1. Pick your base (you will need 2 cups COOKED):
Black beans
White beans
Kidney beans
Chickpeas
Lentils (any color)
Split peas
(Really any kind of bean you find would probably work here – use your imagination!).
2. Pick your starch (you will need 1 cup):
Dry whole wheat bread crumbs or whole grain gluten free bread crumb
Uncooked rolled or old fashioned oats
Quinoa, cooked
Millet, cooked
Amaranth, cooked
Buckwheat, cooked
3. Pick your vegetable (or a few vegetables):
Dice them! If you pick two vegetables, you’ll want to decrease the amount you use by about half. For example, if you use carrots AND celery, use 1 rib of celery and 1 carrot stick. For three vegetables, you’ll want to use about ⅓, etcetera, etcetera.
Celery, about 2 ribs
Carrot, about 2 sticks
Onion, about 1 small
Mushrooms, about 1 cup
Jalapeño, 1 or 2 fresh depending on how spicy you like your food
4. Choose your spices
Go to town with spices. Our general rule is to evenly coat whatever we are making with spices or herbs, or if using dried herbs/spices, start with ¼ teaspoon and go from there. Taste as you go to get a combination that works for you. This list is not even close to comprehensive, but remember – get creative! Italian burgers? Mexican burgers? Jamaican-jerk burgers? Whatever you can dream up!
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Cayenne
Thyme
Cumin
Rosemary
Nutritional yeast (which will give your burgers are more cheese-like flavor)
Black pepper
Curry powder (works well with chickpea burgers)
Turmeric (a little goes a long way – a few dashes will do, and also works well with chickpea burgers)
5. Choose your liquid (¼ to ½ cup to start, adding ¼ cup as needed)
Low sodium vegetable broth
Liquid from cooked beans
Unsweetened plant milk
Variation: For a different taste, you can try ¼ cup pumpkin puree, mashed sweet potato or butternut squash puree. If you opt to add a puree, you may need less liquid overall.
5. Prepare ground flaxseed (also known as flax meal)
Combine 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons warm water. Set aside for a few minutes until it gets an egg white-like consistency.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or another nonstick surface. Add cooked beans to a mixing bowl, then use a fork, potato masher or your fingers to mash them well. Add your starch – you’ll want to mix the starch and mashed beans very well. Your hands will probably work best here. Add your vegetables (to really make the flavor pop, sauté them in a skillet for a few minutes first). Mix in spices and liquid, and finally the flax mixture.
Form patties and assemble onto lined cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they look slightly crispy on top. You will likely want to flip them at the halfway point.
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