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!