Black beans are a real treasure. They’re packed with proteins, fibers and minerals, and have a meaty texture which makes them popular in vegetarian dishes. One of my favorite things to cook with black beans are “black bean burgers”. They are packed with spicy flavour and are moist in the inside with a nice crust in the outside.

Black bean burgers are very easy to make and match perfectly with yogurt sauce or a nice salad, apart from the classic form, inside of a bun with cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

A few thoughts on the recipe :

• I love them with lots of spices, that’s why the list of spices may seem a bit long, but you may go with the traditional “salt” and “pepper” if you like.
• I like to cook from scratch, since this way I have more control on what I am cooking so I almost always use uncooked beans and cook them myself, but you may go with canned beans, since there is no difference in flavour.
• I love to make bean burgers with black beans but white beans work perfectly well too.
• As a seeds addict I’ve added 1/4 sunflower seeds to this burgers, but  if you don’t have them on hand or simply, don’t like seeds, you may omit them.

I hope I’ve tempted you enough to try them and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Ingredients

• 1 & ¼ cup uncooked beans (or 2 cups cooked beans)
• Water to soak and cook the beans
• 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup shredded hard cheese
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• A small onion
• A small carrot
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 bunch of dill
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp sweet red pepper powder (optional)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
• ½ tsp cumin powder (optional)
• ½ tsp garlic powder (optional)
• Olive oil to cook the patties

Note : 1 cup – a standard cup of 240 ml

Directions

If your using uncooked bean follow the steps 1-3. If your using canned beans start from step 4.

1. Put the black beans in water and let them soak overnight.
2. Discard the soaking water, add fresh water and cook the beans until tender (mine needed 1 hour).
3. Drain from the water and set aside. You may prepare them in advance and keep in a jar in the fridge.
4. Chop the onion and carrot.
5. Cook the onion until tender and then add the chopped carrot and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Put everything in a food processor and blend until the mixture comes together but are still some whole beans in the mix.
7. Shape into patties and put them in the fridge for half an hour. This step is not a must, but it helps the patties keep their shape better.
8. Heat olive oil in medium heat on a large pan and cook the patties 4 minutes on each side.

Enjoy warm with a nice salad or yogurt cold sauce, or between slices of bread with tomatoes and lettuce, as I’ve done in the photo.