Black Bean Burgers

(Excuse the mess! Focus on the deliciousness!)

Umm, YUM. I really cannot stand frozen veggie burgers, but I sure do love a good homemade black bean burger! I was excited to try this recipe since it had such good reviews, and the ingredients are so frugal and easy! However, I discovered about halfway through the process that I was out of both cumin and bread crumbs. Oops! My adjusted recipe was as follows:

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper diced very fine
  
• 1/2 onion diced very fine
  
• 3 teaspoons of jarred garlic
  
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
  
• 1 teaspoon of Louisiana hot sauce
  
• 1/2 cup brown rice
  

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. Stir bell pepper, onion and garlic in to black bean mixture.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, taco seasoning and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in brown rice until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

*Disclaimer* - Black bean burgers tend not to stay together very well -- even the ones I've had at nice restaurants. I baked mine in the oven, and they really held together pretty well. I did have one kind of crumble when I flipped it, but the others were just fine. I would recommend using leftover rice as it tends to dry out, and I would also let these rest a good 5 or so minutes before transferring to a bun. They seem to be firmer when they're not super hot.

I will admit that my kids were a little reluctant to try it. They couldn't have managed it in a bun and were not quite sure what to do with it once it started to crumble after I cut it up. They DID both eat a pretty decent amount but not without some prompting. I was secretly kind of happy because I stashed the leftovers in the freezer, so I will be able to have leftover black bean burgers for the rest of the week at work! Sounds like a good lunch to me!

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