Recipe: Black Bean Burger with Veggies

OK, I'm not going to lie. My expectations were pretty low for this Black Bean Burger recipe. I mean a burger...and black beans....it just didn't seem to go together. If I'm going to have a burger..I want a burger made of meat, but I decided to give this one a try and OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was SOOOOOO good! What I plan to do next time is at least double this recipe, so that I can keep patties on hand in the freezer for a quick dinner.

Black Bean Burgers

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 3 tables chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 large egg yolk (the original recipe calls for 1 egg, but we only did the yolk since our son is allergic to whites)
• 2 teaspoons of Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional toppings

• Whole wheat hamburger bun (my hubby had one, but I skipped it)
• Cheddar cheese
• Avocado, thinly sliced
• Tomato
• Sautéed squash, zucchini, and onions  (We had some on hand from a Moroccan lettuce wrap recipe we made over the weekend, which I still need to post! It was the perfect topping! 

Directions:

Dry the beans well after rinsing. Put the beans in a medium bowl and mash hem until thick and pasty.

In a food processor, combine the bell pepper, scallions, cilantro, and garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oats, egg, chili powder, hot sauce, cumin, and salt and pulse a few times. Fold it into the black beans. Form the mixture into 4 patties and put them on a baking sheet with wax paper. Freeze for at least 2 hours before cooking. 

To cook, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray the skillet with oil and cook the frozen burgers until browned, about 7 minutes per side. 

You can serve the burger on a bun, bib lettuce, or cooked sliced eggplant! We had a side of asparagus with it and it was all delicious!!

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste Cookbook

21 Day Fix Serving

1 Burger = 1 Yellow and 1/4 Green. I really don't even count the egg yolk as a red container since it would be so small! Remember, black beans are considered a yellow container - not a red - on 21 Day Fix!