Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Veggie Burgers

Success! I finally made a veggie burger that stayed together!  Only a couple of pieces dropped off toward the end of eating the burger.  Other than that, it was moist inside and crispy outside.  Overall a very delicious meal.

Jeremy and I used multi-grain sandwich thins as the buns for the burgers.  And we topped each of them with a little pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato (for me), onion (for him), and jalapeños.  I had one burger and Jeremy had two -- I don't think I could even have fit a second one in me... We also had a salad on the side.

This recipe made 7 burgers.  I wasn't really measuring so I could easily have made them a little smaller to get a couple more out of the mix.  I just kept making what looked like decent sized patties and seven is what I got.

I cooked the rice and beans earlier in the day so that they were cooled and ready to go when Jeremy and I got back from the gym.  That made assembly pretty easy (although just a bit messy!).  I was covered in the burger mix because I stupidly used too small of a bowl.  The mix is also quite sticky so my hands were covered by the time I was done mixing and forming the patties.  I kept calling Jeremy into the kitchen to do things for me so that I didn't get the whole kitchen covered in food.

Overall this was a very easy and tasty meal that I will certainly make again.  Now that I've had one veggie burger not fall apart, I'll keep working on that with more recipes.

Forgot to take a picture last night... this is lunch today topped with pepperjack cheese, lettuce, salsa, and  jalapeños. :) 

Recipe:

1 c. brown rice, uncooked

1 c. pinto beans, uncooked

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 tbs. garlic powder

1 tbs. onion powder

1 tbs. parsley flakes

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tbs. olive oil

2 eggs

sliced cheese (optional)

1. Cook the rice and beans according to package directions.  (Separate pots please, these are different cooking times...)  Drain the beans, allow both to cool until at least cool enough to handle.  (I left them for a couple hours while we were out.)

2. When you're ready to start making the burgers and cook them, preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

3. Place the pinto beans in a large bowl.  Mash with a potato masher (not smooth, but mash most of the beans).  Add the rice and mix well to combine.

4. Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, paprika, and cayenne and mix to combine.  Taste to ensure the seasonings taste good. 

5. Add the olive oil and eggs and mix well to combine.  (I use my hands... a spoon just doesn't mix as well...) 

6. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Form mixture into 1" thick patties (they should be about 3 1/2" across). Place on a baking sheet.  When all the patties are formed, spray the tops with a little more cooking spray.

7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown and crunchy on the outside. If adding cheese, top the burgers with cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking.  Allow the burgers to cool for a couple of minutes before biting in.