Savory Protein Packed Spinach Burgers

You're going to love these sturdy, hearty, and delicious spinach burgers! They're made with chickpeas, fresh spinach, and a whole lot of flavor!

When the winds are whipping up a flurry of ice crystals and the temperature demands that you wear a sweater, socks, and a heavy coat, the last thing you want to do is step outside to grill a burger. Not. Going. To. Happen.

So, what’s a person to do if they’re craving a delicious grilled spinach burger in early March, when winter is totally overstaying its welcome? You grill in the warm and cozy comfort of your kitchen.

All you’ll need is an awesome grill pan and a stove. If you don’t have a grill pan, a skillet will work too, you just won’t get those awesome grill marks that remind us of summer.

This is an any time of year, anyone can make, kind of burger. It’s super easy and it will rock your world.

This is not the typical mushy bean burger that you’ve most likely, and unfortunately, have been served at least once in your life. We don’t do mushy, we like burgers that stick together and have a nice and crispy surface, and this burger is all that.

It’s so delicious and full of flavor. We sautéed the onion and garlic and wilted the spinach to remove the excess water before we added it to the base of chickpeas and panko bread crumbs. This gave the burger so much more flavor and ensured that it wouldn’t get soggy.

We also added a liberal amount of nutritional yeast, garlic powder (you can never have enough garlic), tamari, and Italian seasoning to round out the flavor profile. It’s just so good, and good for you.

Now that you’re drooling just thinking about it, let’s make some.

HOW TO MAKE A SPINACH CHICKPEA BURGER THAT’S NOT MUSHY

First – Drain (reserve the liquid) the chickpeas and give them a good rinse. Let the water drain completely and put the beans in a food processor  and pulse 5 to 8 times, or until they’re mostly creamy.

Second – Sauté the onion, garlic, and spinach until the onion is translucent and the spinach releases its water. This is important because spinach and onions contain a lot of water. If you put them in the burger raw, they’ll let go of the water when you’re cooking your burger and it will get soggy. No Bueno!

Third – Add the spinach and onion mixture and the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse 5 to 8 times, or until the ingredients are completely blended.

Fourth – Remove the blade from the processor and divide the burger batter by four or six (depending on the size of burger you want) and form into patties, then refrigerate for an hour to set.

Fifth – Brush the grill pan with oil to prevent sticking and heat on medium-high heat. When the grill is hot, add the burgers and cover with a lid. Cook them for approximately 4 minutes per side, or until they’re nicely browned and crispy on the exterior. If you cook them in a skillet, add oil to the pan so the burgers don’t stick, and cook the same as you would on a grill. Make sure you cover them. This will ensure that the interior of the burger gets hot.

That’s all you’ll need to do to make one of our favorite plant-based burgers ever. We like ours two ways. If we’re feeling lumberjack hungry, we go for a tasty pretzel bun to hold it all together. If we’re feeling more delicate, we wrap them in a large lettuce leaf. Our favorite toppings are thinly sliced tomatoes, shredded spinach, and a hefty dollop of mashed avocado or guacamole.

If you haven’t tried these recipes, you need to! Click the links to go to the recipes:

Mushroom Bourguignon

Black Bean & Mushroom Enchiladas

Cinnamon Rolls

Of course, we hope you make our Spinach Burgers too. When you do, make sure you take a picture of your gorgeous creation and tag us @veganosity on Instagram so we can see!

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Vegan Chickpea and Spinach Burgers

This chickpea and spinach burger can be ready in less than 30 minutes!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Chilling time: 1 hour

Total Time: 23 minutes

Servings: 6 Burgers

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Linda & Alex

Cost: $10

Equipment

• ▢
  1 food processor
• ▢
  1 stove

Ingredients

• ▢ 30 ounce chickpeas reserve the liquid from the can
• ▢ 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or 2 water See Note
• ▢ 1 white onion finely chopped
• ▢ 3 cups heaping cups spinach chopped
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves
• ▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• ▢ 3 tablespoon aquafaba bean juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tamari
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ Sea salt and black pepper to taste

To cook the burgers

• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 4 to 6 Hamburger buns see note

Toppings

• ▢ Shredded spinach or greens of your choice
• ▢ Tomato slices
• ▢ Mashed avocado

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Instructions

• Drain (reserve the liquid) and rinse the beans and pulse 5 to 8 times in a food processor until they’re mostly creamy. There should be a few pieces of the beans.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook until translucent and soft, approximately 7 minutes. Add the garlic and spinach and cook until the spinach is just wilted. Remove from the heat.
• Add the onion and spinach mixture to the food processor along with the remaining ingredients and pulse 5 to 8 times or until the ingredients are completely combined. Remove the blade from the processor and dived the batter by 4 or 6 (depending on how large you want them to be) and form into patties. Refrigerate for an hour to set.
• Heat an oiled grill pan or skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the burgers and cover with a lid. Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side, or until they’re nicely browned and have a crisp exterior. Make sure to cover them so they heat all the way through.

Notes

The Nutrition Facts are an estimate only.

If you don’t like to cook with oil, you can sauté the onion and garlic in a few tablespoons of water, but don’t skip the oil for cooking the burgers unless you have a really good non-stick pan.

We like pretzel buns for this burger, or if you want to go lower calorie, use a large piece of lettuce to wrap it.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 

Freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz | Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 479mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1457IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 7mg

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