Spinach Artichoke Veggie Burgers

I don’t know why Spinach Artichoke Dip is so awesome, but it is. Spinach, cheese, and artichokes are all tasty components, but nothing blow-your-mind amazing. For some reason though, when you bring all that together and morph it into a hot and creamy dip, you get what can only be described as addictive molten bliss, and it fits on a chip nonetheless.

Because Spinart Dip is such a fantastic, crowd-pleasing favorite, I also love to enjoy it in other non-dip forms like Spinach Artichoke Nachos, Spinach Artichoke Mac & Cheese, or even Spinach Artichoke Pizza. The problem with all of that stuff is that none of it has a significant amount of nutrients. Can’t I have the goodness of Spinart Dip and get something healthy out of it besides a few strands of spinach?

Alas, we can have it all, so save your regret-filled songs, Adele. With my Spinach-Artichoke Veggie Burgers, we get every delectable bit of Spinart Dip in the form of a hearty, nutrient-rich veggie burger. That’s a double-win, like when you get an extra bag of chips for free from the vending machine.

Each burger is loaded with three kinds of cheese, fresh spinach, tangy artichoke hearts, brown rice, chickpeas, and a little bit of heat, evoking all the flavors of a good Spinart Dip while filling you up and giving you the nutrients you need. These babies are hearty, flavorful, and gobble-‘em-right-up good. You’ll inhale every last crumb, but you won’t have to feel as guilty as you would downing a whole bowl of dip.

Embrace the burger, my friends.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

For extra heat, switch out the Monterey jack with pepper jack cheese.
Fresh spinach saves you time, and it tastes better. You don’t have to thaw it or squeeze it dry.
You don’t really need a bun for these burgers; they’re that good.
You can substitute the Egg Beaters with 2 whole eggs.
The burgers will be a bit more “wet” than a meat burger; that’s normal.

Spinach-Artichoke Veggie Burgers

By The Smart Cookie Cook

Ingredients:

2 16-oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained & rinsed
3 generous cups fresh spinach
2 cups cooked & drained brown rice
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated Monterey jack cheese
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ cup Egg Beaters
2 ½ tsp. minced garlic
Dash red pepper flakes
½ tsp. salt
Ro-tel, for garnish, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray liberally with nonstick spray.
Place the chickpeas and artichoke hearts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it starts to break down into small chunks. Add the spinach and continue to pulse a few times more so it’s smoother but still a bit chunky.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together the chickpea mixture with all the remaining ingredients until well-combined, making sure to break up all the flour. If you like, you may reserve some cheese to top the burgers with later.
Form burger mixture into big, thick patties (about 1 cup’s worth). Pack it together tight and place on baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brown. Top with extra cheese and Rotel if you like.