Super Easy Black Bean Burgers

These burgers are a new go-to staple in our house. They can be prepped in advanced for a great quick lunch. The credit of using quick cook oats goes to the Engine 2 Diet New York Time's Veggie Burgers. However, I don't choose to include quite everything that they do and get a fabulous tasting, custom burger. The great thing about this is that you can change your seasoning and extra add ins to create the perfect burger. Popular burgers at our house include Buffalo Ranch (yes, awful, non-vegan ranch. I am experimenting with making my own and also bought a vegan ranch that I'll try using after I use up the other ranch) and BBQ burgers (using our favorite BBQ sauce!). I almost always garnish with pickles, lettuce and red onion. I think next I want to try a Southwest Burger, with toasted corn and peppers and chipotle seasoning. Maybe some custom, homemade salsa on top too.

Super Easy Black Bean Burgers

 

 

You Will Need:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
Quick cook oats
Favorite fixings

Optional: 
Carrots
Green onions
Tomatoes
Onions
Desired seasonings
Olives
Cilantro
...whatever else you want.


This recipe isn't an exact science, which is part of what's so great about it! I always start out with 'no salt added' black beans and about 2/3 of the 'no sugar/salt added' corn in the blender. Do NOT add the oats to the blender. Once I get these two blended together, I start adding whatever else I want, depending on the type of burger I want to craft. Adding carrots is a great way to get them into your diet- I'm not a huge fan of but I added shredded carrot to my last patty mixture and couldn't even taste it. One carrot isn't much, but now I know I can add even more! I always add a few finely chopped green onions and yellow onions. Really- add whatever you like. It's a great time to clear out the fridge if you have any veggies that you need to use up. Don't forget seasoning! You can season it just like a hamburger patty.

The oats come as the last step. Empty your bean goo into a mixing bowl. I like to use the remaining 1/3 of my corn to mix in after I'm done blending. Mostly because I think it's pretty, so you can do that if you'd like. Start adding oats and stirring them in. The oats are the binding element that stops your burger from falling apart. Most black bean burger recipes I've read call for a bread of sorts- finely chopped, bread crumbs, etc. Oats are so easy to use and still taste great! Again, this isn't an exact science and how many oats you add really depends on what all you blended up and how wet your bean mixture is. I just add oats and stir until I get a consistency that I can form a patty out of that won't fall apart.

Next, turn a burner to medium or medium-high heat. I use a non stick skillet and a spray of Pam Olive Oil just for extra anti sticking security. Sometimes they stick without Pam, but luckily I haven't had any be ruined because of it, they're just not as pretty.  After I get a slight browning on each side, I begin to smash the burgers a little so that they flatten out a little bit more and don't have a gooey center. I smash them with my spatula and then let them cook on that side a few moments longer. I flip them and repeat until they seem to be smashed enough that they aren't gooey on the inside. If you do this too long, they simply get a bit dried out and crunchy around the edges, which wasn't entirely unpleasant either.

I typically just refrigerate my left over mixture and make patties as I need them. Some people I've read about form patties and stick them in the freezer for later. Ours don't really stick around long enough to warrant putting them in the freezer since we eat them pretty quickly, but I imagine you could if you wanted to.

They're pretty versatile little burgers. So go wild! If you do make them, take a picture, I'd love to see!