I’m super excited about these burgers. At last a vegetarian burger that celebrates one of my favourite veggies. The yoghurt sauce is super simple and a great thing to have up your sleeve. It’s amazing what a little salt and pepper can do to a good quality natural yoghurt.
Zucchini Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini (courgette) grated
- 100 g almond meal (almond flour)
- 2 eggs
- 8 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
- 1 bag baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Combine zucchini, almonds and egg in a large bowl. Season and using your hands form into 2 patties and place on a large plate.
- Heat a pan on a medium heat. Add a little oil and carefully slide the burgers into the pan.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, being super careful when you turn because the burgers do have a tendency to fall apart. Burgers are done when they’re a deep golden brown colour on both sides.
- Meanwhile, season yoghurt generously with salt and pepper to make the sauce.
- Serve burgers on a bed of baby spinach with yoghurt sauce drizzled over.
Prepare Ahead?
The burgers could be mixed up ahead of time and kept in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. OR cook the burgers then reheat in a medium pan before serving.
Leftover Potential
Will keep in the fridge for a week or more.
Variations
pantry-friendly – zucchini = defrosted frozen broccoli chopped and squeezed dry. Yoghurt = cashew sauce. Defrosted frozen spinach pan fried in butter to serve.
nut-free – replace the almond meal with soft bread crumbs.
egg-free – the egg is really critical here, so don’t be tempted to substitute egg replacers.
carnivore – serve with some crisp bacon on top or make beef burgers instead.
dairy-free – replace the yoghurt sauce with a tahini sauce by combining equal parts of tahini, water and lemon juice. You could also serve with a nut based pesto, mayo, cashew sauce or coconut yoghurt.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve on burger buns.
more substantial (low carb) – add some mayo, avocado + almonds.
more veg – serve with salad veg like cherry tomatoes, grated carrot and beets.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
zucchini – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few weeks. Not great frozen.
almonds – pantry.
egg, yoghurt – keeps for weeks in the fridge.
baby spinach – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.
Problem Solving Guide
burgers burning – keep an eye on the temperature, it’s easy to cook the burgers too quickly so they over brown before the middles have a chace to cook through.
burgers falling apart – if the burger isn’t cooked for long enough on the first side to form a crust, it will crumble when you try to turn it. Next time make sure the burger has started to form a crust before attempting to move it.
bland – remember to season the burgers well before forming into patties. A little salt sprinkled over the finished burgers will help.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook burgers as per the recipe but keep the yoghurt + baby spinach separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in the oven (straight from frozen if you wish) 200C / 400F for 10 -20 minutes or until burgers are hot. Serve with yoghurt + spinach leaves.
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Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
This recipe sounds intriguing, but I need a lot more protein than these burgers supply. So I checked my recipe file and realized that I could get the protein level I want by serving them on fathead bagels. A little bacon wouldn’t hurt, either… Or if I don’t want to make bagels, maybe I could just make these into bacon cheeseburgers.
Yes I’d probably want more protein with them these days Susan – love you bacon cheeseburger idea! OR I’d serve with a poached egg or 2
Simply yum
Yay Murphy!
I made these smaller and rolled in a little plain flour. Added some spring onions to the mixture. Big hit. Added a spinach rocket mix and bacon on the side.
oh yum Denise! Excellent idea to add some green onion – can imagine it would have given a bit of an asian vibe.
Hi Jules.
I’ve seen these before but not tried them so shall do so this week. Do you have an average zucchini size – as this varies a lot by season.
Any chance you could guesstimate or add an approx weight when you create / test recipes?
Sorry Kate! This is an older recipe and I now include weights – 2 medium zucchini is about 400g (14oz).
I’ve made these twice and the second time I had the most luck by dividing them to 4 patties. They held together much better and I found it easier to flip.
Good idea Alanna – smaller burgers are easier to handle and will cook more quickly. Thanks for reporting back 🙂