecue this summer.

Quinoa-sweet potato burgers with coconut Thai slaw recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the burgers

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1-1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 4 homemade hamburger buns (I used this recipe but subbed in whole wheat flour)

• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper

For the slaw

• 1 large cucumber, sliced and chopped
• 1/4 small red cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, sweet potatoes, flour, crushed red pepper, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 4 patties.
3. Place the patties in the hot skillet, and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove the patties from the skillet, and set them aside.
4. In another skillet, heat the butter. Add the onion, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook until caramelized and golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. In another bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, coconut cream, sugar and red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the mixture over the cucumbers and cabbage.
6. To build the burgers, place one patty on each hamburger bun. Top with 1/4 of the mushroom-onion mixture. Then top with the coconut slaw. Serve warm.

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