Meat Free Monday: Black Bean-Quinoa Burgers

Let’s just get this out in the open…if you are looking for something to satisfy that craving for a big, juicy beef burger, this is not it.  It’s a bean burger.  It tastes like beans.  It doesn’t taste like beef.  Once I got the idea of beef substitute out of my head, I was able to enjoy this recipe.  I don’t know what I was thinking, but I thought I’d bite into this and not be able to tell I was eating a bean burger.  Yeah, not so much.  However, if you are looking for a vegetarian burger, and you like beans, you should give this one a try. 

It smelled delicious while it was cooking:

Not so appetizing once I ran it through the food processor, but it doesn’t look (or feel) any worse than raw, ground beef (yuk). 

 

Looks much better as a finished product!

Some notes on the recipes:

Next time I will add more sun-dried tomatoes.  I just love them but could hardly taste them in the burgers.

Because I used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning, I think there was enough salt.  I added extra salt to the mix, as suggested, but my burgers ended up being too salty.  Next time I will omit any extra salt.

The mix is hard to shape so I ended up scooping a 1/2 cup into my pan and then just shaped them in the pan.  Once they are browned a bit, they stick together a little better.  Also, I think next time I will make the patties a little thicker. 

I would love to try out some other vegetarian burger recipes, so pass them along if you have a good one for me!

Black Bean-Quinoa Burgers

click here for printable version

Serves 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa

1 small onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped (1/4 cup) – I will add more next time because I love sun-dried tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, or 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained, divided – I used canned black beans

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

2 tsp. dried steak seasoning – I used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning

8 whole-grain hamburger buns

 

Directions

1. Stir together quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water in small saucepan, and season with salt, if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. (You should have 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa.)

2. Meanwhile, place onion and sun-dried tomatoes in medium nonstick skillet, and cook over medium heat. (The oil left on the tomatoes should be enough to sauté the onion.) Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until onion has softened. Stir in 3/4 cup black beans, garlic, steak seasoning, and 11/2 cups water. Simmer 9 to 11 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

3. Transfer bean-onion mixture to food processor, add 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, and process until smooth. Transfer to bowl, and stir in remaining 3/4 cup quinoa and remaining 3/4 cup black beans. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and cool.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F, and generously coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape bean mixture into 8 patties (1/2 cup each), and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, or until patties are crisp on top. Flip patties with spatula, and bake 10 minutes more, or until both sides are crisp and brown. Serve on buns.

Nutritional Information

Per burger: Calories: 215, Protein: 9g, Total fat: 3g, Saturated fat: <1g, Carbs: 40g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 438mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugars: 5g