Southwestern Black Bean Burgers

Because everybody needs a good black bean burger recipe!  Seriously.  It's mandatory.


It's summertime, so that means burgertime!  I know that literally everyone out there in internet land has their own version of black bean burgers (kind of like scrambled tofu), but I still decided it was time to make my own.  Because hey, the more the merrier!  This one combines black beans, corn, and wild rice.  Need I say more?

I've made plenty of BBB's in the past, using other people's recipes.  However, most of them need to be baked, since BBB's have a tendency to fall apart upon flipping.  So today, I set out to solve that problem!  And the results?  The burgers did not fall apart upon flipping.  However, the burger I just devoured was pretty fall-aparty and super messy upon eating.  But still delicious!  To compliment the southwest flavors, I topped mine with enchilada sauce, but feel free to change it up.  Some suggestions: salsa, guacamole, hot sauce, vegan queso, or plain old ketchup.  I'm putting you in charge.  Choose wisely.

Ingredients:
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup canned sweet corn with green peppers
2 Tbsp flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 Tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, mash black beans.  Stir in the rice, oats, and flax, and stir to mix well.  Add the cumin, onion, garlic, chipotle and soy sauce.  Stir to combine, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium.  Drop the bean mix into the pan, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Flatten with a spatula or the back of a spoon.  Or both.  [Note: I do not recommend that you use your hands. This stuff is super sticky.]  Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned and heated through.  Repeat with remaining bean mixture.

I got 6 burgers out of this, which seems like a good amount, right?  I can still only eat one at a time.

A couple of notes about cooking the burgers:
*To speed the cooking time, I made these burgers thin-ish.  I think that may be why my burger fell apart when I was eating it.  Maybe try making your burgers thicker.
*These would be equally lovely baked, and if you do that, maybe pour on some enchilada sauce before you throw them in the oven, to keep them from drying out.  (However, it was already hot and muggy in my house, so there was no way I was turning on the oven today.)
*Last but not least, while the burgers held together well in the pan, I definitely wouldn't recommend grilling them.  I just see that ending in disaster.