I have an absolute veggie burger obsession. Not just with this Couscous Burger recipe I’m sharing with you today but just in general.
Usually a food blogger who has an obsession tends to make lots of posts about that types of dish. Remember that hummus phase I went I’m going through? (Hummus, Hummus, Hummus, Hummus & a ton of hummus).
Hummus I make in LARGE batches. Veggies burgers I usually don’t. With veggies burgers, I make and eat them so quickly that I generally have no time/willpower to actually turn them into a post and recipe. If I’m feeling very generous, then I’ll post the recipe on Instagram.
However, that really doesn’t happen too often. You’ll notice that that post was a year ago…oops. Guess I’m not as generous as I thought I was.
I’ve decided to change my lazy veggie burger ways and to actually start posting more of them. The first one I’m sharing with you is my Chickpea Couscous Burger. Couscous is such an easy grain to work with. Just pour hot water over it, cover and let it steam for 3 minutes.
So easy!
It gives this couscous burger a really nice consistency. I like to already add the onion and garlic to the uncooked couscous before steaming it. This lets the garlic and onion flavor really seep into the couscous giving it an even flavor throughout the whole burger.
The chickpeas are super important for this recipe and this is what you need to know! The chickpeas shouldn’t be smooth when you pulse them in your food processor. Here’s a quick reference picture that you’ll be looking at after you read through the instructions ;)
Not whole chickpeas but also not completely smooth. We’re NOT trying to make hummus burgers here…wait that does sound delicious though!
The chickpeas hold everything together so well that you can fry, bake or grill this burger. I actually prefer to grill these chickpea couscous burgers on the weekend with some fresh corn and veggies on the grill as well. The leftover burgers, I like to fry in a pan the next day for a crispy, quick lunch.
The real star of this burger is the golden Coconut-Garlic Sauce with turmeric. It is so deliciously creamy, I make it in bulk and spread it on toast. The cool thing about the sauce is that when you keep it in the fridge it hardens to the same consistency of butter because of the coconut milk in it. Which makes it great to spread on anything.
If that something is hot, like this couscous burger, it will start to melt over it. Soooo soooo good!
If you don’t like coconut or the many health benefits turmeric has to offer the. Try pairing this burger with a vegan mayo that I posted with my eggplant burger recipe. You don’t have to make your own sauce. A good ketchup or BBQ sauce works too ;)
Couscous Burger w/ Garlic-Coconut Sauce (V)
Ingredients
Couscous Burger
- 1 cup 200g Couscous
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Powder optional
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 small Yellow Onion finely diced
- 1 and 1/2 cups 375ml Hot Water (just below boiling)
- 1 and 3/4 of a cup 315g Chickpeas (soaked & cooked or rinsed & drained from a can)
- 1 large handful of Fresh Parsley and/or Cilantro recommended but not necessary
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Cayenne Pepper optional
Garlic-Coconut Sauce
- 1 Clove of Garlic or more if you are REALLY ambitious
- 1/2 of a cup 140g Tahini
- 1 Medjool Date pit removed
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground Turmeric
- 1 cup 250ml Full fat Coconut Milk
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- Salt to taste
Extras
- Buns also taste great without a bun!
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Onion
- Ketchup BBQ sauce or other favorite sauce
Instructions
- Put couscous, salt, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, and diced onion in a large bowl and mix together. Pour the hot water over the couscous, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel for 3 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork.
- Pulse chickpeas in a food processor until slightly chunky or mash with a fork. Check picture above in the post to see the texture my chickpeas had. You don't want to over-process your chickpeas until smooth.
- Put couscous, chickpeas and chopped parsley and/or cilantro in a large bowl and knead together with your hands. Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Divide and form into 5 (6oz (170g)) large burgers.
- Make the Garlic-Coconut Sauce before cooking the burgers. Add the garlic, tahini, turmeric and 1/4 of a cup of the coconut milk to a food processor or blender. Blend until the garlic and date is smooth. Add the remaining coconut milk and lemon juice. Add salt to taste. Pour into a a small bowl or glass (preferably with a lid or cover with saran wrap). See notes on more info about the sauce.
- The burgers can be grilled, baked or fried. See instructions for each.
- Grill: Brush burgers with a little bit of oil (I used coconut oil) and grill on each side for 5 to 10 minutes over medium-high heat until lightly browned on each side.
- Oven: Preheat oven to 435F (225C). Line a tray with parchment paper. Brush a little bit of oil and both sides of each burger and bake for 15 minutes on one side, flip and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
- Stovetop: Drizzle a bit of oil in a frying pan and fry each burger for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Keep a lid on the frying pan to insure the center of the burger gets hot. Use more oil if needed.
- Serve burgers on buns with all your favorite fixing (lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.)
Recipe Notes
1.) The Coconut-Garlic Sauce will thicken once refrigerated. It will harden and have a similar consistency like butter. It can be spread easily then and will melt when heated or spread on something warm/hot. The sauce should be kept covered in a fridge and eaten within 7 days.
If this Couscous Burger reminds you too much of summertime BBQ’S and you’re dying to get into some Autumn recipes then…fine….Here are some to get you started ;)
A Savory Pumpkin Tart, Cranberry Pear Crisp, and Whole Wheat Apple Pie to warm those chilly days to come.
This looks like a hearty & savory burger! That garlic-coconut sauce sounds incredible on it, too. Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe :)
Those burgers look great, I’m a big veggie burger fan too but it’s that sauce that has really got me drooling. Yum. Hope you had a good summer.
Thanks Jo, So happy you like the way the couscous burger looks ;) Hope you get a chance to try it!
I have a veggie burger obsession too! I do have a few on the blog, but compared to how many we actually, it’s not a very good representation – there should be tons more. So, I totally get it! And that sauce…omg that sauce….I kind of want to slather it everywhere and on everything!!
Haha thanks, Jenn! I’m in the same boat as you. I make so many and never actually get around to posting them because I’m busy stuffing my face with veggies burgers instead ;)
I love couscous. We eat it a lot here and i often put it in veggie burgers. I love the texture it gives. i can only imagine how good these are especially with that amazing sounding sauce! The colour of it is beautiful.
That Garlic-Coconut Sauce sounds heavenly! This is definitely my type of burger.
Thanks, Dianne! Hope you get a chance to try the Garlic-Coconut sauce ;)
I’m a total hummus fiend too! And I’ve definitely gone through food obsessions, where I can’t stop making something. Something I don’t make often, though, is veggie burgers from scratch. This recipe sounds like a great way to change all that.
You HAVE to start making your own veggie burgers. They’re actually really easy to make and so much more flavorful than the ones you can buy at the store ;)
These look so good! Chickpeas and couscous is my secret to my “meatballs” and it really does give that meaty texture! I’m loving the sound of that garlic coconut sauce!
Love me a good burger!!! Looks delicious and a perfect combo of flavors!
Thanks so much, Sophia! I these are definitely some of my favorite flavor combos ;)
Oh my gosh this looks so good! I am over here drooling over this dish right now. I am all over this. I can’t even stop starring.
Help, I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I made this recipe to the “T”, but my burgers are not holding together well. Do you really squeeze them to a hard shape? I just used my hands and shaped and squeeze lightly into a burger shape, but two of them fell apart. I baked them. On the other side, these burgers taste fantastic and the sauce is yummy. Love the recipe, just can’t get them to stay in their burger shape. I also got 7 burgers out of this, instead of 5.. Help!
Hi Cheryl, mmm I’m trying to figure out what went wrong. Any chance unneeded liquid was added? Sometimes when you wash the herbs, it can add excess water or even from the chickpeas or couscous. I made 5 very large burger so the fact that you made 7 isn’t a big deal :)
These look so good. I’d like to make a big batch and store some for the week. Any suggestions on storage and how long they will last?