Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers

I set some black beans to soak yesterday and cooked them up today. Finally I could try the black bean veggie burgers that I've been wanting to try for weeks! The cool part is that this recipe only used about a fifth of the beans that I cooked (I did one pound of dry beans), so I still have about four cans' worth of beans to freeze and use in later meals. I love batch cooking, when I get around to it!

This is the third veggie burger that I've tried making. I'm enjoying having burgers without the cost of ground beef. Not only do I like the price, but I'm finding that I really like the flavor and texture, even though it's different from regular hamburgers. The first veggie burger we tried, pumpkin chickpea burgers, was my definite favorite, though the lentil burgers were good too. Now I have these black bean burgers to add to our repertoire. They taste good, and look a little more like hamburger than the other ones.

Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (or equivalent amount cooked from dry)
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces (omitted and added extra onion)
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs (substituted wheat bran)

If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375, and lightly oil a baking sheet (I baked mine).

In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic (I minced mine by hand to save myself the work of washing the food processor. Next time I'll use the food processor to save myself the work of mincing the vegetables by hand!). Then stir into mashed beans.

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans.

Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.

If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.


Veggie burgers are fun!