Black Bean Burgers

As much as we are a family of meat-loving carnivores, I have been wanting to try my hand at black bean burgers for quite some time.  They always look and sound so delicious when I see other people's pictures.

So I finally decided to give it a try this week.  I wanted to keep them egg-free so that little man could enjoy them, so I used a vegan recipe as my inspiration.

The process was pretty easy... just prep all of the ingredients and throw them in a bowl...

...then blend it all together!

I wasn't fully sure what to expect, though I did have the foresight to prepare an alternative for the kiddos... but I was pleasantly surprised!

For me, that is... the kids nibbled at these then gladly ate their alternatives...

I served my black bean burger "Mexican" style - with slices of avocado and tomato and garnished with salsa and sour cream instead of ketchup and mustard. I thought it was both fun and delicious.

Vegan Bean Burgers
(inspired by Daily Garnish)

2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and blend well with immersion blender. The final mixture will be a little dry but will hold together well when formed.
Divide mixture into six equal portions and form each into a burger-sized patty. Place each patty on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake patties at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning. I baked mine for about 35 minutes, then quickly finished them in a skillet, a couple minutes on each side, to crisp up the outsides.

Enjoy!