Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Hi Everyone!

My family loves burgers, and we usually make them throughout the year. I’m a big fan of grass-fed beef, but with the price of beef soaring, I’ve been trying to cut costs. So, Hubby and I agreed to try making black bean burgers, and we served them to our unsuspecting kids. Believe me, this was the only way for our evil plan to have a chance!

My oldest knew something was up, so I had to let her in on the secret. The other kids guessed that these weren’t hamburgers after a few bites, and yes, there were some grimaces. The funny thing is my kids really like black beans — just not in the shape of a burger. Hubby and I really liked the burgers and so did my littlest guy!

I made them again, and this time, there were fewer complaints. I think adding the usual burger toppings helped the kids, but I’ve had the burgers without all of the trimmings, and I really like them this way too. I looked at a lot of different recipes, and adjusted the ingredients until I was satisfied. With these measurements, you’ll get about 10 hearty black bean burgers.

I cooked them in two pans and used a little bit of olive oil to grease the pans. The texture reminds me of tuna fish patties my mom used to make, and I think it works best to keep the heat at medium and cook them at about five minutes per side. When the bottoms are a little crispy, turn them over. 

Some of us love spicy food, so I cooked some sliced onions and jalapeno peppers and added these to the burgers at the end. We topped them with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and whatever else the kids wanted — one of my girls added a bunch of barbecue sauce to hers, but at least, she ate it! Add some chips or fruit, and you have a very easy and frugal meal!

Ingredients for Spicy Black Bean Burgers:

• 1 15-oz can of black beans plus 1 26-oz can of black beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 tsp dried minced onions
• 1 tsp Tuscan or Italian seasoning blend
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups seasoned panko bread crumbs

Directions

Drain and rinse the black beans in a colander. 
Transfer to a large bowl, and add the olive oil, salt, pepper and onions. 
Use a potato masher or food processor to the beans up, and add the seasonings, eggs and bread crumbs, and form into patties.

The mixture is very wet, but it should hold together. You can add more bread crumbs if your patties seem too wet. I also found that refrigerating the patties for a little while before frying helped hold them together. I used two frying pans so the patties weren’t crowded. Add a little bit of oil to each pan, add the burgers, and cook for about 5 minutes per side — or until completely cooked — on medium heat. Add your toppings, and enjoy!

Once you make the recipe, you can see how you like the taste, and you can change the seasonings the next time. If you try this recipe or have your own recipe for black bean burgers, I would love to hear about it!

Have a great day!

Dee 🙂