These Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Quinoa Burgers are a delicious meat-free option packed with flavour from sweet roasted red peppers and salty feta cheese. Served in a toasted whole wheat bun with spinach and balsamic softened tomatoes, they make a satisfying meal that the whole family can enjoy.
Quinoa is the perfect base for veggie burgers, adding a slightly nutty flavour along with protein and fibre. Combined with a few simple ingredients to help bind everything together, it creates burgers that are hearty, filling and full of texture, making them a great alternative to traditional meat burgers.
Calories in Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Quinoa Burgers
This recipe serves 4 and is 355 calories per serving.
If you're looking for more recipes by calories, you'll find plenty of options grouped by calorie range here: Slimming Eats Low Calorie Recipes
If you're following a calorie-controlled diet or a healthy eating plan, it's important to calculate your daily calorie needs using a reliable calorie calculator. The calorie counts provided are estimates and can vary depending on the exact ingredients and portion sizes you use. Using your own calculations helps ensure you're meeting your individual needs. A calorie calculator can help you make informed choices and stay on track with your goals.
See the recipe card for full nutritional estimation.
Ingredients Notes
To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Quinoa: Quinoa is the base of these burgers, adding a slightly nutty flavour along with plenty of protein and fibre. Be sure to cook it according to the recipe instructions and allow it to cool slightly before mixing.
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock: Cooking the quinoa in stock adds extra flavour. Use vegetable stock to keep the recipe vegetarian.
- Red Pepper: Adds sweetness, colour and flavour to the burgers. Roasting the pepper first helps bring out its natural sweetness.
- Red Onion: Adds a mild sweetness and savoury flavour that works perfectly with the roasted pepper and feta.
- Egg: Helps bind the burger mixture together so the patties hold their shape during cooking.
- Feta Cheese: Adds a delicious salty, tangy flavour that pairs perfectly with the sweet roasted pepper. Reduced-fat feta can be used if preferred.
- Low Fat Cream Cheese: Helps bind the burger mixture while adding a little creaminess.
- Baby Spinach: Adds freshness and a pop of colour when serving the burgers.
- Whole Wheat Rolls: A toasted whole wheat roll is perfect for serving these burgers, but any burger bun can be used.
- Cherry Tomatoes: with garlic, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar they create a flavourful topping for the burgers.
- Garlic: Adds extra flavour to the balsamic tomatoes and complements the roasted vegetables beautifully.
- Tomato Paste: Intensifies the tomato flavour and helps create a rich topping.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Adds a slight sweetness and tang that works perfectly with the tomatoes and feta.
- Olive oil Spray: Used for roasting and cooking while keeping the recipe lighter.
Once you've gathered all the ingredients and prepared them accordingly, you're all set to create this easy and delightful recipe.
See the recipe card for specific quantities and instructions.
Variations and Substitutes
This recipe is easy to adapt with a few simple swaps depending on what you have on hand.
- Try a different cheese: Feta adds a delicious salty flavour, but you can swap it for goat's cheese, reduced-fat halloumi or even a mature cheddar or another vegetarian hard cheese.
- Use a different pepper: Red pepper can be replaced with yellow or orange peppers for a slightly different flavour.
- Make it vegetarian: Use vegetable stock when cooking the quinoa.
- Add some spice: A pinch of chilli flakes, smoked paprika or cayenne pepper adds a little heat and extra flavour.
- Switch the greens: Baby spinach can be replaced with rocket, lettuce, mixed salad leaves or watercress.
- Change the topping: Instead of the balsamic tomatoes, try sliced avocado or an extra slice of cheese, then a sauce like some reduced fat mayo adds delicious flavour.
- Use a different bun: Whole wheat rolls can be replaced with brioche-style buns, seeded rolls, wraps or even served bunless with a side salad.
- Make them gluten free: Use gluten-free stock and serve in your favourite gluten-free rolls or lettuce wraps.
- Serve them differently: These quinoa burgers are also delicious served over a salad bowl, with roasted vegetables or alongside sweet potato fries instead of in a bun.
Tips for Making Quinoa Burgers
- For the best texture, make sure the quinoa has absorbed all of the cooking liquid before using it in the burger mixture. Once the stock has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and leave it covered for a few minutes. This steaming step is important as it helps evaporate any remaining moisture, leaving the quinoa light and fluffy rather than wet. If the quinoa is too moist, the burgers may struggle to hold their shape.
- When mixing the burger ingredients together, make sure you crumble the feta cheese well and thoroughly combine everything. The feta, cream cheese and egg all help bind the mixture together, so taking the time to mix well will help prevent the burgers from falling apart when cooking. If the mixture feels too soft, allow it to sit for a few minutes before shaping into patties.
- When frying the burgers, avoid turning them too early. Let them cook until nicely golden on the underside before carefully flipping, which will help them hold together and develop a delicious crust.
Sides Suggestions
This are pretty filling as they are, so I just pair with a simple mixed salad with items such as:
- Crisp Lettuce or Baby Leaves
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Beetroot
- Onion
- Peppers
- Shredded Carrot
- Olives
Some homemade oven fries are great to serve alongside these for the family too, or sweet potato fries.
More Quinoa Recipes
Looking for some more quinoa recipes? Check out these:
See more Quinoa Recipes →
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more.
All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.
Let's Connect!!
Come and follow me on:
You can also Subscribe to Slimming Eats so that you never miss any new updates.
Need some support on your weight loss journey? Maybe you need advice or tips on a recipe, or just general meal ideas.
Come join the friendly and supportive Slimming Eats Community on Facebook.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, Rate It and Tag us in your Photos @SLIMMINGEATS on INSTAGRAM
Recipe Card
Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Quinoa Burgers
These Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Quinoa Burgers are a delicious meat-free meal packed with sweet roasted peppers, salty feta and protein-rich quinoa, all served in a toasted whole wheat bun.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (60g) of uncooked quinoa
- 240ml (1 cup) of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 small red pepper, quartered
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- salt and black pepper to season
- 80g of feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons of low fat cream cheese
- fresh baby spinach
- 2 whole wheat rolls (60g/2.2oz) toasted
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold running water.
- Add the quinoa and stock to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until all of the stock has been absorbed. Cover with a lid, turn off the heat and leave for 12 minutes. Do not skip this step, as it allows any remaining moisture to evaporate, leaving the quinoa light and fluffy rather than wet.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan 200°C), 425°F or gas mark 7.
- Place the onion and red pepper in a roasting dish. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper and spray with olive oil spray.
- Place the cherry tomatoes and garlic in a separate roasting dish. Spray with olive oil spray and add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Roast both dishes in the oven for approximately 35 minutes, until softened and lightly caramelized.
- Allow the peppers and onion to cool slightly, then transfer to a chopping board and finely chop.
- Add the chopped roasted peppers and onion to a bowl with the cooked quinoa. Crumble in the feta cheese, then add the cream cheese and egg. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Shape the mixture into 2 equal-sized burger patties and place on a plate.
- Spray a large frying pan with olive oil spray and place over a medium-high heat. Add the burger patties and spray the tops lightly with more olive oil spray. Cook until golden underneath before carefully flipping and cooking the other side until golden and heated through, approximately 5 minutes per side. Do not try to flip them too early, as this can cause them to break apart.
- Alternatively, place the burgers on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake at 190°C (fan 170°C), 375°F for approximately 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until firm and golden.
- Lightly toast the whole wheat rolls.
- Add some baby spinach to the bottom half of each roll and top with a quinoa burger.
- Add the tomato paste to the roasted tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes break down into a chunky sauce. Spoon over the burgers, then top with the remaining halves of the rolls.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
- Gluten Free Friendly - use gluten free stock and burger buns
Do not copy, paste, or post full recipes, screenshots, or any other content from Slimming Eats to social media or other websites. This is strictly prohibited. All recipes, text, and images on Slimming Eats are copyright protected.
Recipes are updated regularly with tips, improvements, and clarifications. Sharing screenshots or copied text outside this website can result in outdated or incomplete versions being used. To ensure the most accurate and up-to-date recipe, always share using the buttons at the top of the post, which link the user directly back to the recipe on Slimming Eats.
Nutritional information is an estimate and should be used for informational purposes only. Ingredient values vary by brand, so always calculate using the ingredients you use and the tools provided by your chosen programme.
It is the reader’s responsibility to ensure that any products or ingredients used in Slimming Eats recipes are allergen-free (for example gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, and/or dairy-free). Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatements about products, opinions, or comments on this site.
Check Legal section, for Full Disclaimer, Disclosure and Privacy Policy.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Wüsthof CLASSIC Santoku Knife -
Eono by Amazon - Set of Six Stainless Steel Nestling Mixing Bowls (Matte and Mirror Finish) … -
TOMORAL Measuring Cups and Spoons -
TeamFar Saucepan, Professional Stainless Steel Sauce Pan with Lid -
Salter Digital Kitchen Weighing Scales -
Baking Dish -
All Clad Non Stick Pan Set
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1 BURGER (WITH BUN)Amount Per Serving Calories 472Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 8.3gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 138mgSodium 945mgCarbohydrates 59gFiber 8.2gSugar 9.3gProtein 23g
Nutritional information, values, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
Anonymous says
I am intrigued with this recipe, that's for sure! They look delicious. Can't wait to experiment with quinoa in burger form. 🙂
Hollie Mason says
I made this recipe BUT I'm not that great in the kitchen 🙁 I couldn't get them to stick in their burger form, but I probably just did something wrong... instead, I just mixed all of the burger ingredients and the tomatoes and ate it as a salad over spinach... delicious!!!
Alexandra Allred says
I am actually quite good in the kitchen & I couldn't get them to stay in burger form either once they were in the skillet. This was delicious, regardless... looked like a quinoa sloppy joe! Haha
Christine Mallar says
I'm making this dish right now and I noticed a few things that would make it easier for people to follow. I chose this recipe because is calls for quinoa, and I have quite a bit of it cooked already - would be helpful to say how much 1/3 cup quinoa measures out to be once cooked (1 cup, says the internet). It would be nice to estimate roasting time for people so they can budget time to make the recipe.
Note: perhaps some tips on how to get it to bind? I cooked them in egg rings to keep them together in the pan, but once we started eating them they just fell completely apart and we both wound up with a big pile of crumbled quinoa mess on the plate. Any ideas?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
Hi there Christine, I avoided putting an approx time for roasting the vegetables, because ovens can vary greatly. But I try to put approx timeswhere possible. If you have a HEb spare you could make some wholewheat breadcrumbs to perhaps bind these together more. But I found working the mixture firmly together with the one egg worked enough for me, they did crumble a little, but still held their shape in the rolls. I will be sure to improve the recipe next time I make these (I have them on the menu again for this week). Thanks for your comment 🙂
Keegan Larson says
This looks amazing! I will certainly try this as an alternative. Good work!