In making our weekly menu this past Sunday, I just couldn’t convince hubs that we should make any seafood, even for MeatFreeMonday. We decided to do black bean burgers instead with a side of avocado dressing (which is sorta like a guacamole but a bit creamier.)

This is another one of those recipes that doesn’t take a lot of time or many dirty dishes to put together, so really great for a weeknight. It’s also really easy to remember because there’s not a lot of measuring and you can’t actually mess it up.

INGREDIENTS

For the ‘burgers’

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and dried (this is important to avoid super soggy patties)
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sriracha sauce (amount can vary depending on your spice-tolerance)
• 1 tsp each of cumin and black pepper

PROCEDURE

1. Rinse and dry the entire can of black beans. If you don’t have a fancy contraption (I call mine ‘the pastina strainer’ but in the real world it’s a sieve) you can rinse them in the can and carefully use the lid to keep the beans from falling out while you drain the water.
2. Throw the beans in a big mixing bowl and mash them (you can use a masher or a fork)

3. In a food processor, combine the onion, green pepper, and garlic. (You could mince this using a slap chop or with a plain old knife, but I find the smoother combination makes for better patties.) Add this to the mashed black beans.

4. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg with desired amount of sriracha and other spices. Add this to the big bowl of beans. Mix all ingredients.

5. At this point, start adding bread crumbs to the mixture until it becomes a thicker consistency, conducive to actually forming a patty that will keep it’s shape. I end up using about 3/4 of a cup.

6. Form patties and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through so both sides get a little crispy. You can flash broil at the end for even more crisp.

I forgot to take pictures of the final project because I was already two vodka drinks in when I started cooking, but you can just take my word for it that it came out awesome.  I served them on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and avocado dressing (just mash together two avocados, garlic powder, fresh cilantro, cumin, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sour cream!)