What's for Dinner? Bean Burger

Have you bean considering What's for dinner? Here's our favourite homemade bean burger.  We love eating these homemade bean burgers with homemade brioche or spelt buns, melted cheese, gherkin pickle, ketchup and American mustard. We are now converted from eating a beef burger to these.

After trialling a few recipes and inspired most by The Happy Pear team lentils and black beans is my favourite combination. However, feel free to play around with your favourite beans, lentils and or chickpeas and mix and match the spices to what you have on hand.

The bean patties can be stored in the freezer for weeks. This recipe uses ingredients you have in your cupboard and no food processor or blender needed.

How to make them crispy and not soggy and fall apart? After many attempts at making here is the recipe and tips for the perfect homemade bean burger. For any UK followers, this bean burger recipe is better than the GBK bean burger.

Perfect Burger Tips

1. MEDIUM/HOT PAN - fry in you pan very hot 3-4 mins either side
2. THICK vs THIN – don't make the burger too thick
3. REST –  the bean mix in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight
4. COAT the burger in bread crumbs or a little flour before frying
5. FRY in sunflower or veggie oil (not olive oil)
6. COOKING TIME – they taste better overcooked not undercooked.

Prep.time = 10-15 minutes
Cooking time = 8-10 minutes
Serves = 8 (about 90g) patties

Ingredients

• Tinned Green lentils  (drained and rinsed) –  400g
• Tinned Black beans (drained and rinsed) – 400g
• Oats – 100g
• Panko Bread Crumbs (are my preferred type) – 10g / 2 tbsp
• Tamari or Soya Sauce – 4 tbsp
• Veggie stock or water – 6 tbsp
• Ground flax seed – 2 tbsp
• Onion powder – 2 tsp
• French mustard – 1 tsp (optional)
• Miso paste – 1 tbsp (optional)
• Garlic granules/powder – 2 tsp
• Flour – 4-6 tbsp
• Nutritional Yeast/ Brewer's Yeast or Yeast Extract (like vegemite or marmite) – 2 tbsp
• Pinch cayenne pepper or chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Cooking Oil – 2 tbsp

Method

1. DRAIN and rinse beans and lentils.
2. MASH with a fork or potato masher in a large mixing bowl. It's okay if there are some whole beans or lentils left.
3. ADD all ingredients and mix well.
4. PLACE this mix in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or even better overnight.
5. FORM your patties, I use my 2 x ice cream scoop. I weigh each patty to be about 90g each. I also store some in the freezer between small squares of baking paper to use at a later date. They will last for a number of months in the freezer.
6. COOK straight away heat pan medium high with a little sunflower oil or an oil of your choice. Place the veggie patty in the hot pan and fry on one-side for 3-5 minutes until brown. You may like to flatten the patty with a spatula during this time, you don't want the patty too thick. Flip over and flatten slightly again, cook for another 3 minutes this side should cook quicker. Add cheddar cheese now if you want melted cheese. We add our fry pan lid to help melt the cheese. If using rolls the next day, add the sliced cheese to one half of a cut bun and place both sides of the bun into a medium heated oven for 5-8 minutes until the bun is slightly toasted and the cheese is melted.
7. SERVE on a homemade bun either brioche or spelt buns, see my recipes below. Add a squirt of American mustard and ketchup, burger gherkins to the base bun; then top with the cooked veggie patty and close the lid.