Successful Veggie Burgers

I’m a big fan of the idea of veggie burgers, but the price and taste of the ones at the supermarket, not so much.   As a result, I’ve been keeping an eye out for veggie burger recipes that I could make myself.  I tried a recipe from A Food Coma a few months back, but they didn’t stay together very well.  I have good intentions of trying them again and making them work, however.

This week I tried a burger recipe from Cheap, Healthy, Good.  Brian and I were both pleasantly surprised by how well they came out.  These burgers taste good, stay together, actually get a little crispy and have a texture more similar to hamburgers then some meat substitute creations I’ve tried.  They also hold up great in the fridge for a couple days (or, according to Cheap, Healthy, Good, in the freezer)

Veggie Burgers

Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good, Makes about 12 small (3″ diameter) burgers
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 tbsp adobo spice mix (<–well worth following CHG’s directions to make!)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the beans, minced onion, garlic cloves and oats into your food processor.  Pulse until just blended.
2. Add the rice and spices.  Use the food processor to blend, but not puree.  (Though some of my mix was pretty pureed and they still came out great!)
3. Add water or more rice to thin or thicken the burger mixture as needed.  It should be about the consistency of meatloaf mix.
4. Let the burger mixture rest for 15-20 minutes.  Form into balls and flatten into patties about 1/2 an inch thick.
5. Bake burgers on a parchment lined baking sheet for 30 minutes at 350°.  Flip burgers after 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

We topped our rolls with 2-3 burgers and ricotta cheese.  And Brian added ketchup to his, but we know how I feel about ketchup.