Real People Eat Real Food: Black Bean Burgers

I’m starting a new series that showcases a bunch of recipes that I’ve tried.  I’ll try my best to incorporate non-processed foods in the recipes, with a few exceptions. My point is that, as Americans, we have become accustomed to eating processed food and encouraging gluttony on our plates. Incorporating real foods into your diet helps to ensure that we get all the right nutrients and not starve our bodies of things that are necessary for healthy functioning bodies and immune systems. I also want to show that you don’t have to eat like a bird in order to eat healthy or lose weight. Moderation is key, but filling up on good nutrients will lead to better health.

My first recipe is Bri’s Black Bean Burgers ( how ’bout that for alliteration?!). I found this recipe online, but made a few alterations (some by accident).

Items needed:

2 large eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

2 15 ounce cans of black beans (drained after opening)

1 large red onion (chopped)

1 green bell pepper (chopped)

1 tablespoon chipotle chile pepper

A hand full of mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

 

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375

1. In a large bowl, mash both cans of black beans until thick and pasty. 

2. Place the onions, garlic, green bell pepper, and mushroom into a blender or food processor (Food processor is probably better. We used a blender because that’s all we had). This mixture should smell like guacamole when blended. 

3. In a smaller bowl mix the two eggs and chipotle chile pepper.

4. Place the blender mixture in the bowl with the beans. Mix together. Now pour and mix in the egg mixture and bread crumbs in the bean mixture. Now you should have an “everything mixture”.

5. Form patties with the everything mixture and place on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake on one side for 11 minutes and then flip over the patties for another 11 minutes.  

But is it tasty?

Don’t expect them to taste like burgers, because it is not made out of meat. While cooking, it smelled so much like a Korean restaurant, and the kick of the chipotle chili pepper powder reminded me of the kick in kimchi. This kick was unexpected because the original recipe called for just chili pepper powder, not CHIPOTLE chili pepper powder. However, without this kick, I have a feeling these burgers would be really bland.  Overall, this was VERY tasty! My husband loved them too! Next time, I would probably add more bread crumbs to hold them together better.  

Try them and let me know what you think!