What's to Eat??? Black Bean Burgers

Fresh Black Bean Burger

Since I am a vegetarian, burgers used to never even be on my list of food that I would eat.  Usually I'm not a huge fan of fast food veggie patties or restaurants'.  This past summer I spent my time at my sister's up north.  She is a huge foodie and cooks the best food  (besides my mom ofcourse)and she tries to make everything healthy too! 

So her and her husband introduced me to black bean  burgers.  Sounds normal right? Yes, I've had them before but they usually for some reason aren't THAT great.  But she made hers from scratch and wowzers! I fell in love!  Check this out and try it for yourself!

You will need::
1 can of black beans (will give 8 patties) ***UPDATE*** (look below for an update of the black beans!!)
-You will want to mash up and beat the black beans up until it is nice and mushy.

Then whip out the food processor.  You will now need::

-half of an onion

-4 cloves of garlic

-1/2 of a bell pepper

-Put all these ingredients in the processor and start it up till it's mixed well.
-Then using your hands or a cheese cloth,  squeeze all the water you can out.  Doing this helps with the texture and tastes better too.

Now mix the processed, watered-out mix with the mashed black beans. Mix this mix really well.

Seasonings::

- 1 tomato can paste(a substitute for 1 egg)
1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder (add more depending on how much you like garlic)
2 teaspoons of oregano
1-2 teaspoons of chili flakes (again, add more depending on your tastebuds)
 1/2 taco seasoning mix packet

Mix all of these ingredients well.

Now mix the seasonings with the black beans mashhup.
This mix is going to be wet so add about 1/2cup to 1 cup of breadcrumbs until the mix doesn't stick to your hands anymore.  You can now form your patties and put onto a Pam-ed cookie sheet.

If you want to bake::

Bake  your patties @ 375 degrees for 30 mins.  

15 mins in, turn over the patties to the other side.  

If you want a little crispy, after 10/15 minutes into the baking,  turn it up to 400 degrees.

If you want to grill::
You have to freeze the black bean burgers for at least 30 minutes so it's solid enough.
Place the burgers on an aluminum sheet and then onto the grill for 10-12 minutes on each side at about 400 degrees.

Get whatever you want to put in your burger, some tots, fries, corn, salad  and eat away now! :)

The best thing about this is that it is fresh and you can also put them in the freezer and whenever you want to eat it, you can just pop it in the oven!  You can also grill these.

Enjoy eating fresh black bean burgers!!

ps, don't forget to =)

**UPDATE!!** Click on the link below for an awesome Black Bean recipe instead of using a can! Fresher and healthier and even tastier!
Fail Proof Black Beans