A week or two ago I made my first attempt at a healthy black bean burger. I really like Morningstar Farms black bean burgers but they’re GMO and I am eating much less processed food these days. I really love my first burgers and have made them a couple of more times. But there is one problem with them: they fall apart so easily. I’m thinking I should make them and break them up in small pieces and use for spaghetti or whatever. Anyway, I decided to try a second burger that might hold together better and its consistency is much better!
What’s In My Veggie Burger Recipe, Part II?
There is a certain irony with this recipe because the recipe includes gluten. Last year I avoided all gluten and now I’m adding it to my food. But my reasoning was that the gluten might help my bean burgers hold together better – and it did! The recipe includes quinoa, too, and perhaps that makes it more cohesive?
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Step 1: put 1/4 cup quinoa and 1/2 cup water in a pan, bring to a boil and cook 10-15 minutes until done.
There are two colors of quinoa: red and white/clear. I have both but I chose the red kind for this recipe since it fit better with the red beans in the recipe.
Step 2: Rinse and drain a 15 ounce can of beans.
Most veggie burger recipes call for black beans or kidney beans but I like red beans better and used them instead.
Really mash the beans.
Step 3: add the quinoa and other goodies to the mashed beans. I then added 2 Tablespoons each of barbeque sauce and ketchup and 1 Tablespoon of mustard.
I experimented with a recipe which called for 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce but I used Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids instead which is a soy sauce kind of taste but is very healthy.
I also threw in some of my beloved Mrs. Dash Southwestern Chipotle and some additional chipotle chili powder.
Step 4: add 1/3 cup gluten and mix everything together thoroughly. The longer you mix your beans, the better the burgers will hold together.
Step 5: make six patties and pop them into the 450 degree oven.
Bake for 8 minutes, turn over and bake for 8 more minutes. If necessary, flip again and bake for 5 more minutes. This step certainly wasn’t necessary for my veggie burgers.
The Verdict On My Veggie Burger Recipe
These are outstanding! I like the flavor better than my earlier experiment and they are much sturdier. Plus, they are crisper than my first ones.
Here they are with some mustard, vine-ripened tomatoes and some of my artisan lettuce.
What I Will Do Differently Next Time
* I’m going to forget the barbeque sauce next time. It adds a slight tang of sweetness that I don’t need. I will substitute more ketchup.
* I will cook them either a bit less time or at a lower temperature. This will take some experimentation.
Homemade Veggie Burger Rating: A+
coolveggy says
That sounds wonderful. I am a vegan and I sometimes I do need to thicken salad dressings, what I found works really good is flax seed, chia seeds, even physilum husk, they are wonderful when it comes to keeping things together. I have a salad dressing that I use flax seed and banana and I find it works wonderful. The banana does not have a very strong taste, especially if it on the green side, and it brings a wonderful texture. I would try for the burger.
Sydney Johnston says
Collin, these are truly awesome burgers. I’ve been eating one every day for at least two weeks and have no desire to stop. They look and taste more like meat than my first experiment. And yes, I agree with you about thickening salad dressings. I don’t like ‘watery’ dressings, either. They just fall to the bottom of the bowl, rather than clinging to the lettuce, tomatoes, etc. What’s the point of that?