These easy, homemade Spinach Burgers are a healthy weeknight option. Topped with grilled onions, shoestring carrots and a tangy thousand island dressing.
To commence our journey with spinach this month, I will begin with a lunchtime favorite – Popeye Spinach Burgers.
Topped with a homemade thousand island dressing, this spinach burger recipe is ready in 15 minutes.
The love of these spinach veggie burgers began in Asheville, NC in 2000. I was living there, dating my now husband of 17 years and we frequented the Asheville Brewing Company.Â
Also called ‘the Asheville brew and view’ – you watch a movie while eating dinner. A perfect restaurant in my opinion. Â I strongly recommend you go if you’re in the area.
Anyways, they had these spinach burgers served with a side of potato salad. I loved them and the potato salad to no end. I still do. Sigh…
We have visited Asheville several times since we moved away and they still make the spinach burgers, but the potato salad – much to my disappointment– has changed.
I’ll work on the potato salad recipe, but in the meantime I’ve managed to put together the spinach veggie burger recipe.
How to Make Vegetarian Spinach Burgers
Step 1: Squeeze liquid out of spinach + chop.
The hardest part of this recipe is to remember to thaw the frozen spinach! I don’t like to thaw it in the microwave, so I try to remember to start thawing hours before making these. Or putting the spinach in the fridge the night before so it gets a head start.
Step 2: Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Step 3: Mix salad dressing + prep toppings.
In addition to the homemade thousand island dressing and grilled onions, we LOVE adding oven roasted shoestring carrot fries. They add color, crunch and salty french-fry-like goodness!
Step 4: Form spinach burger patties and pan fry on each side.
While making the onions and carrots above, you can get these started on the stovetop.
These are also freezable for quick week-night meals!Â
Spinach, cheese, breadcrumbs and spices all topped with an easy homemade thousand island dressing.
- 1 bag, 16 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed
- 2 egg whites
- 1 whole egg
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion shallots preferred
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs panko or regular both work
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- buns or serve over mixed greens
- 1 large red onion, grilled
- 4 large carrots, julienned and oven roasted (or use store-bought julienned carrots)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder and salt (for carrots)
- 2 avocados, smashed
- thousand island dressing (see recipe below)
- slices of cheese optional
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 Tbs ketchup
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
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Thaw spinach, drain and squeeze excess moisture out. Chop the spinach into bite size pieces. (I know the spinach is already cut in the frozen packs, but giving it another chop helps keep the spinach from being stringy).
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Mix first 8 ingredients in a bowl.
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Shape into patties and cook over medium high heat in a non stick skillet or stove top griddle coated with olive oil or cooking spray.
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Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and firm. The onions can be grilled at the same time. Grill until soft and browned on the edges, flipping once.
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To make the carrot shoestring fries, heat oven to 400F. Julienne the carrots or use store-bought julienned carrots. Toss with olive oil and 1 few dashes of salt and garlic powder. Roast until very brown on the edges, tossing once or twice, about 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your carrots. Keep a close watch!
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Top with onions, carrots, avocado and thousand island dressing. Or whatever you plan on using!
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Mix all ingredients together. Enjoy!
This recipe can be easily doubled. Also, they can be made ahead of time and frozen for quick meals in a pinch!
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Thank you so much for this recipe, we were in asheville recently and I tried this burger and have been craving it ever since. Turned out great and even my fussy one year old ate it. Thank you!!!
Yay! Thanks Rebekah! That’s so great that you were in Asheville and tried the real thing and now can make them at home too! Glad your little one enjoyed it as well!
I love the idea of a great spinach burger. I hope I can visit Asheville some day. I often read so many wonderful things about it that I am just itching to go!
We got married in Asheville and we love going back. It’s changed a lot over the last 15 years, but it only gets better! Happy to give you travel tips when you go!
We have a “brew and view” type movie theater just up the street. It’s a great way to watch a movie. These burgers look delicious!
Brew and views are so much fun! Wish there was one where we are living now.
Spinach burger? Now this sounds interesting! I would definitely love this!
Ahhhh, Asheville. It’s in our top 5 list of places that we might retire someday. So gorgeous there. We ate lunch at the Foggy Mountain Brew Pub during our visit to scope out Asheville, but it sounds as though we went to the wrong place! Don’t you hate it when you crave a meal just like you remember it and they’ve pulled a switcheroo on you? Can’t wait to hear about that potato salad.In the meantime, these burgers sound divine and so healthy!
The potato salad will live forever in my memory! I did find a new potato salad that I love, so I’ll just have to relish in that.
These burgers sound great for summertime. Spinach is such a versatile leaf.
Yes! I’m getting ready to plant my spinach soon! It’s the first garden crop I set out!
We’re also fans of the Asheville Brew and View and LOVE this recipe of yours, thank you so much for sharing! It’s one we make at least monthly and often we make the patties and freeze them, ready for the skillet in a weeknight pinch! I was wondering- has anyone figured out the nutrition info for these? We’re counting Weight Watchers points plus in our house. Thanks!
Hi Danielle! Thanks so much for your comment! There’s a great place to calculate all the nutrition facts for any recipe here: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/myrecipe.aspx This way you can adjust it to exactly how you make the recipe, i.e bun, no bun, extra cheese, etc. You type in each ingredient and amount, adjust for how many servings and get detailed nutrient info. Then you can also export it, save it to your own account and/or print it. Hope that helps!
Wow!! How have I never heard of this website?! Ours came out to about 7 points plus a burger, including the toppings, a light bun and thousand island dressing made with light mayo. Thank you so much!
Yay! Glad it worked for you!
I grew up in Asheville going to Brew n View. It’s been about 12 years since I’ve lived there but I still dream (literally) of these burgers. going to make them ASAP.
Those burgers are the bomb! Hope these are just as good as you remember!
Popey burgers are my absolute favorite veggie burger ever! I’m an unrepentant addict, and every time I’m in Asheville, I’m at APB for my fix. Lucky Otter closed, curses, but for other visitors the excellent Sunny Point is right next door – check out their garden. Luella’s BarBQue has an awesome tempeh cobb salad for other veg-heads. Their hot mustard sauce is great with it. And there’s a new restaurant in South Asheville that makes a tofu Ban Mi (Wild Ginger Noodle Bar) that is my second favorite veggie sandwich after the popeye burger. Anyway, thanks so much for this recipe: I’m making it tonight… and tomorrow… and… right now! Why wait?
Great to hear from a fellow Asheville fan! I look forward to the day when I can get back to visit and enjoy all the dishes you suggest! I’m also a big fan of Sunny Point and Luella’s!
Lived in Asheville from 1999-2015. And I worked (mainly delivery) at APC from about 2002-2004! I LOOOOOVED these spin burgers and can’t wait to make this recipe. It’s been several years, but I want to say that they used cream cheese in their version…?
Hi JP! Those burger were the bomb! I wonder if you are onto something with the cream cheese! I might have to try that and see if it gets even closer to the exact replica!
I also worked there as a cook for about 2 years. What up JP, it’s Larry!! Had a craving to make the spinach burgers from APC and this site came up. I also thought we used knorrs french onion soup mix but I may be mistaken. I do remember cream cheese!
Trick on the OG potato salad. It was a german potato salad and the dressing was a take on hollandaise.
Awesome Larry! Thank you for sharing your insider tips! Cheers!
This is nuts! I found this recipe because I lived in Asheville for about 10 years & moved away a year ago- we were Brew N View regulars & I’m dying for a popeye’s spinach burger (and it’s hard to find this type of burger in online searches for some reason). Thanks, can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Love to hear from fellow Brew N View fans! Enjoy!!