These easy, gluten-free Mexican salmon quinoa burgers with guacamole and whipped chèvre are healthy, flavourful, and packed with protein and healthy fats.

Happy Monday to all of you! I hope you had a nice weekend. We’re starting off the week with a bang with these Mexican salmon quinoa burgers. I served these to my parents awhile back, and they were very well received.

Canned salmon combines with cooked quinoa, green onion, garlic, Mexican spices, eggs, lime, cilantro, salt, and pepper for a flavourful salmon patty that’s just a bit more special than your typical salmon burger, but not at all hard or time consuming to prepare. I went a bit overboard with the toppings and made two different accompaniments–guacamole and honey lime whipped chèvre–but if you are pressed for time, feel free to just make one or the other, or neither. They are just as good with prepared condiments like relish, mustard, and mayo, but I am partial to the guac and the sweet + salty whipped chèvre.

ingredients you’ll need

For the salmon quinoa burgers, you’ll need quinoa, canned salmon, green onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, hot red pepper flakes, eggs, cilantro, sea salt, and pepper.

For the guacamole, you’ll need avocados, garlic, sea salt, cilantro, and lime juice.

For the honey lime whipped chèvre, you’ll need chèvre, lime juice and zest, and honey.

For serving, you’ll need buns, sliced tomato, arugula, and pickled red onion or jalapeños.

the method

Make the salmon quinoa burgers: To cook the quinoa, combine the quinoa, water, and a pinch of sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, mash the salmon until broken down into small pieces. Add the green onion, garlic, lime juice, spices, eggs, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked quinoa and stir. Form the mixture into 4-5 patties. Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet (I like cast iron) over medium heat. Once it sizzles, cook the burgers, two at a time to avoid overcrowding, for 4-5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. (Note: Be careful when flipping these burgers; they are delicate.) Transfer onto a plate or wire rack until ready to serve.

Make the toppings (optional): To make the guacamole, mash the avocado in a bowl, then stir in the garlic, salt, cilantro, and lime juice. To make the honey lime whipped chèvre, crumble the chèvre into a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Add the lime juice, zest, and honey. Process until smooth and transfer into an airtight container.

Serve: Serve the burgers on toasted buns with any desired accompaniments. I also recommend serving some tortilla chips and a Mexican-style cabbage slaw with cumin lime dressing as sides.

more healthy summer burger recipes

Finally, I hope that you love these Mexican salmon quinoa burgers! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.

Enjoy! 🙂