TODAY Food Club

It's burger season! When you are craving a burger but you also want to keep it healthy, try swapping a few items with this recipe. The patty is half quinoa and half, lean roasted chicken breast instead of red meat.I like to eat this open faced to cut the extra bread calories, but my husband likes to add another piece of avocado toast on top to make it feel more like a burger. That is up to you. The avocado is rich and creamy, the fresh heirloom tomatoes are so sweet and the mixed greens add a nice peppery flavor. And when you bite into it, you get a nice crunch from the toasted bread. To top the whole thing off, you get a spicy buffalo sauce that is made out of hot sauce and whipped avocado instead of butter. I call it my avo-buff sauce. And if you want, you can drizzle the optional sweet and sour dressing over the fresh greens at the end. NOM! NOM!

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Burger ON Avocado Toast

• Servings: 1 open faced sandwich
• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup hot sauce
• 3 avocados, peeled and seeded
• ½ tablespoon smoked paprika, paprika or chili powder
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (I like to use red quinoa for burger color)
• 1 cup cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
• ⅓ cup Italian breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon cumin, divided
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ¼ teaspoon celery salt
• 4 slices wheat nut bread
• 1 cup mixed greens
• 1 heirloom tomato, cut into ¼" slices
• ¼ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Preparation

1. Add hot sauce to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whip 1 avocado until it's smooth like butter and add to the saucepan along with the smoked paprika. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. In a large bowl, add quinoa, chicken, breadcrumbs, cheeses, egg, half of the cumin, garlic powder and half of the buffalo sauce. Mix together thoroughly then divide into 4 equal portions and form into patties. Add patties to a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
3. Add avocado oil to a large skillet over medium high heat and add patties, sear for 1 minute each side. Remove from heat and add remaining buffalo sauce over patties.
4. In a small bowl, mash the remaining avocados to desired consistency. Then add remaining cumin, lime juice, minced garlic and celery salt then mix together. Toast the bread slices.
5. To assemble, add equal parts of mashed avocado to each slice of toast followed by some lettuce and then the patties. Top with tomatoes and more lettuce. Enjoy!

Recipe Tags

• Healthy
• American
• Sandwich