I have tried to introduce meatless Mondays into our rotation of meals. But, I have to say, we are a meat eating family – generally chicken, turkey, and fish but meat nonetheless. So, we are still pretty new to vegetarian options. This recipe meets all the things we look for – tasty, filling, and relatively easy to make.

These use quinoa as part of the filler. I often end up making these when I have leftover quinoa or plan my week’s meals where I make a little extra quinoa to use in this dish. If you don’t have quinoa already cooked, start with that. Add 1/4 cup of quinoa to a pot with 1/2 cup of water and cook based on package directions (usually bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes). This will yield approximately 3/4 cooked quinoa.

Chop your veggies up. The smaller the better here. You won’t want big chunks of onion or pepper standing out in the burger. It’s about 1/2 a pepper, a quarter onion, and 1 garlic clove.

Next, drain & rinse a can of black beans (standard 15oz can). I would recommend against using flavored beans but if it’s what you have on hand, go for it! These burgers will take on the flavor of what you put in them so lots of flexibility to fit your tastes.

Add the beans to a large bowl and mash. I use a potato masher but you can use a fork too. Mash until there are is a good paste but you can still see some whole beans. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

Form the mixture into burger patties. Don’t make them too big as they will be tough to flip and stick together. I usually get about 8 patties out of the mixture. Once formed, put them in the fridge for a little while to firm up – ideally an hour. I will often make these up earlier in the day when I have some time and then it makes for a quick dinner time process to cook them up.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Once oil is hot, add patties (4 at a time) to the pan. Let cook for about 4 minutes a side or until they are nice and crispy on the outside. When done, place on a dish and dry up the extra oil on them with some paper towel. Cook the second batch and then you are ready to eat these up!

Play with the flavors in this recipe. I have tried them with lots of vairations. Try them with cumin, or chipotle powder, or paprika, or just garlic as the spice. I’ve added in a chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle in adobe sauce.

I like to make a creme sauce (mix some hot sauce with some plain Greek yogurt or sour cream) with these but they are also great with guacamole or ranch.

We usually eat these on hamburger buns (the gluten kind) and are careful about not cross contaminating whatever my son (celiac) is eating. But, these are good alone or in a lettuce wrap if you’re looking to make it a fully gluten free dish.

For side dishes, we often do french fries (yes, just the frozen bag kind) or a salad.

Note: I have not attempted to make these vegan but I think you could sub out the egg with vegan egg substitute.

Black Bean Burger

Ready in 1hour 30 minutes (30 minutes of active time); Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 1 can of black beans (15oz)
• 1/4 cup dry quinoa or 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup water (to cook quinoa in – omit if you already have cooked quinoa)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (gluten free bread crumbs work fine)
• 1/2 bell pepper minced (about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup)
• 2 tablespoons mince onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp spice for flavor (cumin, or paprika, or chipotle powder)
• oil for frying

Preparation

1. Cook quinoa based on package directions
2. Drain and rinse can of Black Beans
3. Chop pepper, onion, garlic (smaller the better)
4. In a large bowl, mash black beans until mixture of paste and whole beans left
5. Add remaining ingredients and mix well
6. Form mixture into 8 evenly sized patties
7. Place patties in fridge to firm up for 30-60 minutes
8. Add oil to large fry pan and heat
9. Once oil is heated, add patties to pan 4 at a time
10. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until crispy
11. Remove from pan and use a paper towel to absorb excess oil on them
12. Cook second batch
13. Eat