Black beans were on sale (yay!) I have been making veggie patties / latkes / burgers a lot lately. Mostly for experimentation, but a lot to do with the fact that they are soo good. So, next on my list were blackbean burgers. I was going to just do what I usually do when I’m making patties and don’t have a recipe… just keep messing around until the consistency is right. However, I found a really lovely recipe that I wanted to try on Vegan Ventures. I stayed pretty close to the recipe, but added and took out a few things. They were so good! I made some spicy rapini and put it on top of the patty and put it between a piece of thin rye bread.

Ingredients

• 1 can Black Beans
• 1 Green Bell Pepper (you can use any color)
• 1/3-1/2 an Onion
• 3/4 Cup Wheat Germ
• 1-2 Green Onions
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves
• 1/3 cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1/2 cup Chopped Sunflower Seeds
• 2-4 tbs Nutritional Yeast
• Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
• Red Pepper Flakes (to taste…more if you want them really spicy!)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Sesame Oil
• Topping Ideas: Sliced Tomatoes, Baby Spinach, Spicy Broccoli Rabe, Mustard, Vegan Mayo

Directions

1. Get out a large bowl and either grate the onion and bell pepper into the bowl, or chop into very small pieces.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans. Process them until smooth. Add into the bowl.
3. Cut the green onions in half. Put aside the green end and chop the white part and add into the bowl.
4. Process the walnuts and sunflower seeds along with the garlic and add into the bowl. Add in the Wheat Germ, Nutritional Yeast, Red Pepper Flakes, Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper.
5. Start mixing. You may want to add a tiny amount of oil and/or water (1 tsp of water at a time) until you get the mixture to the point where it holds together. I suggest using your hands to finish mixing and for resting the consistency.
6. Heat a non-stick pan with a small amount of sesame oil to med-low. Once heated, form patties with the mixture and place on the skillet. Cook for around 5-7 minutes on each side, or until crispy brown.

Serve ‘em up! They don’t need to be eaten on bread. If you make the spicy broccoli rabe, you can just place some in a bowl and put a patty on top. Add some sliced tomato, baby spinach, mustard and vegan mayo…so good. Ahh. Time to end this post so I don’t get hungry again.

I haven’t tried because they were eaten too fast, but I assume these would freeze well. I’ll report back if I end up making a double batch next time.