Not so fast. You see “Black Bean Burgers” and you’re already making a run for it? Well, I can’t blame you if your only experience with veggie burgers are those dry, thin hockey pucks in the frozen section of the supermarket. Or if you’ve looked for recipes to make your own at home and the list of ingredients was a page long. What do I have to say to make you give these a try? Would it help if I told you my meat-and-potatoes husband loooooves these? Would you been inclined to make them if you knew that Mr. Picky, yes the one and only, gave these very burgers the thumbs-up? Listen, I’m not guaranteeing anything here, but these black bean burgers are delicious and you’ll want to smear the smoky red pepper sauce on everything from turkey sandwiches to roasted potato wedges to grilled vegetables.
Here’s the other thing — can we take a break from meat for 5 minutes? My timing on this isn’t ideal, but Meatless Mondays has some merit. As Mark Bittman said, “Even if you eat a typical American diet replete with processed, junk and fast food the other six days of the week, going meatless on Mondays will still cut your carbon footprint, improve your health and reduce demand for factory-farm meat.” The only thing I would qualify is that going “meatless” doesn’t necessarily imply a more healthful diet. You’re a smart group, and I probably don’t need to tell you that you could eat potato chips and candy bars for dinner and that’s not going to do you any good. But eating a dinner of legumes, whole grains and vegetables can only do you good.
All beans are an inexpensive source of high-fiber protein, but the black color in black beans contains a tremendous amount of antioxidants. In fact, black beans are among the top antioxidant foods out there. Recall that antioxidants neutralize the damage done by free radicals and they are your friend against aging. I prefer to cook my own beans (see very end of post), as opposed to buying them canned, for several reasons:
- it’s way cheaper;
- no exposure to BPA in can liners (although Eden Organic doesn’t use BPA);
- no waste (I cringe when I throw several cans in the trash);
- less indigestion (there are complex sugars called oligosaccharides on the outside of beans, which can cause some individuals discomfort. Soaking beans removes these sugars, but most canned beans have not been pre-soaked. If you have to use canned, give them a rinse before consuming and that will help somewhat.)
- it’s as simple as boiling water, if you plan ahead.
Black Bean Burgers with Smoky Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons unrefined, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil + more for cooking patties
- 1 cup finely diced onion
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more if you like them spicy
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 cups cooked black beans, or 2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs or almond meal, to make them GF
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or more if using unsalted beans
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Smoky Red Pepper Sauce, recipe follows
- Hamburger bun of choice or whole wheat pita, optional
- Accompaniments: grilled onions, avocado, tomato, sprouts
- SMOKY RED PEPPER SAUCE, double this if your family likes a lot of sauce:
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped -- you can buy these already roasted or you can roast them yourself (see below)
- ¼ cup raw, creamy almond butter (or 1 cup feta cheese and omit the salt)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, or more to taste
Instructions
- In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes.
- Place 1 ½ cups of beans in a bowl and mash them to a chunky puree with a potato masher or in a food processor (a fork also works just fine.) Add the rest of the beans to the bowl along with the rice, onion mixture, eggs, bread crumbs or almond meal, parsley, cilantro, salt and pepper and blend together. Take a scant ½ cup of the mixture and form into a patty. I like to put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight.)
- In a large skillet or on a griddle pan, heat an 1/8 of an inch of oil. Add the patties and cook over medium heat, turning once, until browned and heated through, about 6 minutes. Serve with desired accompaniments. Or preheat an oven to 350 degrees and brush a baking sheet with oil or line it with unbleached parchment paper. Place the patties on the sheet and brush the tops with oil. Bake until heated through and lightly golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.
- To make smoky red pepper sauce, puree everything in a mini food processor until well blended.
Notes
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
These burgers are delicious. I am the only one in my household willing to eat a non-meat burger, so I froze half the batch. They were back out of the freezer within 24 hours. I was eating at least 2 a day. Anyway – I came here to suggest dipping the patties in chimichurri sauce the way Pamela does with the red pepper sauce. It’s a little less effort to make and SO GOOD.
Sounds YUMMY!
Even after refrigerating, my burgers tend to crumble. What am I doing wrong?!
Make sure your beans aren’t soaking wet when you add them to the mix. Then make sure you get a good sear when you cook them so you get a nice crust.
How can I make these vegan?
You could try 2 flax eggs (2 T. ground flax meal + 6 T. warm water – allow to sit for 10 min). And refrigerate the patties for at least 30 minutes.
Mine were really dry. Could it have been the almond meal?
I doubt it. Did you make any other changes?
Hi Pamela! Planning on making these in the next couple days. Do you think I could get away with using almond flour instead of almond meal?
Yes!
I used the almond flour and it turned out just fabulous! Thank you!
So great to hear! Thanks for sharing 🙂
My red pepper sauce a bit nutty…I am guessing becuase I used roasted, no raw. It was no salt added and smooth…had I used raw would I haven oticed a big difference?
The raw almond butter is really bland, so I do think it makes a difference. You might try raw cashew butter as well, which tastes like nothing, in my opinion.
I have been making your dinners weekly and made the black bean burgers last night. There was a lot of grunting and groaning from the kids as they swept in and out of the kitchen wondering what was for dinner. I love it when their expectations are low and I quietly chuckle inside confident they will love it. Well, sure enough, they loved these! I stuffed them in a pita with the roasted red pepper sauce and creamy avocado slaw(which I am obsessed with) and it was amazing! Thank you Pamela!
Ahhhhh! This is exactly the kind of feedback I live for! Thank you, Kristin. I am all smiles!
I’m a big fan! love these but would like to get them a little crispier. I pan fried them and they weren’t too crispy – is there a way to get a really crispy crust on them?
thanks,
Tom
You need to make sure the heat is hot enough when you put the burgers down and don’t use too much oil otherwise they’ll get soggy, especially if the heat isn’t hot enough. I hope that helps!
Yes, you were very correct in saying that this sauce would be something you would want to smear on anything. It was so GOOD!! And the burgers, just delicious. I let them get a little crispy on the outside and ate them like you did – on a salad. I actually ate two of them. 🙂
I’m feeling like I need to make this sauce for something right now. Love it!
I finally made these burgers and red pepper sauce, and they are both DELICIOUS!!! They will absolutely become a staple around our house. i love the make ahead and freeze option too.
Since they are so delicious, and we are hosting a vegetarian couple for a dinner party, I will serve these, but can you recommend a hearty salad to compliment them and the red pepper sauce?
thank you!
Nice to hear! What about the spinach and quinoa salad with feta and dill? Or roasted butternut squash salad with pomegranates and pumpkin seeds? Or creamy kale salad with lemon dressing? I think all of those would pair beautifully with the burgers! Let me know if you decide to try one of them. 🙂
Using eggs is unhealthful, more cruel to the short lives of the chickens, and not environmentally sound. The male chicks are tossed in the trash, the females live in stacked crates for the 4 miserable months of their lives, with the lights on 24-hrs, the waste is an environmental disaster and in addition to eating animal protein, saturated fat, antibiotics, high levels os pesticides from the chicken feed, you are more likely than not to have salmonella in there.