Here’s a recipe for a meatless burger than I’ve been making for years. It’s flavorful and a very flexible recipe. You can use any type of bean or legume you want and the flavorings are easy to adjust to your preferences. Give it a try! The recipe is below the video demonstration. Enjoy!

I hope this helps!
Judi

Meatless Burgers
Makes about 6 Patties

2 cups COOKED beans of choice* (or 1 (15 oz) can of beans of choice, rinsed and drained)
½ cup quick oats (dry, not cooked)**
2 tsp garlic powder (or 8 small cloves of fresh garlic)
1-1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp dried minced onion (or ¾ to 1 cup diced fresh onion)
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1 cup cooked rice of choice
1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp water, or as needed
1 to 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place cooked beans in a food processor and process until the beans are somewhat broken up (it does not need to be perfectly smooth like hummus); set aside.

Place the oats, garlic, parsley, oregano, onion, pepper and salt in a large bowl; stir to combine. Add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Stir in the processed beans and the tomato paste; combine well. Add water as needed to make the mixture the texture and thickness of a raw ground beef mixture, and ingredients are moist and hold well together, but not soggy wet. If needed, add a little water (1 or 2 tablespoons at a time) to help the mixture to blend better. It needs to be moist enough to hold together, while being a little soft, but not so wet that patties won’t hold together or are sticky to handle. If the mixture is too moist, add a little more oats to the mixture and allow it to rest a few minutes so the oats can soak up the extra moisture.

Divide the mixture into ½ cup portions and form patties. If there is a little extra, just add it to the patties already made if it’s not enough for a whole patty.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and allow it to heat briefly. Carefully place the patties in the skillet. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow them to brown on the first side as they begin to firm up on the inside. If they are browning too fast where the inside is still very soft and the outside is too brown, reduce the heat on the stove a little more. When the patties are golden brown on the first side, carefully turn them and allow the second side to brown. The patties are done when they feel firm to the touch and both sides are browned, about 20 to 30 minutes depending upon how hot the skillet is. It is fine to flip the burgers more than once if needed. Serve immediately as you would any burger patty. Store extra patties covered in the refrigerator and use within 4 or 5 days.

* Literally any bean or legume (or any combination) can work in this recipe. Whatever you have on hand and want to use is fine. Canned, freshly cooked, or cooked and frozen can all be used in this recipe. If you have cooked and frozen beans, be sure to thaw them first.

** Old fashioned rolled oats can also be used, but place them in a food processor and pulse it a few times to break the oats up before using them.

About Judi
Julia W. Klee (Judi) began her journey enjoying “all things food” in elementary school when she started preparing meals for her family. That love of food blossomed into a quest to learn more and more about health and wellness as related to nutrition. She went on to earn a BS Degree in Food and Nutrition, then an MS Degree in Nutrition. She has taught nutrition and related courses at the college level to pre-nursing and exercise science students. Her hunger to learn didn’t stop upon graduation from college. She continues to research on a regular basis about nutrition as it relates to health. Her hope is to help as many people as possible to enjoy foods that promote health and wellness.