So, my partner and I love those darn Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burgers.. The only issue is that they are completely packed with processed garbage, GMOs, preservatives, and other things I can't even say better yet spell!
So, what is a girl to do? I mean I already have forced my loving partner into eating kale, arugula, chia seeds, quinoa, and a host of other things he'd never even heard of. By the way, It should be said that when we first got together I used to make him these incredible, authentic, amazing Mexican dishes. Of course, they were all laden in grease and other not so good for you things. He still to this day remains steadfast that that's how I roped him in. Ladies, you get it! The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach.. Well, I got to his heart and realized on top of loving him to pieces that I want him to live a long time, and personally, I didn't want to weigh 700lbs by the time we celebrated our silver anniversary. Okay, yeah maybe I tricked him, but he totally loves all the amazing healthy food I make! (Well .. almost all... Shh!)
Awhile back a friend of his introduced him to those aforementioned bean burgers, and we've been buying them ever sense.. (against my better judgement, but hey.. I pick my battles.)
So, yesterday when we were at the grocery store he mentioned that he wanted to get a box of those burgers, I informed him that I bet I could make them for less money and without all the other garbage in them! Well, he accepted my challenge, and I found myself trying to figure out how to make this happen. So, I scanned through the scientific text (known as the ingredients label) picked out the identifiable ingredients and set about making these things happen! This recipe yields 12 patties. Feel free to modify as you like! I decided to do mine vegan, but I'll list other vegetarian substitutes as well!
Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burgers:
Ingredients:
1 (16oz) can of black beans
1 cup of cooked rice, quinoa, or a combo of both --I used a wild rice and quinoa blend
1 large carrot cut into one inch chunks
.5 red bell pepper cut into chunks
3 tablespoons raw hulled sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast - this is replacing cheese, you could use .5 cup of shredded cheese
1 tablespoon of chia mixed with 3 tablespoons of water -this is replacing an egg (you could use an egg)
.5 teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon aminos/tamari/soy
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
.5 tablespoon red chili flakes
Reserve half a cup of the rice and 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds -set aside
Process first 5 ingredients in a food processor until well mixed and carrots are broken down.
(If you don't have a food processor then finely chop veggies and mash beans and continue recipe below, it will be more of a hearty burger, which isn't a bad thing! You probably will not need the extra rice or sunflower seeds.)
In a large bowl combine mixture from the food processor and the half cup of rice, sunflower seeds, chia seed mixture, and seasonings mix to incorporate. --adding these in here will bulk up your burgers
Now you have your basic base, you'll be forming patties, (think golf ball size amounts for each patty,) from this mixture, so you have some options.
You can either bake these, fry these, or both. You'll have about 12 patties, so you will be freezing the left overs unless you just eat them all (more power to you! hah!)
I chose the both option and browned them in a skillet with coconut oil and then placed them on a large baking sheet in an oven set at 350° for half an hour. I let them cool and then put them in an airtight container and stuck them in the freezer!
I'm pretty sure that these are way cheaper, taste better, and have totally identifiable ingredients!
I made the whole batch in a little over an hour (that is making all 12 patties processed, browned, and baked. Mister man LOVED them and started eating them like cookies right off the baking sheet as they cooled.. Ahemm, rude! Just kidding, I'm thrilled he loved them!
Enjoy! Let me know how they turn out!
Loving you!
Laura Helms
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