Black Bean Burger

Recipe from Swanson Vitamin website

1 can Eden organic black bean (or soak and sprout bagged black beans)
-to sprout I soaked overnight in filtered water then used a sprouting jar and followed sprouting directions until I saw some start to sprout little tails!)
1 / 2 bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 / 2 onion cut into wedges
3 / 8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg (or put 1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp warm water in a bowl, mix and refrigerate)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used ground pecans)


The first step is to preheat the grill or saute pan.

In a medium bowl, mash black beans until thick and pasty. You can use a fork or potato masher. You don't need to get it completely smooth; a few chunks will actually be good to hold it all together.

In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper and onion. To separate some of the moisture, line a colander or strainer with some paper towels and pour the puree into strainer and squeeze out some of the liquid. If there's too much moisture at the end, it'll be very hard to get the burgers to hold their shape.

Add the pepper and onion mixture to the beans and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and chili sauce.

Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Add in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into patties. Don't be afraid to add more bread crumbs. You could also use a combination of regular bread crumbs and spiced bread crumbs, adding a little at a time. Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes each side. If going "carb free" try putting the patty between two big lettuce leaves with tomato, avocado, and dijon mustard. Yum!

I froze my patties uncooked in between parchment paper in a ziplock freezer bag for quick cook prep on a rushed day.