Homemade Black Bean Burgers

It's not easy to find a good veggie burger out there.  I find that too many of them (the pre-packaged tofu burgers, mostly) try to mimic the texture of real meat, which seems silly to me.  This recipe from Whole Foods Market was delicious, and we had fun building our own burgers at the dinner table.  However, the texture of the mashed bean patty was a little soft - a bit like a potato curry puff or a Japanese potato croquette.  I'm going to try adding brown rice or chopped mushrooms to the mix, and maybe leaving a few beans whole, next time to see if that helps.  Otherwise, delicious.  

Serves 6

These easy-to-assemble burgers can be shaped ahead of time and cooked off when you’re ready to eat.

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive or canola oil
6 whole wheat hamburger buns
6 green leaf lettuce leaves
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Method

Put beans in a large bowl and mash well with a fork. Add egg, yellow onion, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Mix well to combine then shape into 6 patties.


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange patties in a single layer (working in batches, if needed) and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to buns, top with lettuce, tomatoes and red onions and serve.