I found a recipe for beet and black bean burgers on Pinterest that intrigued me. A few months ago I had a delicious veggie burger in Chicago that had beets in it, and until then, I had never even heard of using beets in a burger. Yesterday I decided to try out the recipe and I'm so glad I did! It was time consuming to chop everything up, but I think it was worth it. I found the recipe on The Kitchn, but I tweaked it a little and have the recipe that I used below. I didn't have any problems with the burger falling apart, which is usually the biggest issue with homemade patties. Definitely try it if you're looking for a healthy veggie burger option!
Black Bean and Beet Veggie Burgers (adapted from the kitchn)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 yellow onion, diced small
3 large red beets, diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (1 t in mixture, 1 t used in pan with onions, 1 t used to cook burger)
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
pepper to taste
Cook brown rice in approx. 2/3 cup water for 35 minutes. Set aside.
Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and softened. Stir in the beets. Cover the pot and cook until the beets are completely tender (this took me about 12 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Empty the black beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash them up. Add the cooked rice, the beet and onion mixture, lemon juice, olive oil, chipotle peppers, rolled oats, and all the spices. Use a potato masher to combine and then taste for seasonings. I think using the potato masher here is what helped my patties stay together well.
Heat pan (I used my pan that is made especially for searing, but you can also use cast iron skillet.) and 1 t. of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil flows easily the pan is ready.
Scoop out a cup of the mixture and shape it into a patty. Place in pan, where it should begin to sizzle. If not, remove it and heat pan for a little longer. Cook for two minutes on each side, or until a nice crust forms.
Black Bean and Beet Veggie Burgers (adapted from the kitchn)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 yellow onion, diced small
3 large red beets, diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (1 t in mixture, 1 t used in pan with onions, 1 t used to cook burger)
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
pepper to taste
Cook brown rice in approx. 2/3 cup water for 35 minutes. Set aside.
Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and softened. Stir in the beets. Cover the pot and cook until the beets are completely tender (this took me about 12 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Empty the black beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash them up. Add the cooked rice, the beet and onion mixture, lemon juice, olive oil, chipotle peppers, rolled oats, and all the spices. Use a potato masher to combine and then taste for seasonings. I think using the potato masher here is what helped my patties stay together well.
Heat pan (I used my pan that is made especially for searing, but you can also use cast iron skillet.) and 1 t. of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil flows easily the pan is ready.
Scoop out a cup of the mixture and shape it into a patty. Place in pan, where it should begin to sizzle. If not, remove it and heat pan for a little longer. Cook for two minutes on each side, or until a nice crust forms.
I used a poppy seed sauce on top of my bun before toasting them in our toaster over. Recipe is below:
Poppy seed sauce (adapted from here)
1 t. poppyseeds
1 t. yellow mustard
1/2 T. vegan butter spread
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 T. vegan butter spread
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Melt butter in microwave (5-10 seconds). With a fork mix in mustard, poppy seeds, and Worcestershire sauce. Spread over buns and toast in toaster over for approx. 8 minutes or until brown on top.
I only cooked one patty and saved the rest of the mixture in the fridge, because the recipe warned that cooked patties should be eaten the same day. The uncooked mixture can last for up to a week in the fridge.
P.S. I had never cooked with beets before and had no idea how to prepare them. For those of you who are interested, I cleaned them with a vegetable brush, used a peeler to take off the outer skin (like a carrot), and then chopped into small pieces. Not sure if this is really how you're supposed to do it, but it worked well for me.
P.P.S. the bun is most definitely not ETL, and neither is the 3 t. of olive oil. But I've decided that for one meal of the day my diet can suck it. I'm still staying vegan, but there are only so many raw vegetables and salads that I can handle. My breakfast and lunch are staying on track and and I'm still watching calories for dinner, so I will hopefully continue to see weight loss :)
