I am all about alternative burgers lately! I have a big stack of recipes waiting in the wings, some to be posted and others itching to be made. By alternative burgers I mean fish, vegetables and beans. No beef allowed.
Not that I have anything against beef, I love a traditional burger just as much as a veggie bean burger. I’m just looking for variety. I get bored eating the same things over and over. I need options. We all do. To spice up our lives.
The burgers are made of cannellini beans, sauteed onions, roasted red peppers, garlic, finely chopped baby spinach and thyme, with egg and seasoned bread crumbs to bind them together. They are pan-fried in olive oil to give them a crusty, golden brown crust and served on homemade sweet potato rolls. A perfect pairing.
The bean burgers are every bit as tasty and satisfying as their beef counterparts. My Dad, who’s famous for asking is there meat in this? ate the leftovers for breakfast. For breakfast. Then said he wouldn’t mind if I made more. My meat-loving Dad, bless his heart.
Take that, beef!
Pan-fried veggie burgers with cannellini beans, sauteed onions, roasted red peppers and baby spinach.
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 roasted red pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
- 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup baby spinach, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- olive oil or vegetable oil, for pan-frying
- soft buns, for serving*
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat and saute onion until translucent, add garlic, saute until fragrant, add red pepper and thyme, season well with salt and pepper and saute 4-5 minutes, remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl mash the beans with a potato masher leaving them a little chunky. Add spinach, lemon juice, bread crumbs, egg and sauteed vegetable mixture. Season well with salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix well. Refrigerate 1/2 - 1 hour.
- In a large skillet heat enough oil to generously cover bottom of pan over medium heat. Shape into 6 equal-sized patties. Fry 3 patties at time, about 5 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Serve immediately on buns with the condiments of your choice.
Notes
*They are perfect on these Sweet Potato Rolls
One tip I have found to be very helpful when making veggie burgers is to use a large mason jar lid turned so that the rim faces up, then to use a triangular spatula to fill this ring, packing tightly. I then scrape off the top smooth, lift the lid, and… there ya go. A perfectly formed patty ready to cook or to freeze.
How do you get it out of there in one piece?
Reeni recently posted..Chorizo Chili
Try using bbq sauce as a condiment with these, so yummy!
Yay! I'm glad you like them! Thanks a lot for making them and I'm glad the extra egg worked out well. Have a great night!
So we did make these. We really liked them! I put in two eggs instead of one. The mixture was kind of wet but I didn't find the patties hard to form, and they cooked up just fine and didn't fall apart during flipping. So I think it was the right decision. Other than that I made the recipe as written. My husband really liked these too, and he's usually a bit skimpy on enthusiasm. He said they weren't mushy or bland like a lot of vegetarian stuff (!). So, well done!
I'm not sure if that would make them smooshier or firmer. Just be sure to pack them together tightly as you form them and handle them gently. If you see them falling apart in the pan use your spatula to pat them back together. You should use a soft bun too. My friend made them and didn't have any trouble with them falling apart – she served hers on top a salad. Let me know how it goes!