Spicy black bean burgers two ways

ONE:

TWO:

Boom.

Homemade black bean burgers.  FINALLY.  After all these years I can check you off the Things I’ma Make List.  Thank you to this recipe for showing me that homemade black bean burgers are actually super simple to make.  Also thank you to Google for always helping me find delicious recipes to try out.  I may not be a recipe creator, but I’m one heck of a recipe tryer-outer-and-tweaker if I do say so myself.

Here’s how to make your own black bean burgers in four easy parts.

ONE:  Give the following a quick pulse in the blender, then strain out the excess liquids:

• 1/2 green pepper cut into chunks
• 1/2 onion cut into chunks
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced

TWO:  Rinse and drain 1 can of black beans and pat those little bean babies dry with a paper towel.  Once dry, pour them into a bowl and give them a good mash with a fork.  The beans will have a thick and pasty yet slightly chunky (in a good way) consistency.

THREE:  Whisk together the following in a small bowl:

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper (or less if you are a wimp)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Franks Red Hot

FOUR:  Combine parts 1, 2, and 3, then sprinkle in 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs and mix until combined.  Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to evenly portion out four burgers.  If you’re anal like me, your burgers will have precisely the same circumference.  This is optional (though highly recommended).

Cook those burgers up in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes on each side.

*Ding ding ding* Burgers are done!!!

Now it’s time to get creative.

Last night, I had one of the burgers in a big burger salad (just like we had at Pike’s over the weekend)!

I’m fairly certain ketchup and mustard have never looked so good:

Once the leftover burgers were cooled off, I wrapped them in parchment paper and then in a Ziploc baggie, and tossed them in the freezer.  Tonight, I heated one of the burgers up in the oven (again, 375 degrees 10 minutes on each side).

I plopped the burger on a Trader Joe’s low carb tortilla along with some tomato, onion, avocado, and dijon mustard:

Coming in for your close up:

I really enjoyed these spicy black bean burgers. The patties held together well even though the middle of the burger had a soft refried bean consistency (which I actually liked).  Next time I think I’ll cook them longer in the oven and see if the burger firms up at all.  Regardless, I’ll definitely be making these guys again!  I think I’ll try swapping out the bread crumbs for oats and egg whites for the egg.

I’m pumped I still have 2 more of these  in the freezer

Stats on 1 black bean burger:  182 calories, 30g carbs, 3g fat, 4g protein, 7g fiber