This recipe was inspired by my favorite burger when I was younger (and not a vegetarian) called a Cowboy Burger. This burger was insane…ground beef patty, colby jack cheese, onion rings, BBQ sauce, and bacon on a huge toasted bun. At the time, I loved it. Now I think about it and the first thing that comes to my mind is a heart attack. STILL, there is no denying that it was delicious. After becoming a vegetarian, I still craved some of those flavors. But it wasn’t the meat that I crave—it was the BBQ sauce, cheese, and onions. I decided to create my own, healthier recipe to stand in for a classic Cowboy Burger, and the BBQ Black Bean Burger was born. Veggie burgers are one of my favorite meals and I make them almost every week. I have about 5 different burgers that I make on a regular basis, these being one of them. These burgers are made using one of my favorite ingredients: black beans. If there is one item I buy at the grocery store every single week, it’s black beans. I make them into burgers, put them on salad, and in tacos/rice bowls. Black beans provide a great source of protein for vegetarians, with very little fat. One, ½ cup serving of black beans contains 8 grams of protein and less than one gram of fat. In total, these burgers have 24 grams of protein per serving! Pretty good for a meatless meal! I served these with Chili Spiced Sweet Potato Fries (YUM). Recipe to be added later this week!
Active Time: 30 Total Time: 30
Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well ½ a sweet onion ¼ cup barley, cooked in ½ cup water 1 clove minced garlic 1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce salt and pepper, to taste 1 egg ½ cup plain bread crumbs 2 tbsp olive oil, divided 4 slices reduced fat cheddar cheese (I used Sargento) 4 whole wheat burger buns
BBQ sauce, for topping (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)
Directions:
For the onions:
Cut ½ of the sweet onion into slices (¼ of a full onion) and dice the rest. Set aside the diced onion to use in the burger. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sautee the onion slices for about 5 minutes, or until soft and beginning to brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Off the heat.
For the burgers:
Mash the black beans in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher until almost no whole beans are visible. Add the diced onion, cooked barley, garlic, worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Mix in the egg and bread crumbs. Divide and shape into 4 equal patties. Using the same pan as the onions, add the last 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook patties for about 3 minutes, flip, and cook for 3 minutes more. In the last minute of cooking, place a slice of cheese on each patty.
To assemble the burgers, place burger on wheat bun, pile ¼ of the sauteed onions on top, and add desired amount of BBQ sauce.
Nutrition Information per serving (with cheese and bun):
Calories: 468 Fat: 15g Carbs: 67g Protein: 24g Sodium: 722mg Sugar: 9g
*Nutrition information is based on the products I used personally in this recipe. Different products may yield slightly different information.
