Black Bean Burgers

These black bean burgers are inexpensive and tasty.  Plus they can be cooked straight from the freezer, making them very convenient as well.

From: Veganomicon
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Freezer to Pan
Recipe Column: BR

Serves 8

2 cups cooked black beans (3/4 cups dry beans) or 1 15 oz can, drained

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp chile powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1/4 cup water

1. Mash the beans in a bowl with a potato masher or a fork.  It should still be chunky but with no whole beans left.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
3. Form the mixture into patties and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

To freeze:

Freeze the patties on a sheet pan.  You can put up to two layers on a sheet tray.  Just separate the layers by parchment or wax paper.

To serve:

Add a tablespoon or two of oil to a large frying pan, just enough thinly cover the bottom.  Heat the oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the frozen black bean patties.  Don't overcrowd the pan.  

Cover the pan to help the burgers cook through.  When the burgers are brown on the first side, flip and cook until browned on the other side and heated to 140 degrees in the middle.  Sometimes we eat these on buns like a burger and sometimes we just eat the patties like in the picture above.  Whichever way you decide to serve them, definitely have them with avocados and tomatoes.  They really make the dish.