Black Bean Burgers

Welcome Summer!!

There is just something about summer that puts me in the mood for a good burger. I am talking about a big juicy burger loaded with so many toppings that I have to mash everything between the bun in order to take a bite. I’m talking about a messy burger…a filling burger…the kind of burger in which one is just enough to fill you up and satisfy you for awhile.

Burgers remind me so much of summer because of the smell of charcoal and the smoky flavor. I love a good burger even though it is not something that I make very often. And being vegan is certainly not going to stop me from enjoying a good hamburger and a black beans are the perfect meat substitute.

Plus I really just wanted an excuse to make THIS Black Bean Hemp Burger from Sweet Potato Soul. Actually I have kind of been into all of the recipe’s from Jenne’s blog. She has so many great vegan recipes and videos that provide alternatives to many of my favorite recipes.

This recipe begins by pulling out the food processor and pulsing some roughly chopped red pepper and onion but making sure to leave a bit of texture, you do not want to pulse these too much. Jenne’s recipe used brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds which I did not have so I substituted walnuts and almonds instead,which I did have, and it still worked.

I ended up baking my black bean burgers in the oven, but you could totally grill them instead. I topped my burger with some vegan mayo, German mustard, lettuce, and tomato. It was so delicious and I will certainly be making these burgers a few more times throughout the summer.

Ingredients: 

• 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
• ½ red onion, roughly chopped
• ½ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup almonds
• ¼ cup hemp hearts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup quick cooking oats

Instructions: 

Preheat oven the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the red pepper and onion to the food processor, and pulse until minced and then pour the mixture into the large bowl. Add in the walnuts, almonds, hemp hearts, garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, and sea salt to the food processor and pulse everything until it has come together into a grainy mixture. Pour in the sane mixing bowl with the onion and pepper.

Add the beans and cilantro to the food processor and blend until almost smooth and pour into the mixing bowl. Next add the oats into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients and stir well to combine. The oats will expand and help hold the burgers together to help you better form the burgers by hand. Place each burger onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to flip each burger and continue baking for another 10 minutes. Allow the burgers to cool for about 5 minutes while you prepare you bun and favorite burger toppings.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from Sweet Potato Soul