Meatless Recipe Idea: Loaded Black Bean & Veggie Burger Recipe

While we originally created this loaded black bean recipe for Meatless Monday and posted it a few years ago, we have since eaten it many, many times throughout many weeks.  I had always wanted to try to create my own black bean burgers—but, couldn’t find one recipe that I felt would build the perfect, black bean burger.  I have tweaked both our original black bean burger recipe and the process over the past couple of years and I wanted to share our updated black bean & veggie burger recipe!

 

Ingredients for our Loaded Black Bean & Veggie Burger Recipe

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tsp. Butter

1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

¼ c. Carrots, finely chopped

¼ c. Celery, finely chopped

¼ c.  Green Bell Pepper, finely diced

¼ c. Yellow Onion, finely diced

½ tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Ground Cumin

1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
1/8 tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Frank’s RedHot Sauce

1 Egg, beaten

½ c. plus 2-3 Tbsp. Plain Bread Crumbs

Shredded Cheddar Cheese or Sliced Colby Jack Cheese

4 Whole Wheat Buns, Split and lightly toasted

Light Mayonnaise

Suggested Veggie Toppings as shown:  Sliced yellow onion rings, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced black olives, mild banana peppers

Instructions for Loaded Black Bean Veggie Burgers:

Prepare the black bean burgers.  I used to mash up the black beans and practically pulverize the other vegetable by hand--but, then I realized that putting the ingredients into a food processor did make the black bean mixture a little more liquid-y.  But.  It is okay.  You really don't need to shape these things into patties.  You can simply drop the "batter" onto a hot pan and fry the bean burger just like that!  (Like pancakes or corn fritters...the black bean "batter" will fry to a moist, even consistency!)  So--these days, I simply place the beans, chopped peppers, onions, carrots, celery, hot sauce and spices into a blender or food processor and combine until smooth. Dump the mixture into a large mixing bowl.  Add the egg to the black bean mixture and mix well to combine.  Mix in the bread crumbs by hand.  Add ½ c. of the bread crumbs first, and add the additional crumbs until the mixture holds together enough to be dropped from a spoon onto a hot oiled pan.

Cook the black bean veggie burgers.  Preheat the butter and oil in a grill pan over medium heat until hot.  Divide the black bean burger mixture into 4 equal parts and spoon each burger onto the skillet.  Spread the mixture into circular/burger-like shapes and  fry on each side until browned and slightly crispy.  These may also be prepared without oil/butter by spraying cooking spray onto the grill pan and carefully browning burgers on both sides.  Top each cooked burger with 1-2 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese, if desired, and allow the cheese to melt.

Build the black bean burgers and enjoy.  

I like to spread mayonnaise onto a toasted bun top and load these black bean burgers with lettuce, tomato, onions, black olives, and banana peppers.  I serve these with sweet potato fries and fruit salad or my favorite cole slaw recipe.