Nirvana Black Bean Burgers

By Pam Hadder

The quest has ended!  After years of making so-so black bean burgers, I have found the perfect combo of ingredients to produce a moist, flavourful patty - this truly is black bean burger heaven, hence the name: Nirvana Black Bean Burgers.

The best part of this whole situation - they are super easy to make and require no unusual or hard-to-find ingredients.  Another wonderful aspect is how amazing the aroma is when they are baking!  Once baked and cooled, I individually bagged and froze these - then you can pan-fry, BBQ or microwave, depending on your time and preferences.  A quick and easy option is to microwave to thaw (1-2 minutes per patty), and then broil in the toaster oven to get a nice crispy, brown exterior - I place the patties on a square of foil and flip mid-way when preparing them in this way - also great way to add melted vegan cheese, mmmm. Hope you will enjoy making these yummy vegan burgers - my recipe was adapted from many recipes I have tried over the years, and I am so happy that I finally found ingredients and proportions that work for me - in the past I found many bean burgers too bland or very dry xox

Nirvana Black Bean Burgers

Makes 12 patties - approximately 4.5" across and 1/2" thickness

Ingredients:
2 cans of black beans, well rinsed and drained
1 medium cooking onion
8 baby carrots, or one large carrot
1 small bell pepper - any colour (I used yellow)
2 Tbsp. fresh crushed garlic, or approximately 6-8 cloves
6 Tbsp. chili sauce, ketchup or Sriracha sauce (chili for sweet 'n spicy, ketchup for milder flavour, and Sriracha for extra garlic and fire!)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1 cup wheat flour or ground spelt
Approximately 1 cup, fine bread crumbs* (I use Pastene brand, seasoned bread crumbs, but you could use any type, or even crush your favourite healthy crackers!)Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper, and spray lightly with vegetable oil.  If you don't have veg oil spray, just put a few drops of oil on your hands and lightly spread it over the parchment.

Mash the beans in a large bowl with a potato masher - I don't recommend blending or processing unless you have a really good appliance; you want the beans to be a bit coarse, not like a purée - this makes for a nicer texture.  Next place the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and Sriracha (or ketchup, chili sauce) into the blender - buzz until smooth.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, seasoning salt, and flour - mix together to combine.  Add the wet mix from the blender to the mashed beans alternating with the dry spice and flour mix, then add in enough of the fine bread crumbs to make a good consistency for patties. For those of you that have worked with ground meat, the bean mixture will be slightly moister than meat-based burgers - this is how it should be. Add just enough crumbs to allow the mixture to bind together - no bits should be falling out.  *NOTE: it is hard to give a precise measure on the bread crumbs, as the size of the veggies and their moisture content will vary - you just have to get a feel for the right consistency - trust in your abilities and know you are very close to one kick-ass vegan burger!  

Using a small serving spoon or a tablespoon, scoop out about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the bean patty mixture and plop it on the prepared baking sheet - pat it into a circle or square about 1/2" thick and smooth the edges with your finger tips.  Place the patties about 2" apart on the sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, flip patties and return to bake second side for another 12-15 minutes. 

These are amazing as a traditional burger on a bun, or on top of a crunchy salad, or just as-is for a quick protein fix. Hope you will try and enjoy - they are really just so yummy!  xox