Here’s the recipe for one of our more popular vegetarian options in the Courtyard Cafe, NMC Black Bean Burgers from Restaurant and Catering Sous Chef Jon Newhard.

These burgers have the southwestern flare typical of most black bean burgers but are easily customizable to accommodate anyone’s palate.  Simply increase the peppers, onions or hot sauce to add more flavor or decrease the amount for a milder result.

Fun fact:  The recipe we use in the hospital makes about 30 pounds of burger mixture and yields roughly 120 burgers! …but here’s a version that should be just enough for your family! (makes 6-8 burgers)

 

Ingredients

2 15 oz cans of black beans
1 red bell pepper (cored and seeded)
1 small to medium red onion (peeled)
5 or 6 peeled garlic cloves
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp chili Powder
1 Tbsp your favorite brand of hot sauce (Hey! That’s the same one we use! 🙂)
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Start by draining and rinsing the black beans in a colander. Place them in a mixing bowl and mash them with a wire whisk or the back of a fork. It’s not important to get them perfectly smooth, but you want a pastiness that will mix well with the other ingredients.

Cut the bell pepper and onion into chunks and, along with the garlic, pulse in a food processer until they’re finely chopped.  If you don’t have a food processer chop them as small as you can by hand.

Add all of the ingredients into the bowl with the mashed beans and mix until well combined.  Allow this mixture to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Scoop the mixture into balls the size you’d like for one portion and place on an oiled sheet tray. Press them down into patty shapes. (This step is the messy one! Your hands will get a little dirty.)

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Once they’re ready, use a spatula to place them on a bun and top with your favorite burger toppings. We serve them here with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and a honey chipotle mayonnaise, but don’t be afraid to experiment with anything you like.

Another nice thing about this recipe is that you can prepare the burger batter up to three days ahead of time and save it in the fridge for a quick dinner on a busy day. We hope you enjoy this as much as our customers do here at NMC’s Courtyard Cafe and don’t forget, we’re open to the public so feel free to stop in anytime and see what’s cookin’!