Simplest Bean Burger Possibilities

Below is a picture of the casserole I mentioned in my last post:

Here is the recipe I used:

The Simplest Bean Burgers

makes 4-6 servings
time: 20 minutes with cooked beans

2 cups well-cooked white, black, or red beans or chickpeas or lentils, or one 14-ounce can, drained
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 cup rolled oats (preferably not instant) (if you are avoiding gluten, please be sure to make sure oats are labeled gluten free, I used cooked rice instead of oats)
1 tablespoon chili powder or spice mix of your choice
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg (in place of egg you can use 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup cooked short-grain rice, 1/4 cup Vegannaise, 1/4 cup miso, or 1/2 cup tofu)
bean-cooking liquid, stock or other liquid if necessary
 a neutral oil such as olive oil

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse them until they are chunky. Your mixture should be moist but not wet. If you have time let it rest for a few minutes.

With wet hands, shape your burgers and give them time to rest a bit (the burgers hold up better if they rest before being fried).  While they are resting, fill the bottom of a skillet with oil and heat it to medium heat.  Place the burgers in the skillet and cook until brown and firm on both sides (approximately 5 minutes each side).

Variation: Ground Beef-like Crumbles

If you want the ground beef-like crumbles such as illustrated above.  Do not shape the mixture into burgers, do heat an oil filled skillet to medium heat and place the mixture inside it without stirring until it is crisp and brown.  After it is crisp and brown, stir and break the pieces apart and cook until it is done.

Your ground beef-like crumbles can be used to make a similar casserole to  the one above.  Besides a "ground bean" filling, I added carrots, broccoli, tomato sauce, carrots and mozzarella cheese.  There are vegan cheeses that actually melt.  While I can't recommend any good vegan cheeses (because I don't remember the names of the ones that exist), I can admit to trying some a few years ago and it was rather good.

If this recipe sounds exciting, please check out How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food and learn more about what other delicious meals you can make :)