Vegan Bean Burger

Tonight we tried a new recipe. I was impressed! Vegetarian burgers are expensive, and usually really disappointing. I had been searching Pinterest for a couple weeks for a good recipe to try as my very first homemade veggie burger, one that my cheeseburger-loving hubby would at least try and possibly, hopefully, even like. This recipe succeeded!!

The recipe I used was found on Daily Garnish and has an insane number of good reviews. I made a few adjustments in order to use ingredients I already had in the fridge/pantry, and it was good as I made it. Next time I'll try to have the ingredients that she calls for on hand so that I can compare the original recipe vs. the one I came up with tonight.

Vegan Bean Burgers

Ingredients: (makes 6 burgers)

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained) I used one can black beans and one can great northern beans
• 2 carrots, grated I used 1.5 zucchinis 
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) I used walnuts
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon I think next time I'll use less cinnamon, it was good but strong tasting
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander I used cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder I used garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped.  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots (I sliced the zuccs really thin with a knife, leaving the skin on, and then tossed them in the processor), and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together. (My food processor is super tiny, so I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl and then put them in the processor in 4 batches.)

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet (on tin foil with non-stick spray), and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle  (I tried turning them after 20 mins, but they were still way too soft. I flipped them at 30 mins and then it took another 20 mins before they were done. All ovens vary, so start with her original cooking times and go from there.).  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

I didn't even think to try to take 'real' pictures, but I did take a cell phone picture to send to a friend. I'm posting it so that you can see the burger isn't some crazy weird color, thanks to the beans and walnuts it is actually colored sort like meat. Thanks to the food processor there wasn't lumps of veggies for my hubby to grimace at and pick out. No, it doesn't taste like a hamburger, but it's still a really good bean burger full of protein and low in fat for a summertime meal alternative.