Four Bean Veggie Burgers

As I mentioned in the previous post, I used the Red Pepper Relish to top Four Bean Veggie Burgers. While I'm generally happy to spend hours in the kitchen on the weekends, weeknights are another story. I try to do as much over the weekend to prep for the week ahead, like making pizza dough, sauces, roasting or cooking double or triple batches of dried beans and grains. 

One of the last convenience food items I've been working to completely eliminate from my freezer is veggie burgers. While I'm sure there are some 100% natural and organic products out there, they're probably quite expensive! However, many other veggie burgers contain a huge list of ingredients, and I don't know what half of them are. I've also read in Prevention, Health, and other magazines to stay away from processed soy, a key ingredient in many commercial veggie burgers. On the rare occasion that I purchase veggie burgers, I lean toward the bean based, and scan the ingredient lists for the most real food ingredients.

For the past few weeks, I've been craving a big, fat, juicy veggie burger. I didn't want a specific bean burger, and I wanted it to be healthy and homemade, so I went with a mixture of vegetables and beans. I decided to make a huge batch so I could keep these in the freezer to use at my convenience. These had great flavor and texture, they held together well, and have been the perfect base for several topping variations. My favorite was this with red pepper relish and goat cheese. My husband's favorite was avocado, sprouts and cheddar  cheese.

This recipe relies heavily on a food processor to do all of the mincing. The recipe could be made without one, but you'd probably then want to grate your vegetables rather than mince with a knife.

Tips and Trades:

-I used dry, cooked beans, however you can use 1 can of each variety of beans listed in the recipe. Look for beans that say BPA free.

-If you're going to grill these burgers, freeze them first, then grill on a foil lined grill sprayed with nonstick spray.

-Wrap burgers in saran wrap, then place in a freezer safe storage bag or container. Burgers will keep for up to 3 months if wrapped well.

Four Bean Veggie Burgers

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 small yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapeño

1/2 red bell pepper

2 medium carrots

Salt and pepper

1 dozen kalamata olives

1/4 c. water chestnuts

1/4 c. parsley

2 c. kidney beans

2 c. garbanzo beans

2 c. cannelini beans 

2 c. black beans

1 c. rolled oats

1/4-1/2 c. bread crumbs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. Mexican chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. Sriracha 

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Heat a skillet over medium, add EVOO.

Peel and chunk onion, garlic, jalapeño, bell pepper and carrots.

Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade.

Pulse and run until vegetables are in a fine mince.

Add to skillet, season with salt and pepper, sauté for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender and moisture is cooked out. 

Set skillet aside and allow vegetables to cool.

Place olives, water chestnuts and parsley in the food processor, pulse to a mince.

Dump into a very large mixing bowl.

Add 1 c. of each variety of beans to the food processor along with eggs.

Run food processor until beans are pureed, spoon into mixing bowl.

Add remaining beans to the food processor, pulse 10 times, until beans are just broken up, dump in the mixing bowl.

Place oats in the food processor, pulse 10 times, dump into the mixing bowl.

Add Italian seasoning, chili powder, cumin, Sriracha, soy sauce, mustard and 1/4 c. bread crumb to the mixing bowl.

Add cooled vegetables to the mixing bowl. 

Using hands or a large wooden spoon, mix very well to evenly distribute all ingredients.

Taste (if you don't mind the raw egg) and adjust seasonings, there's a good chance it will need more salt and pepper, but feel free to add Sriracha, mustard, etc.

Place mixture in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1-2 hours to firm up.

If the mixture seems too wet, add more breadcrumbs.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. 

Score bowl into 4 sections, out of each section form 3 patties, yielding 12 patties total.

Place on the baking sheet and into the freezer. 

Freeze for 4-6 hours, then wrap each patty very well in saran wrap, then stack in a freezer safe storage container or bag.

To cook, grill on foil spray with nonstick spray for 8 minutes per side, bake at 400* for 30 minutes, or sauté in a skillet until heated through.