I will never be a vegetarian. NEVER. Unless the bacon industry collapsed and pigs went extinct…..
I do enjoy cooking for vegetarians. I have a handful of signature dishes I turn to that are always a crowd pleaser, vegetarian or not.
This recipe is from one of my favorites: SkinnyTaste. If you aren’t following Gina, than you are really missing out.
I slightly modified – but the original recipe is just as amazing. I typically will always follow a recipe to the T @ first, then make it my own over time.
I made these in Vermont after skiing, they were a HUGE hit. I was then harassed all week for the recipe…haha. Harassed! Can you believe it? My own family was threatening me to share the recipe. Love you guys.
These freeze super well. I try to keep these on hand at all times for the unexpected vegetarian, or when we just want to have a meatless Monday. Enjoy.
Ingredients - makes 8 burgers
(2) 16 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped scallions, roughly chopped
bunch of cilantro – adjust to taste – I LOVE IT
1 clove garlic
2 eggs
2 tbsp cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp kosher salt
hot sauce to taste (I think I used about 2 tsp)
1 cup quick oats
Directions:
Drain and rinse beans well, make sure to dry well. Add to large bowl and mash with fork, or potato masher. If you wanna save your wrist, use a potato masher, but it’s just as easy to do with large fork. Set aside.
In a food processor, add cilantro, pepper, scallion, and garlic, mix well. In a pinch, you can always just use a knife and finely chop everything – in case you don’t wanna break out the food processor, but make sure you finely chop.
Next, add oats, then eggs, cumin, hot sauce and salt into the food processor, mix well.
Add to bowl and fold into bean mixture.
Form into eight patties and place on a wax paper lined rimmed baking sheet. Skinny Taste recommends that if it’s too wet, chill the mixture 30 minutes in the refrigerator or add another tablespoon of oats – totally works.
Pop in the freezer at least 2 hours before cooking or keep frozen until ready to cook.
Heat a lightly sprayed skillet to medium heat and cook frozen burgers about 7 minutes on each side.
If grilling, lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil; grill 7-8 minutes on each side or you can bake in the oven at 375° on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Serve as you wish. I just topped mine with avocado, but you can put on a bun with spicy mayo and it’s delicious.