I love a good veggie burger, not those store bought hockey pucks, but one that is bursting with flavor, has a number of textures and is colorful to boot. I think a lot of times that people have the misconception that veggie burgers are difficult to make but in reality all you are doing is mixing a few things together and binding it up before cooking them. As far as simplicity goes, if you make a big batch and freeze them then you will always have a quick dinner on hand.

I have a favorite veggie burger, one that is my old standby. It has beans and habanero peppers so its got a kick that sets your mouth on fire, but in a good way. I also love my beet burgers because beets are amazing and I wish I could eat them everyday and sweet potato burgers are delicious as well. i think there is just something about a patty of wholesome goodness that speaks to our need for versatility and eating using our hands.

Even though I have so many veggie burgers that I just love, I felt the need to experiment with something knew. Experimentation is the zest of life, and in actuality this experiment had more to do with using flax as a binder as opposed to an egg. Eggs are amazing binders, they keep everything together and do not change the flavor or consistency of your creation, however, I am always looking for a vegan alternative and flax eggs have recently been all the rage.

Flax, when combined with water creates a gel that binds quite nicely my only issue is that sometimes the texture is off, its almost as if it doesn't cook all of the way and can be slightly slimy. In order to combat that texture issue, I added slightly under cooked quinoa for crunch and placed the pan in the oven after pan searing.

I hope that you enjoy these great burgers and continue to experiment on your own as well!

Vegan Chipotle Red Quinoa and Zucchini Burgers with Broiled Pineapple

Makes 4 Burgers

1 Small Onion

3 Cloves Garlic

1 can Chickpeas

1 cup Cooked Quinoa

2 small Zucchini, Shredded and drained

1 Chipotle Chili in Adobe

1 tbs Chili Powder

Handful of Fresh Parsley

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

1 tbs Ground Flax

2 tbs Water

4 tbs Olive Oil

4 Pineapple Slices

Optional: Hamburger Buns, Goat Cheese, Avocado, Tomato, Spinach

Shred the zucchini and place into a colander with a sprinkle of salt in order to get eliminate some of the moisture. In a small bowl combine the flax and water until a gel forms

In your food processor add the onion, garlic, chickpeas, quinoa, flax egg, chipotle pepper, parsley, and chili powder. Pulse until combined and then place in a mixing bowl.

Squeeze the water out of the zucchini and then add to the bowl, combining all of the ingredients and adding salt to taste. Form into 4 patties.

Preheat the oven to broil while heating the oil in a frying pan. Broil the pineapple slices until browned and sweetened. Change the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the oil is hot, add the patties and cook until browned on each side, about 5 minutes each. .Place the frying pan into the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the patties seem solid.

Top with pineapple, avocado and goat cheese if desired. These are great because you can eat them on a bun, in a pita, in a wrap, or topping a salad. Enjoy and healthy eating!

Beet burgers are one of my favorite types of veggie burgers, they are earthy, juicy, and can be paired with a number of flavors! They have a great texture that even meat eaters love! I often eat my beet burgers on a bed of lettuce and sometimes even splurge and go for a nice kaiser roll but the other day I was poking around the internet and found Inspiralized.com. I was amazed at all of the different types of foods that you could make with a spiralizer and I am not just talking about their incredible array of veggie noodles! I saw these sweet potato buns and was in awe, I had to try them!

Lucky for me, one of my best Christmas presents came in the form of the new Kitchenaid Spiralizer attachment. This beauty is amazing and my new toy provided just another reason to make these buns! Now the buns are super simple, they are made by spiralizing sweet potatoes, lightly sauteing the spirals, adding an egg and some seasonings and then pressing into a ramekin for a little chilling before throwing in a pan. I was nervous that they only looked good but wouldn't hold up as an actual bun that you could pick up. I was pleasantly surprised that they looked and tasted amazing and also were functional. I absolutely loved them, especially since their sweetness complimented the smokey and spicy beet burger! If you do not have a spiralizer, don'r despair, shredding the sweet potatoes and compressing them should work just fine although I haven't experimented with that just yet.

As for the beet burgers, I stick to a base recipe of shredded beets and onions, oats to soak up the moisture and an egg for binding. What you add into it is totally up to you. Sometimes I like smokey, sometimes garlicy, sometimes sweet. Due to the buns I threw in a half of a jalapeno and some smoked paprika and topped it with goat cheese and leftover Avocado Dijonnaise from my Celeriac, Watermelon, and Feta Salad.

Overall, this was a satisfying, exciting new way to eat a burger!

Smoky Jalapeno Beet Burger with Sweet Potato Buns

Sweet Potato Buns (one bun, top and bottom)

2 Sweet Potatoes, Spiralized

2 tbs Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 egg

Peel and spiralize the sweet potatoes. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Saute the spirals until they are bright orange. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool slightly. Add the garlic, salt, and egg, stirring to coat all of the noodles. Divide between 2 ramekins. Using wax paper, press the noodles firmly into the ramekins, place two heavy cans or jars to weight the noodles down and place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Heat 1 tbs of in a frying pan, turn the ramekins into the pan, tapping the bottoms util the noodle patty comes lose. Cook until deeply browned on each side, about 5 minutes before flipping. Remove and place aside until ready to use. I placed mine on paper towels to soak the excess oil.

Smoky Jalapeno Beet Burgers

Makes 3 patties

2 Beets, peeled and shredded

1 small Onion, shredded

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Jalapeno, minced

3/4 cup Oats

1 Egg

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

Salt to taste

2 tbs Olive Oil

Using a food processor, grate the beets and onion. Add to a bowl with the egg, oats, garlic, jalapeno, and spices, stirring to combine. Chill for 30 minutes so that the oats can absorb some of the moisture. If your mixture is still too wet, add more oats. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Take a handful of the mixture, squeezing excess liquid and form into a patty. Place the patty into the hot oil and brown on both sides until warmed through and a nice crust has formed.

Using the sweet potato buns, add your burger, using your desired topping. I added spinach, goat cheese, avocado, and my avocado dijonnaise, enjoy and healthy eating!