Pioneer Woman's Black Bean Burgers

Drain the black beans…but I don’t rinse them. I want to have a little bit of that natural bean liquid to work with.


Pour the beans into a bowl…




Then use a fork…




To mash ’em up.




Basically, you want to mash them up until they’re pretty mushy, but still have some whole bean pieces throughout.

So sorta mushy.

But not totally mushy.

But kinda mushy.

But not completely mushy.

Thank you for listening.


To bring in a little substance and texture, measure 1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs…


And pour them in with the beans.


Now, for extra delicousness, peel an onion…

And grate it up.

I love grating onion whenever I want the flavor of onion, but don’t want big chunks of onion getting in the way of my happiness.

Solutions. I’m all about solutions, people.




Throw in the grated onion…

Then, to bind it all together, crack in an egg! It’s the right thing to do.

Now, add a little chili powder!

Then, for kicks, some salt and pepper.

And that right there is a bowl full of deliciousness, baby.

You’re just gonna have to trust me here.


Now, smush it all together until it’s all mixed together…







Now I just want to let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. While that happens, I’ll get the skillet ready!


Drizzle in a little olive oil…




And a little buttah for flavah.


Now, grab a hunk of the bean mixture…




Form it into a nice, neat patty…


And throw it into the skillet. Now, a note about the size of the patty: Black bean burgers are different from regular beef burgers in that they don’t shrink at all when they cook. So whatever size you make ’em when they go into the skillet will be the size they are when they come out. So if you’re in the habit of making burger patties a little larger than the bun to allow for shrinkage, beware!


Now, I cook the burger on pretty low heat, because I want the middle to get heated through without burning the outside.

So after about 4 to 5 minutes, flip the burger over to the other side and let it cook another 4 to 5 minutes.

Then, to really drive home the lusciousness, I added a couple of slices of Swiss cheese.





Now, during the whole cooking process, I got other burger stuff ready: I grilled a bun with a little butter on a griddle…




Until it was a nice, lovely golden brown.

You can dress the burger however you’d like! I used mayo, not to be confused with Miracle Whip, which we all know is what they serve in Hades…


And some hot sauce. I seriously think I have a problem. Either my body or my psyche needs hot sauce in the worst way. (Pssst. You can use ketchup if you’re more emotionally sound than I!)


Spread it around until it’s all swirly and magnificent.


Tada! Man, you’d never know there’s not an ounce of meat in this sucker. And the Swiss cheese is the perfect…well, icing on the cake.




Put it on the bottom bun…




Then I spooned on a little more mayo/hot sauce mixture, followed by some lettuce, and a big slice of tomato.

And the top half of the bun, of course!








So delicious, and half of this baby was totally satisfying. You can also cut out a lot of the bread (remember that the bean mixture also has breadcrumbs in it) by forgoing the bun and just eating the cheesy patty by itself.

Black Bean Burgers

PREP TIME:10 MinutesDIFFICULTY:EasyCOOK TIME:10 MinutesSERVINGS:4 Servings

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (14.5 Each) Seasoned Black Beans
1 cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Grated White Onion
1 whole Egg
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt And Pepper
Hot Sauce (I Used Choloula)
8 slices Swiss Cheese
Olive Oil, For Frying
Butter, For Frying And Grilling
4 whole Kaiser Rolls Or Good Hamburger Buns
Mayonnaise
Lettuce Or Other Greens
Sliced Tomato

INSTRUCTIONS
Drain, but do not rinse, the black beans. Place them in a bowl and use a fork to mash them. Keep mashing until they're mostly broken up, but still have some whole beans visible. Add the breadcrumbs, onion, egg, chili powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir until everything is combined, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil with an equal amount of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Form the bean mixture into patties slightly larger than the buns you're using (the patties will not shrink when they cook.) Place the patties in the skillet and cook them about 5 minutes on the first side. Flip them to the other side, place 2 slices of cheese onto each patty, and continue cooking them for another 5 minutes, or until the burgers are heated through. (Place a lid on the skillet to help the cheese melt if needed.)

Grill the buns on a griddle with a little butter until golden. Spread the buns with mayonnaise and hot sauce, then place the patties on the buns. Top with lettuce and tomato, then pop on the lids!

Yum.