This is a great recipe to keep on hand for when the pantry is bare and the grocery budget or shopping time is low. Each serving costs less than a buck to make—even less if you cook your own black beans from scratch—and it’s packed with nutrition. Sometimes eating healthy on a budget can be tricky, but this recipe makes it easy!
You might be tempted to fire up the food processor for this recipe, but trust us, you want to go manual for these burgers and mash up the black beans with a fork. The food processor takes black beans from, well…bean-like to mush in a matter of seconds. By just mashing your black beans roughly with a fork, you can easily control the texture of your burgers.
Also, when you’re browsing the aisles at the grocery store for barbecue sauce, make sure to read ingredients. There are some great options out there with recognizable ingredients, but there are also a few on the shelf that have artificial flavors, colors, and high fructose corn syrup. Skip those versions and instead pick up a bottle that lists ingredients you recognize (or make your own if you have a rockin’ recipe!).
Top these gloriously healthy burgs with your favorite fixins and enjoy!
5-Ingredient BBQ Black Bean Burgers
Makes 3 servings
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
- 2/3 cup quick-cooking oats (see notes)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Whole wheat burger buns and burger toppings, for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mash the black beans with a fork until you achieve a chunky paste, leaving some bean chunks for texture.
- Add the barbecue sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the mashed beans. Stir until well combined.
- Add the quick-cooking oats to the mixture and stir until fully combined, ensuring there are no lumps of oats.
- With damp hands, divide the mixture into three equal portions and form them into patties. Place the patties onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the patties in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then, carefully flip them over and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes, or until the patties are slightly browned, beginning to crack on the edges, and firm to the touch.
- Serve the black bean patties immediately on whole wheat burger buns with your preferred burger toppings.
Note: Don’t have quick cooking oats on hand? Just take regular rolled/old fashioned oats and pulse them in a food processor until they are well-chopped, but not powdered.
