baby bean burgers

Happy summer from Minnesota!!!  It's such a beautiful day here, so you know what that makes me think of??  Cheeseburgers. (Obviously.)

So shout out to all of my cheeseburger-loving vegetarians out there!  Heeeeeyyyyyy!  But seriously, before I decided to take the veg route in life, I loved me a good cheeseburger!  And cheeseburgers off the grill in the summer?!  Divine.  That was probably one of the hardest adjustments for me to make.  At first, I thought the sound of bean burgers was nasty.  It just sounded totally unappealing to eat a mashed up pile of beans.  Gross.

Obviously my views have changed slightly, and this recipe is one of the contributing reasons for why!  By the time I warmed up to the idea of bean burgers, I was much more aware of the crazy crap that came with the premade, frozen veggie and bean burgers and it freaked me out.  So off I went on Pinterest, trying to find some kind of veggie/bean burger that was moderately appealing to me.  I found this recipe for a Spinach and Feta Double Bean Burger.  I made it and actually really liked it!  I’ve made it a few times since, but I have noticed that I had a tendency for changing the recipe.  So today when I decided to make them, I had the idea of making little baby burgers.  I know most people call them “sliders”, but “baby bean burgers” is so much more fun to say!  That alliteration, though!  I crack myself up.

Anyway!  The recipe!

Ingredients

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can white beans, drained & rinsed (I use cannellini)

½ red pepper, diced (about ¼ inch)

¼ cup chopped onion (I’ve used every color and it’s been fine, but the original recipe calls for white)

2 cups spinach or kale, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cooking oil/ghee/coconut oil

½ cup feta cheese

1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

2/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat ones)

2 eggs

Begin by heating about 2 tsp oil in a sauté pan on medium heat.  Sauté peppers and onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add spinach or kale and garlic and sauté another 3-4 minutes, until wilted.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, mash all but 1/3 cup of the beans.  Once mashed, add the remaining beans, breadcrumbs, feta cheese, cooled veggie mixture, eggs, and steak seasoning.  Mix everything together until it looks pretty uniform and shape into 10-12 patties. (Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 375F).  Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan to medium.  Gently place each patty into the pan and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until there is a nice, golden crust on the top and bottom.  Kind of like searing for meat..except with bean burgers instead. :]. After "searing" all of your burgers, place them on a pre-sprayed baking sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes and flip if needed.  Remove from oven and serve!  Personally, I love to top them with white cheddar cheese and sliced tomatoes, but you can top them however you want!  Hummus sounds like a good idea actually....om nom nom!

I have not yet tried these on the grill, so if you try them that way, let me know how it works!

to your health!

anne