12 Comments / By KNI
A kidney-friendly meal that makes meat forgotten!
This is way above and beyond any veggie burger I’ve ever eaten. I know I’ve said this before about other recipes, but these are seriously awesome! It can sometimes be hard to find plant-based renal-friendly meal, they really can’t be beat. This is actually one of my family’s “company’s coming” recipes.
Southwestern Meatless Burger for Renal Diet
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Course: Appetizer, Main, Side Dish
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: Low Calorie, Low Phosphorus, Low Potassium, Low Protein, Low Sodium
Diet Type: CKD, Dialysis, VLPD
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 198kcal
Ingredients
- 6 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup red or green pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 cup corn fresh or frozen
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup spaghetti squash cooked and pureed (one medium-size spaghetti squash yields about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese - a good quality, strong cheese will yield the best flavor for the smallest quantity consumed
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast This is a great product to keep on hand as it can replace the flavor of cheese in some recipes. You can find it in the natural foods section of many grocery stores or buy online.
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crushed low sodium crackers
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 dash salt to taste
- 1 dash freshly ground pepper to taste
- 6-8 tortillas Corn tortillas are lowest in sodium, but will need to be heated thoroughly (fried, microwaved, etc... to work for this.)
- Green salsa Read the ingredients on your label to make sure the green salsa you choose is made with tomatillos or green chiles not green tomatoes.
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- sour cream optional
Instructions
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Add pureed spaghetti squash, cheese, oatmeal, nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to the onion mixture; mix well. With dampened hands, form the vegetable mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 cup for each.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Stack corn or flour tortillas and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes to heat through. (Alternatively, stack tortillas between two damp paper towels; microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds, or until heated through.)
Using 2 teaspoons oil per batch, cook 2 – 4 patties at a time in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat as necessary for even browning. We also had success baking them although they don’t get the same “crispy” shell that you might get with the pan-fry. Wrap the patties in tortillas and serve immediately, garnished with lettuce and tomatillo/green chile salsa
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 3. Wrap patties individually and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.
VERY IMPORTANT key to this recipe: Mixture should be about the consistency of oatmeal cookie dough. If it is too wet and goopy then the patties will not hold together when you flip them. If your mixture seems too goopy or wet, add a little bit more oatmeal or bread crumbs. If you're on dialysis and trying to increase your protein intake you can also add an egg to recipe or some flavorless protein powder.
Notes
Optional topping of 1 tbsp sour cream:28 kcal | 3 gm fat | 1 gm carbohydrates | 0 gm protein | 11 gm phosphorus | 18 gm potassium
Nutrition
Serving: 1burger patty | Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 711IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @KNI_Care or tag #KNIrecipes!
KidneyGrub Verdict:
IknowI’ve said this before about other recipes, but these are seriously awesome!This is actually one of my family’s “company’s coming” recipes. I’ve been making the original recipe from EatingWell.com for years. There are never any leftovers. And if tasting good weren’t enough,these are vegetarian! We loveplant-based meals forall stages of kidney disease (At stage V it can help with phos levelsand for stages III/IV there is evidence that plant-based diets slowprogression of kidney disease.) The original recipe calls for pureed pumpkin and twice as much cheese. I didn’t find the taste altered by substituting spaghetti squash, and the switch cutthe potassium from 504 mg/serving to 330 mg/serving.Cutting back the cheese also didn’t seem like a big deal, especially with the nutritional yeast added. Please note, nutritional yeast is NOT the same as yeast you use for bread! It is a fantastic staple to keep on handfor many recipes. More information can be found here or you can google it on the internet and find all sorts of info.
