Pinto Bean-Beet Burgers (Recipe #72)

        Everybody knows that a good veggie burger is tasty, filling, and must hold together (no one wants a burger to crumble in their hands). This pinto bean-beet burger had all three of this criteria! It was so delicious that I cannot stop thinking about it!

I was very excited to try a pinto bean-beet burger because my veggie burgers typically consisted of a black bean or green lentil base. I started by cooking the bulgar. While that was on the stove, I processed the beets, walnuts, basil, and garlic in a food processor until it was finely chopped. I added in the pinto beans, carrot (this was a container of carrot baby food), water, mustard, salt and pepper. I pulsed this mixture a few times until it was well incorporated. I dumped that mixture into a bowl. I added the bulgar (that cooled for about 15 minutes) and bread crumbs. I fried these on the stove in a non-stick pan until they were golden on each side. I did three at a time.

I decided to use a lettuce wrap instead of a hamburger bun. I topped my burger with some vegan mayonnaise (Hellman’s), thinly sliced radishes, tomatoes, and crispy onions (there is another post about these!). I also had some pickles on the side. It was a little messy--every burger is messy, but the lettuce wrap did help keep everything together. I could see adding a little bit of ketchup or mustard or raw onion. The best part about toppings is how you get to pick and choose what you want on your burger! 

This burger had so much flavor! There was meatiness, freshness, sweetness--mmm everything! I think the part I enjoyed the most was the basil. The flavor of the basil stuck out and provided a fresh flavor that went very well with each of the other flavors. I was impressed by how well all of the flavors worked together!

Taste: 10/10! The texture is great! Caution: the basil is strong, so if you do not love basil, I would not use the full amount.

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I loved them!