simple black bean burgers
July 17, 2012 A simple post for a simple recipe.
I was in a pinch to make dinner last night with a fairly empty kitchen. I didn’t just want to throw together scraps and call it a meal. Sometimes that totally works and is nice and easy but it’s been happening a bit too frequently. I wanted a meal, instead of 4-5 disjointed foods cooked separately + thrown on a plate.
Veggie burgers are about the greatest thing ever. I almost always have the ingredients on hand that it takes to make a batch of burgers.
It’s not that other burger recipes are too involved, it’s just that this recipe is less involved.
No food processor.
No cooking quinoa, millet, or potatoes to bulk them up and add texture.
No eggs or breadcrumbs for binding.
But not to worry, they have one of my favorite veggie burger textures ever and are easily packed into patty form.
You’ll need a fork, a bowl, a pan, and the ingredients you see below. To help bind this burger together I used a surprise ingredient. Almond butter! It worked like a charm.
Simple Smoky Black Bean Burgers [yields 6 patties] vegan/gf
revised 2/21/2013
- 1 3/4 cups black beans, rinsed + drained
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1/3 cup roasted corn
- 4-6 tablespoons partially ground [gluten free] oats
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons almond butter or tahini
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne [optional]
- 1-2 tablespoon oil for cooking
- In a small pan over medium-high heat add 1 tsp of oil and once hot add your corn [fresh or frozen].
- Cook for 5-7 minutes until golden brown, stirring every minute or so. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl combine the black beans and almond butter and mash with a fork until about 2/3 of the beans are mashed.
- Add in the onion, corn, seeds, garlic, and all of the spices. Gently mix until combined.
- Add in the partially ground oats and mix gently to combine. Avoid mashing and over-mixing.
- At this point the mixture should form a sticky dough that can be formed between your palms into patties. Compact into a ball and then carefully flatten in between your palms, cupping/pressing the edges until a firm patty is formed.
- Place a large pan or flat griddle over medium heat with 1-2 Tbsp oil.
- Form the mixture into 6 medium patties, about 3/4 – 1” thick. Tightly packed.
- Place them in the pan [avoiding overcrowding] and cook for 5-7 minutes per side until golden brown. Make sure your heat is not above medium and possibly even a touch below. You may need to cook them in two batches. If they’re placed too tightly together it makes them hard to flip.
- Flip carefully and cook on the other side for another 5-7 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite salsa, cheese, avocado, and/or the topping below.
notes: It’s important that the onion is finely diced to avoid large pieces that won’t hold well in the burger. To partially grind oats, place rolled oats [certified GF if needed] in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, magic bullet, etc. and grind them about half-way to flour. If your burgers are not holding together try mashing the mixture more and/or adding 1 more tablespoon of almond butter or tahini.
Tomato Corn Pepper Topping
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup corn
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 1.5 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- pinch of salt + pepper
- Set a medium size pan over medium heat with the oil.
- Once hot cook the pepper for 2-3 minutes, then add the corn and cook for another 5-7 minutes until starting to brown. Stir frequently.
- Add the tomatoes, smoked paprika, salt + pepper and cook for about 3 minutes until some of the tomato liquid cooks off.
- Serve on top of burgers.
…
The easiest and possibly best tasting veggie burger in my lineup.
As always, I recommend doubling the recipe for quick + easy leftovers.
Enjoy!
Ashley
beans, easy meals, gluten free, protein, vegan 
Reader Comments (35)
Ashley--> Thanks, Kerry! These are easily freezable if you make a double batch. Cook them about 75% of the way, let cool, then wrap them tightly in saran, then foil, then put in a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge then cook in pan until hot in the center. Enjoy!
Ashley--> Perfect! Let me know what you think!
Ashley--> That's what I'm saying!! Especially with this heat!
Ashley--> Tahini will be deelicious!
Ashley--> Veggie burgers can be a little tricky and it can take some playing around. It's really important to make sure any veggies or additions are finely diced, like onion. If your ingredients are too wet that can also cause problems with them falling apart but the opposite [too dry] can also have the same effect. I hope these work out for you if you give them a go!
Ashley--> I don't have a "pin it" button embedded in my blog, but you can easily add one to your bookmark bar, then click on the title of my post [so it's directed back to this specific post], and then click the "pin it" button on your bookmark bar while on my page. Here's a link for you! http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/
Ashley--> I hope you do and I hope you love them!
Ashley--> Thanks, Dara! I hope they're a keeper for you!
:)
Ashley--> Thanks so much, lovely! I hope you are great as well!
Ashley--> Awesome! I'm heading over to check it out now!
Rodney
http://blondexambition.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/meatless-mondays-spicy-black-bean-burgers/
Thanks for sharing! The almond butter is a 'must have' in my pantry, this is another way I could use it!!!!
Roberta
was looking for something good last night and came across this recipe. I did it with some little twist and for the first time I actually really enjoy a black bean burger! I'm glad I discovered your side I am more of a flexitarian then a vegan but I really enjoy having that variety and it helped me reduce my meat consummation. I'll come back!
@Karine - I'm so glad to hear you loved the burgers! I'm not vegan, either, but do eat/make a lot of vegan meals. :) Glad you are liking what you see on the blog so far. Thanks!
@Ananda - Happy to hear this! Thanks so much for letting me know. :)