Make these bean burgers once and then freeze them for later. A simple weeknight meal made easy!
I mentioned yesterday that I love to make beans from scratch. I made a big batch of Mayocoba beans (aka, pinto) this weekend, so this week I’m using them in a few recipes. This month’s Recipe Redux theme is freezer-friendly foods, which is the perfect reason to whip up a batch of tasty bean burgers. I love my freezer. It’s probably more stuffed than my fridge! Because we are a small family of three, the freezer is an important part of my cooking strategy. I like to take advantage of bulk food pricing (especially with organic food, meats, and fish), but we definitely can’t eat those larger quantities fast enough. My freezer saves me time in the kitchen and tons of money on groceries.
Bean burgers are pretty easy to make and we eat them quite a bit at our house. Our burgers are not your typical bean burgers. They aren’t trying to be hamburgers! They have their own identity; super crusty on the outside and creamy on the inside. Of course, with a ton of flavor!
Because they’re a bit on the soft-side in the center, we eat them in a pita. The pita makes it easy to catch any pieces that fall apart. I like to actually squish mine in my pita and make it super messy. Hany likes his with a slice of melted Swiss on top. I like mine with tons of microgreens and ketchup. Another great thing about bean burgers is that they freeze well. This is important because one batch usually makes way too many burgers!
Freezing these bean burgers is pretty simple. You just form the patties and then place them onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Then you cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. This makes them easier to handle when you’re wrapping them up for the freezer.
Once they’re cold, I wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then again in wax paper. My mom is the freezing Queen and she swears that the double wrap keeps anything from getting freezer burned. I rarely doubt my mom, so I double-wrap.
Once wrapped and secure, I just place them all into larger bag and pop them into the freezer. Super simple. I hope you’ll try it!
Freezer Friendly Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked pinto beans if using canned, drain and rinse
- 1/2 cup brown rice cooked
- 1/2 cup cooked lentils
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup almond flour or breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup roasted red pepper chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Ground pepper
Instructions
- Pulse ingredients in food processor until well combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. Form mixture into burger patties. It should be sticky but still hold shape. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Place patties onto skillet and cook for a good 5 minutes each side. Be careful not to burn the patties, you may need to lower flame. Burgers will be soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Warning: these burgers are soft on the inside, crumbling happens. 🙂
