A lot of people want to know how to make their own veggie burgers from ingredients they can actually pronounce (I think you’re OK morningstar, but you have more than 10 ingredients in your grillers). For those of you who want something simpler, non-soy and tasty, I give you…The Bittman Bean Burger (scroll down, it’s the last recipe). Ever since this article came out in 2006 (wow), I have used it, recommended it to friends, modified it, etc. It is super simple and very tasty. I have made it with black beans, white beans, fava beans, kidney beans, lentils…whatever I have in the house. I have added egg or not (this week’s batch had no egg, just 1 tbsp flax seeds + 3 tbsp water = 1 egg), curry powder, cumin, paprika, scallions…whatever I have in the house. I have used rice, quinoa or couscous instead of the oats…whatever I have in the house. Are you sensing a pattern?
Since I’ve been making these for 3 years now, I usually wing the amounts and go by texture. I advise you to follow the recipe word-by-word for the first time. The key to is to let the mixture rest. Listen to Le Bittman. I also like to form the patties on wax paper, let them rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes or so and then cut around the wax paper – you can then just flip them into the pan while holding a piece of the wax paper.
You can cook them a bit over the stove top and transfer them to the oven if you want (around 350F). If you’re making a whole batch, bake them all and don’t forget to flip. You can wrap individually and freeze them for later too. If you make them with chickpeas, form them into balls and bake for faux falafel. Add lots of toppings and enjoy.
15 Comments
June 17, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Thank you very much!
June 17, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Are you freezing these burgers before or after you cook them?
June 17, 2009 at 8:40 pm
After we cook em. Undercook them a bit before freezing.
June 18, 2009 at 7:48 am
That looks like a great recipe – thanks for passing it along. Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food also has a great recipe for Lentil-Walnut burgers – http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/lentil_walnut.html – they were a huge hit in my kitchen.
June 18, 2009 at 11:19 am
These sound amazing! Thanks for the frugal recipe. Do you think it would be possible to do them without a food processor? I would grate the onion, and I guess mash the beans.
June 18, 2009 at 11:48 am
They’re pretty frugal – and even better if you use your own dried beans!
I think they would work just fine without a food processor. Just make sure to mince/grate everything finely. Let me know how it works out for you!
June 18, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Those sound delicious! I’m going to make some, thank you for sharing
June 19, 2009 at 2:22 pm
wow these sound great..something I am def gonna make next time i have a bbq. Thx for posting
June 19, 2009 at 2:36 pm
If you make them for a BBQ, you should pan fry them a bit first, they might not hold their shape too well on the grill (if you read the whole article Bittman talks about that).
June 23, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I have been looking for a good veg burger recipe that wasn’t too labour intensive. Thanks so much–I didn’t know The Minimalist had one like this! Will def try making soon.
June 25, 2009 at 3:58 pm
They came out pretty good! I think I overpureed a bit, but oh well. Thanks again. Definitely a keeper.
June 29, 2009 at 1:44 am
What a great idea! I never thought of making homemade veggie burgers. I made them tonight and they were pretty good. Like Lucy T. I think I over-processed them as well. I added some extra chopped onion and oats because it seemed too liquid. Next time I’ll experiment with some different spices.
When I make them again I might try a different cooking method. I do 99% of all my cooking without heating oils so I will try to see if I can quick broil them.
September 18, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Maybe I’m dense or something…but wher in the devil are the actual recipes? I’ve scrolled up and down a lot of times but I can’t find them.
September 18, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Hey WES, the recipe is linked in the post under “The Bittman Bean Burger”, but here it is: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E4D6123EF936A25751C0A9609C8B63.
Let me know if you have a problem!
Tina
October 1, 2009 at 9:41 pm
[...] put together some black bean patties last night (hence the [...]