Black Bean Burgers

{Meatless Monday}

These were very yummy...but you cannot approach them as a burger substitute! You have to enjoy them for what they are...because it does not taste like you are biting into a big juicy burger! But they have very delicious flavor and all my kids ate them. Two just tolerated them and the other 3 genuinely liked them.

I doubled the recipe for my family, but only did 1.5 times the spices. I also used flavored black beans (S&W Caribbean Style), but I think that made the whole mixture more runny than it should have been. I ended up adding more bread crumbs and some corn meal to have it stick together. When you add the crumbs, give it a few minutes to firm up, then if it is still too sticky, don't be afraid to just stir in more bread crumbs. You want it to be about like a meatloaf mixture. I could just barely get mine to form patties and they cooked up great. I baked them on each side for 10 minutes and then broiled them on each side for 2-3 min just to have them a little crunchy on the outside.

Here's what you need:


1 16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled (I used minced garlic from my fridge)
1 egg
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 tsp Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375*. Lightly oil a baking sheet. If you want to actually grill these, preheat your grill for high heat and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil.

In a bowl, mash beans until thick and pasty.

In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into the beans.

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.

Stir the egg mixture into the beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide into four patties.

If grilling, place on foil and grill about 8 min each side. If baking, place on baking sheet and bake about 10 min each side.


Try them out! You might be surprised how yummy they are!