It’s BBQ season and what better way to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend with these healthy and delicious Black Bean Apple Burgers. I’ve had this BBQ sauce recipe filed away since I created it in January and I’ve been counting the days until the nice weather arrived to use it. This was my first attempt at a healthy, fakin’ bacon recipe and I am happy with the way it came out. I definitely want to experiement with different ways of making it to find the best one. If you have a recipe perfected, please share it with me.
The flavors of each recipe combine for the perfect sweet, spicy, and earthy summer meal.
* Note: I would make the BBQ sauce ahead of time. Also, when there is ten minutes left on the mushrooms, throw the burgers in the oven to finish them off.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 (15.5) oz. can no or low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed with cold water
½ cup apple, peeled and diced
½ cup cornmeal
3 cloves roasted garlic
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 whole wheat or gluten-free buns
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place all ingredients in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until well combined.
3. Form burgers into four equal patties and place in refrigerator for one hour.
4. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-heat. Spray with non-stick cooking oil and cook each patty for 4 minutes on each side or until browned and crispy. Place in oven for an additional 4 minutes per side.
5. Serve on rolls with sliced tomato, lettuce, BBQ sauce and Shiitake Bacon. Or, serve with a big green salad without a roll – that’s how I had it.
Yield: 1 ½ cups
1 large yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
3 cloves roasted garlic
1 tbsp date paste
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp no or low sodium tomato paste
1/3 cup low sodium ketchup
¼ tsp ground mustard
¼ – ½ tsp chipotle powder (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup water
1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and stir. Keep stirring until the onions start to stick and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable stock. Repeat this step, stirring often for 30 minutes, deglazing pan every so often with a small amount of vegetable stock. Cook onions for 30 minutes or until onions are dark in color with the desired caramelized flavor.
2. Place onions with remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until smooth.
3. Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Shiitake Bacon
Ingredients:
1 (3.5) oz container shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Amino Acid
¼ cup no salt added vegetable stock
1. Combine mushrooms, Bragg’s and veggie stock in a shallow bowl. Marinate for one hour, stirring once after 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. Spread mushrooms onto baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes until crispy.
* make sure you get these nice and crispy otherwise it will just be roasted mushrooms. Increase your oven temp if you need to or throw on the broiler for a few minutes to crisp. =)
Enjoy!
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This burger looks so yummy! My hubby wont eat mushrooms but he loves bbq sauce. Can't wait to make this for him 🙂
VWHT,
Thanks, I'm really happy about this recipe, we had it last night, going to make it again tomorrow to make sure I don't have to tweak anything and definitely need to take new pics! 😉
Jen
wow, i love this black bean burger, sauce, and shitake bacon recipe!! what is date paste btw?
okay I am making this whole combination this week for dinner! Thanks so much for the recipes =)
ahealthyendeavor,
awesome, let me know how it turns out!
Jen
Virtually Vegan Mama, it looks like you have done it again. This looks phenomenal! I will have to try this, this summer!
The picture alone stopped me in my tracks, and reading further (apple, black bean and bbq sauce- yum!) had me drooling! Great post – I'll certainly try this one. 🙂
Jennie,
Thanks! I'm making some more today to test freezing them. =)
Jesse,
Thank you, I love the flavors of this recipe =)
Jen
Wow very nice combination on the burger 🙂 I really love to try this 🙂
This recipe sounds bad ass. Definitely going to try it! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Tess and Jamielee! Let me know how it turns out for you =)
Jen
I'm usually a pretty big fan of meat in my burgers, but this one I think I'd definitely make an exception for! It sounds and looks fantastic 🙂 PS: Saw this on Pinterest today and came here from Foodbuzz!
That's a great looking burger. I'm a hardcore carnivore but that would totally fool me 🙂 Love the idea of the shiitake bacon!
This is a wonderful recipe! And I love the sound of the shiitake bacon!
I have to make this asap! That BBQ sauce is calling my name!
Parsley Sage and Tiffany,
Thank you, I think this is a good substitute for the real thing 😉
Nikki,
We can serve this black bean burger with your delish looking broccoli burgers, I'm so making those!
here's the link if anyone wants to check 'em out…yum
http://thetolerantvegan.com/2011/05/baked-broccoli-burgers/
xoxo
Jen =)
This sounds delish! I love the addition of apple to your burgers and the dates in the bbq sauce is genius, can't wait to try it!!
Thanks! I thought it was a nice way to add flavor and increase the nutritional benefits. =) Dates are so delish and a healthier alternative to sugar.
Jen =)
I adore veggie burgers of all sorts. This sounds great. I love black beans, and of course anything with carmelized onions has my vote!
Hi Pam =)
Thanks for stopping by, these burgers have tons of flavor, I love ’em!
Jen
Have you ever tried cooking these in the oven? Just looking for a low fat way to cook them. thanks!!
I’m sure you could just bake them in the oven and skip the skillet part…I haven’t tried it though…I used non-stick cooking spray for the pan not oil, which is still low fat =)
Jen
I made these for dinner tonight and they were great! My modifications: I used an immersion blender pulsing to mix since I don’t own a food processor. I used garlic powder as I did not have any fresh on hand.( I bet the roasted garlic is way better, though.) I didn’t have mushrooms so I made a quick vegan coleslaw for a topping. It goes great with barbecue sauce. The consistency was great and the flavor was awesome. I will definitely make these burgers again. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Thanks for the awesome feedback Dawn 🙂 I appreciate it 🙂
xo
Jen