Black Bean Burgers Recipe

**Update: I was able to get the pictures back on my phone so I'm posting them along with the corresponding steps. Note: this is not the prettiest looking recipe as you make it, but it tastes good

I was really interested in making these black bean burgers I had seen on Pinterest, so I gave it a whirl. 

{via} I have no idea how they got them so perfectly shaped

I should say a more apt name for them would be Black Bean Blobs, but they still tasted good, so as long as the looks of the end product don't bother you, give this one a go!

What You Need:

-1 small onion, diced

-olive oil

-2 tsp minced garlic

-2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

-2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

-1 egg, slightly beaten

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp ground black pepper

-1/2 tsp ground cumin

-2 tsp hot sauce

-1/2 Cup flour

-2 Tbsp Creole (or blackening) seasoning

*the original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp ground coriander but I only had seeds and no grinder so I left it out

**Additional ingredients for garnish/taste: sour cream, guacamole, salsa if you desire

What You Do:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and add in onion until it's cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.

2. In a bowl, mash the black beans (I used a meat mallet and just smooshed it rather than using a fork). 

You can enlist your strong man to do the mashing like I did here :)

Add in the cooled onion mixture. Also add in the beaten egg, cumin, salt, pepper, cilantro, and hot sauce. Mix well (this next picture is gross looking, and I apologize)

*This next step differs from the original recipe but is my idea for how to make these more into patties. I also couldn't take pictures here because my hands were covered in bean-y goo*

3. Make sure the mixture is cool and try to shape into patties (if it works, dust the patties with the flour). 

If this does not work, mix in some of the flour to the bean mixture. THEN try and shape into patties. 

4. Sprinkle patties with the Creole seasoning.

5. Add more olive oil to a skillet and let the skillet heat up for a moment before adding the 4 patties onto the skillet. Cook until "golden" on both sides (or until you can tell they are cooked).

(Like I said, these were pretty messy)

5. Plate it up with guac, sour cream and/or salsa:

Like I said, they don't look super appetizing, but they were really good--tasted kinda like the filling for nachos, but without the chips. And not bad for you!

Next time I'll try to be smarter about my photos! Grrr.