Chipotle & Lime Black Bean Burgers

This post has been shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays please check it out! 

The men in my family are big eaters and it is a constant challenge to feed them well and keep our food budget under control. While they enjoy meat I try to keep it to a minimum for both health and budget reasons. Thankfully we all love veggie burgers which are a really satisfying plant-based and budget-friendly meal. I have been playing around with a black bean version and really like this one. The smokey hot flavor of Chipotle peppers is so good. I recently found a ground Chipotle powder which a lot more convenient than the little cans of Chipotle peppers in sauce.  A little bit goes a very long way - these are really spicy so adjust the amount of Chipotle powder if you don't like things too hot.

I made these a little larger to fit our favorite sandwich bread. Sometimes it's nicer to have a veggie burger on toast rather than buns.  If you have a Whole Foods nearby look for this loaf.  It's from their Whole Foods Gluten Free Bake House but it's right on the shelves with the rest of the fresh bread.  (This isn't Feingold approved - I am waiting to submit it for approval until I get an all clear on the PIC site.) Anyway, it's big and soft and wonderful.  

Like my other veggie burgers they are vegan and tofu-free and therefore a little soft and crumbly. The parchment paper makes baking and flipping easier.

Chipotle & Lime Black Bean Burgers:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil with olive oil

Roughly puree together:

2 cans (15 ounces each) Black Beans, drained

1 cup chopped Onion

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

2 Tblespoons Flax Meal

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Lime Juice

1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Powder

dash Garlic Powder

½ teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Pepper

You can use either an immersion (stick) blender or food processor.  I like to keep a few beans whole for texture.  Shape into eight burgers/patties on the parchment lined baking sheet.   They will be quite soft and you may want to wet your hands while shaping.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip and bake 20 minutes or longer until browned.

I love the hot Mexican flavors with cooling guacamole. All the guys gobbled them up. Marc says these are by far his favorite of the veggie burgers I make.  =D

Enjoy! 

Meatless Monday - Indian Style Veggie Burgers with Cilantro Chutney

A couple of nights ago we had veggie burgers for dinner with a new twist.  I wanted to play off the spice blend of this recipe. Indian cilantro/coconut chutney is such a fresh and spicy way to top them off and give them more of an Indian flavor.  A cooling raita-style sauce would temper that heat.

I’ve had this particular Raw Cilantro Lime Chutney bookmarked just waiting for the right meal to try it with. I used a small cayenne pepper from the garden instead of the large jalapeño called for in the recipe. It seems I can never follow any recipe (even my own) to the letter but I came very close time – halving it and skipping the zest because I had bottled organic lime juice on hand.  It really was great and just the right amount for our meal.  

One grated cucumber in one cup of plain yogurt made for a simple raita-style sauce that we used along with the chutney.

The buns were made from Pamela’s Gluten Free Bread Mix and I made them very large and flat so they would be almost like a pita. I’ve got to say, though, these veggie burgers are great without a bun.  Just pile on the toppings and enjoy.

The kale in our garden is growing by leaps and bounds even in this oppressive heat wave so kale chips rounded out the menu tonight.  I think this simple but great recipe has been done on just about every blog lately but here’s a good one and one with a nice name. =D  Salt was my only seasoning this batch. 

Indian Style Veggie Burgers

Makes 10 – 12 depending on size.

Bake at 425.

1 cup red lentils, washed and drained

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

Dash cayenne powder – or more to taste

In a medium pot cover lentils with 2 1/2 cups of water, add spices and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until cooked – about 25 minutes.  Make sure the pot just simmers and doesn't boil over – turmeric is a bear to scrub off white cook tops. =D   

Add ½ cup coconut, finely grated and let cool until a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl add:

3 cups cooked, cool basmati rice

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely grated

Add lentil/coconut mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

On parchment lined baking sheets shape 10 – 12 veggie burgers.  Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned, remove from oven and carefully flip over.  Bake another 15 - 20 minutes.  They will crumble easily if not picked up with a spatula.

These veggie burgers were the biggest hit with my family and I’m sure I’ll be making again.  One funny thing at dinner, our dog Elle, who does not beg at the table, came up to me and kept staring at me with her big brown eyes.  She wanted the kale chips.  She went absolutely nuts when I dropped one her way.  Who would have guessed?

You've still got time to enter the contest.

Meatless Monday – Falafel Burgers

This falafel burger isn’t exactly traditional but it is very flavorful.  Canned garbanzo beans makes this recipe a fast one for a weeknight.  I use cilantro instead of the usual parsley and added shredded carrots for color.  I bake them rather than frying to save calories and make clean up easier.  

You can use any gluten free bun you like but I made ours with Pamela’s Gluten Free Bread Mix.  They are just as good without a bun if you're keeping track of carbs.

Falafel Burger:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil with olive oil

Puree together:

2 cans (15 ounces each) Garbanzo Beans

1 cup chopped Onion

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 cloves Garlic

Dash or more Cayenne Powder

½ teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Pepper

Then fold in:

2 medium Carrots, finely shredded

½ - 1 cup Cilantro, finely chopped

Shape into eight burgers/patties on the parchment lined baking sheet.   They will be quite soft and you may want to wet your hands while shaping.  Spray or brush with a bit of olive oil on top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip and bake 15 minutes longer or until browned.

These buns were topped with sesame seeds prior to baking. The key to shaping the rolls is very wet hands as the dough/batter is really sticky.  

And here they are just out of the oven.

We enjoyed our falafel burgers with a cooling cucumber yogurt salad, which tastes great right on the burgers, and a crispy green salad. 

Easy Gluten Free Homemade Veggie Burgers

Remember Monday’s post when I said I’d doubled the rice and lentils to make veggie burgers? Well, here they are. I love Sunshine Burgers* and usually have a box in the freezer for an almost instant lunch or dinner.  But when I’m out, I make my own.  This is one of the fastest and least expensive recipes you can make and its a great vegetarian protein combination, too.

For this recipe I had set aside approximately three cups each of the lentils and the rice. I added the chopped veggies and seasonings and used an immersion blender to get the texture I wanted. Pushing the blender down through the mixture several times the mixture was mostly pureed but still had some whole rice grains and lentils for texture. This is a really basic recipe you can change with your favorite herbs and spices.

Veggie Burgers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

3 cups cooked brown rice

3 cups cooked lentils

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

½ cup grated carrots

¼  cup minced onion

1 clove minced garlic

Dash of salt, pepper and cayenne

Place everything but 1 Tablespoon of olive oil together and 1) blend with immersion blender or 2) blend with food processor or 3) mash with a manual potato masher.  Do not over blend or process as you want some texture.

Shape one cup spoonfuls of mixture into patties on the parchment paper. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of olive oil on top of each patty and brush over top.  Bake until browned – about 25 minutes in my oven.

The sandwich rolls were made with a one loaf-sized package Pamela’s Bread mix.  I used the standard bread recipe and shaped it into six rolls. The dough is very sticky, so smooth it over with very wet hands to get a nice, smooth bun shape.  They also took about 25 minutes to bake.

Joe is a purist and had a plain cheese veggie burger.

Mine was topped with a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread and I added a handful of fresh baby spinach. So yummy!

*Why Sunshine Burgers?  Because they are not only gluten free but soy free and non-GMO. They're the only brand I've found that meets our needs and they just taste great, too.

Like Sunshine Burgers homemade veggie burgers can crumble easily so transfer them from baking sheet to bun with a spatula. You can purposefully crumble them when making wraps or adding them to nachos.