I have tried many black bean burger recipes over the last couple of years as it is one of the few vegetarian meals that both my husband and I enjoy.

Prior to Friday night, I had not found the “one”.

These were easy to make and the end result was yummy.  Although I use mustard on everything, I did not want to use it on my burger as it would mask the taste.

Here is the recipe, found at Daily Garnish:

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky). Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.
• Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.
• Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.
• Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.
• Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.
• Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium-sized patties.
• Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.
• If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

There were only a few things I did differently than the recipe.  Since there were only two of us eating, I halved the recipe, which worked wonderfully.  I also did not have coriander or onion powder on hand, so I skipped those (I added a sliced onion to the burger before eating).  Finally, out of laziness, I did not grate a carrot, but added three or four baby carrots to the food processor, and that worked out fine.

The burgers were delicious. I love the combination of cinnamon, chili powder and cayenne.  The consistency of these are much better than any I have made before; they are actually like burgers.

Given my new-found awareness that my diet is low on iron, thanks to My Fitness Pal (see this post), I especially appreciate the inclusion of pumpkin seeds in the recipe.  The seeds are an excellent source of iron and add a delicious nutty flavor and texture to the burgers.

The finished product:

As you can see, I added carrots, radishes, tomatoes, homemade broccoli slaw and a pickle to the meal.  The unidentifiable green things on the plate are kale chips.  I have been reading a lot about kale, which is rich in nutrients, including anti-oxidants.  Many healthy living bloggers espouse these as substitutes for potato chips.  I washed and dried (drying is key here) the leaves, then split them into bit size pieces, throwing away the stalks.  Then I spritzed the leaves with olive oil and sea salt, and baked for 10 – 15 minutes at 350. You want them to brown, but not turn black.  They were good – even my hubby liked them.  I think I might have liked them a little better, though, if I did not have potato chips on my mind.  They are no substitute for actual potato chips.

Enjoy!