VEGGIE AND BEAN BURGERS

I’ve been buying veggie burgers from the deli counter at Whole Foods for the past year…for Roger. He loves them. Therein, lies the problem, and while I love him immensely, I don’t like feeding him these burgers. 1) I know they’re full of oils and too much salt and other processed stuff, and 2) they’re really expensive.

So, I set out to make my own. On one of my trips to Whole Foods Market, I asked them to print me out the ingredient list of their deil burgers. Whoa!!! There were over 30 ingredients; many I didn’t recognize. The ones that I did recognize as whole plant foods were going to be my guide as I pulled together this recipe. I really hope you like it. But, even if it’s not to your taste, Roger loves them!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes 8-10 patties, depending on how big you make them

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbls. ground flaxseed mixed thoroughly in 3 1/2 Tbls. water (this is your ‘egg’)
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup cooked kidney or black beans
  • small red onion, chopped
  • 4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, shredded
  • 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/3 cup bbq sauce or ketchup
  • 1/2 cup cooked corn
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1 package original tempeh (4 oz.)*
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. smoky paprika
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • crushed red pepper to your taste

*If you’re GF, omit the tempeh and add another 1/2 cup of beans.

Instructions

  1. Make the flaxseed ‘egg’ and set aside to firm up.
  2. Toss your oats in the food processor and pulse just until the oats are broken down, but not ground into flour.
  3. Next, in goes the almond flour, ketchup, nutritional yeast and all the spices, and pulse again to combine.
  4. Next, all the chopped vegetables, the corn, the peas and the tempeh. Pulse again until well mixed and broken down.
  5. Add the beans and the flaxseed ‘egg’ last and process until well combined and the mixture begins to form a large ball.
  6. If the mixture isn’t wet enough, add a little water. If the mixture is too wet, add more almond flour.
  7. Dump your burger mix into a large bowl, and begin the patty-making!

I made 3 to keep in the fridge and cook for dinner and I bundled the rest in freezer paper to store for later. I was paying almost $8 for 3 pre-made veggie burgers from Whole Foods. I’m pretty sure the 10 burgers I made at home cost me about $5.