Black Bean and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

 

Growing up, I remember my mom opting for vegetarian options when we would eat out at restaurants. There were a few years there when I thought for sure that she was a vegetarian. Apparently I overlooked the hot dogs consumed at family BBQs or the beef in her homemade chili recipe.

But now that I'm older, I find myself opting for vegetarian options both at home and in restaurants. While I have no plans to go vegetarian (I admire and support those that do, it just isn't for me) I find myself gravitating towards meals loaded with fresh veggies over meat most days.

 
 

As someone who has had blood sugar issues since high school, I find that what I eat between the hours of 11:00am - 2:00pm determines if I'm going to have a crash that day. Through trial and error I've learned that loading up on proteins and natural sugars is the best for me, so my lunches normally consist of overflowing salads like this one paired with some serving of fruit. And when salads get boring, I turn to these veggie burgers.

Packed with beans in two shapes (by the way, who decided that chickpeas also had to be called garbanzo beans?), these burgers are full of non-meat protein. Plus the peppers gives it a nice little heat, because that's how we like things in the Weir house. I alternated between eating my bean burgers on a bun or over some greens. Both delicious, and always with a serving of avocado.

 
 

Black Bean and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

  • 1 cup black beans
  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • 1/4 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 jalopeno, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs 
  • 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute your garlic, onion and peppers until slightly seared. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mash your beans (or you can use a food processor and pulse until you get the desired consistency). 
  4. Add your veggies, breadcrumbs, seasoning, cheese and egg to the beans. Stir to fully combine.
  5. Form burgers out of the mixture, using about 1/3 a cup for each mixture. (Unlike traditional burgers, these won't shrink while they cook so they'll be the same size when you finish baking them.
  6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, flip, and then an additional 10 minutes. 
 
Lunch, RecipesEmily WeirTampa, Tampa Bay, Burgers, Vegetarian, Healthy, Healthy eating, Healthy eats