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Whole30 Zucchini Pesto Burger
What makes this burger special?
Jump to RecipeOne summer at our home in Tennessee, we had a huge garden. I had so much basil that I made my own pesto and stored it in the freezer in ice cube trays for the rest of the year. I was constantly throwing my pesto into recipes to add a little lagniappe (something extra), and that is how this Whole30 Zucchini Pesto BurgerFit burger was created.
Why eat the Whole30 Zucchini Pesto Burger?
Zucchini is a great vegetable to mix into burgers because the flavor and texture tend to disappear, becoming almost invisible to those picky veggie eaters. This summer squash is full of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, iron, and niacin. We all know drinking a glass of milk is a great way to get calcium, but our green leafy friends are often overlooked when it comes to this bone-building mineral. One of these burgers supplies 81g of calcium! The other star vitamin in spinach is vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant. Vitamin E needs fat in order to be transported through the body, and this burger is an excellent vessel.
This recipe also follows many dietary lifestyles including keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, whole30, paleo, AIP, and it has low WW points!
Get the Recipe
This Whole30 Zucchini Pesto BurgerFit burger recipe is super easy to prepare and you’re going to have a blast making it!
Zucchini Pesto BurgerFit Burger
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 zucchinis cubed
- 1 tablespoon cooking fat
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 2 cups raw spinach
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pesto
- 1 lb ground meat
- SunGarden Spicy Sprout Mix or your favorite!
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on medium heat. Cut the zucchini into cubes and saute in skillet with 1 tablespoon cooking fat and ½ teaspoon salt until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. For the last couple of minutes, add the spinach into the skillet to cook with the zucchini.
- Once the zucchini and spinach are cooked, add the zucchini, spinach, and 1½ tablespoons pesto to the food processor (or finely chop). Taste vegetable mixture and add more salt if desired. Depending on the pesto you use, this might be too salty: If it is, use less than a teaspoon of salt when adding to the ground beef in the next step. Let the mixture cool completely.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground meat and remaining teaspoon of salt. Gradually incorporate vegetable mixture into the ground meat. Add as much as you can while still being able to form your burgers as normal.*If you end up adding too much vegetable mixture, don’t worry! Just form your burgers and cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Cook burgers 5 minutes each side or cook to your preference. Cooking times vary depending on your what time of meat you are using.
- Add Spicy Sprout Mix from SunGarden on top for extra flavor and extra nutrients.
- Optional: Eat with leftover sauteed zucchini over a spinach salad.
Nutrition
BurgerFit Substitute
Zucchinis are delicious raw. If you don’t have enough sautéed ones left, add sliced raw zucchini to your salad instead.
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Meet our Founder
Alane Boyd
Alane has kept her 40 lb weight loss off since 2013, and created BurgerFit and Cooking with My Friends as a way to get her family eating better. Her health journey started in 2012 after being diagnosed with high blood pressure and obesity. Frustrated and determined, Alane decided to make small, sustainable changes in her diet so that it would be maintainable for a lifetime. Now Alane maintains a healthy weight range and has incorporated quick and easy recipes that keep her picky family members eating better!
This recipe is a life saver! I suffered from high cholesterol and my doctor advised me to start eating more greens. I found this recipe and have been addicted to it since then. It is very healthy and full of flavor. My cholesterol level dropped after 3 weeks of having this food every lunch. On some days, I would pair it with chopped lettuce and slices of cucumber on the side. Thank you Alane for this amazing recipe.
Hi Kiara. Thank you so much for sharing your health journey with us. We are so happy to know that this recipe had helped you lower down your cholesterol. Just to quickly share, zucchinis are delicious when raw. If you don’t have enough sautéed ones left, you may want to add raw zucchini to your salad instead.