The veggie burger is a very foreign territory for me. Very foreign. I like my traditional cheeseburgers – just made out of beef, or even turkey (chicken burgers are okay, too), with some mustard and dill pickle. Alright, and the occasional red onion ring or two. And, there’d better be cheese on it 😉

Thus, when my husband suggested that we bring veggie burgers to our weekly garden potluck, I was a bit unsure of what to do. In our attempt to start eating healthier, I knew I had to give the veggie burger a chance at some point or another. I suppose I had always been under the impression that a) they were expensive and b) probably tasted like cardboard.

I found this recipe online (as I do like 75% of the time) and noticed that I had all the ingredients on hand – SCORE! I wanted to make 8 patties, total, so I doubled the recipe to suit our needs. I plugged in my Kitchenaid mixer (my new favorite way for mixing burgers & meatballs), and got to work.

Black Bean Burgers – adapted from Cooking Light

For 4 ‘burgers’:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• garlic & onion powder – a few swirls around the bowl will do
• 1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp grated lime rind (about the entire rind of a small lime)
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt

1. In a food processor, combine the oil, garlic & onion powder, and beans. Pulse until the beans make a thick paste. *If you don’t have a food processor, smash the beans in a bowl with a potato masher. Trust me – it works!*
2. In a large bowl, scrape in the bean mixture, along with the breadcrumbs. Add rind & remaining ingredients. Mix well.
3. Divide the bean mixture into 4 equal portions, and form patties. From here, you can seperate them with wax paper and refrigerate, or put onto a plate and wait to either pan-fry or grill.
4. PAN FRY METHOD – Heat some olive oil in a skillet, on medium. Add patties to pan; cook for 4 min on each side until the bottom edges are browned. Flip and repeat.
5. GRILL – Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray. Lay that onto a grill and let the grill heat up. Cook the burgers on each side until browned.

Hey, it looks alright!

My husband walked in the door just as I was fixing these up – and right away he was impressed by the fact that I was making them on my own and not just buying them from a store. I told him that I had all the ingredients on-hand and that they were, well, easy! And even better, budget-friendly. They have a southwestern flavor to them, but tasted great with some cheese and some spicy ketchup (HINT: try mixing sriracha and ketchup. You won’t be disappointed).

They were also very well-accepted at our potluck later in the evening. 🙂

Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet with making black bean burgers, I can easily see different ways of adapting them for whatever ‘tastes’ we’re feeling that particular evening. If I can make and eat a veggie burger and like it, I think that anyone can!