0 Tasty Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers

A few weeks back, Billy and I tried a new to us restaurant called Greenhouse Craft Food in Round Rock, TX. It's a locally sourced, seasonal kind of place, and everything we had was delicious! I had the chicken spring rolls for an appetizer, and the black bean burger for my main course. I've actually recreated both of those dishes now! The spring rolls I ate for three days straight and loved every minute of my first attempt at making spring rolls. Now I've tackled my first try at black bean burgers, and think it went over decently. I'll probably be tweaking the recipe each time I make it, but this was a good first shot!

photo via the foodie physician 

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients for 6 burgers:

2 15oz cans black beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 medium bell pepper, cut into pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup grated zucchini (squeeze the excess water out after grating)
1/4 cup grated carrot (squeeze the excess water out after grating)
1/2 cup corn
2 egg (for vegan option, use 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water for each egg)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup bread crumbs (or oats/brown rice/quinoa)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray.
Place beans, bell pepper, garlic, zucchini and carrot into a or food processor (or blender, like me, if you don't have a FP. Then swear like a sailor when you realize it would be easier if you did) and blend until it's the consistency of refried beans. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add spices, breadcrumbs and egg, stir to incorporate. Feel free to adjust the amount of breadcrumbs used to thicken the batter.
Use a spatula to divide the mixture into 6 parts, then form into patties and place on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip (have fun with that!) and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Serve with your favorite burger toppings and sides!