Eating healthy and reducing your meat consumption doesn’t have to mean missing out on burger night! I’ve always loved vegetarian burgers and often choose them over their meat counterparts. A really good bean burger, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, served on warm buns with all of the classic burger trimmings, is hard to beat. These Mexican bean burgers, that deliver a surprising punch of flavour and goodness, are no exception.
Densely packed with fibre and protein, and with no saturated fat, they’re as good for you as they are delicious. The recipe is extremely child friendly. I serve them ‘deconstructed’ (lets be real; cut up) for my toddler and she devours them. They can also be easily spiced up for the adults by adding some fresh red chilli. The heat works beautifully with the Mexican flavours, perfect alongside a cold beer or glass of wine.
This is a simple recipe using fresh, readily available ingredients. The bean burgers are quick and easy to knock up on a lazy evenings when you still want to get something homemade, healthy and that everyone will love on the table.
Mexican Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 800 grams canned mixed beans Any mix of kidney beans, black beans, butter beans and lentils
- 1 garlic clove finely diced or minced
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander
- 3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 egg organic is best and free range is a must
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt plus black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper or fresh chopped red chilli An optional extra for the adults
To serve
- 4 burger buns
- 4 slices "plastic" burger cheese Or fresh cheddar or feta cheese
- 1 Avocado sliced
- To taste cornishons (pickles)
- 4 tbsp burger sauce Made with tomato sauce, mayonnaise and mustard.
- 8 fresh cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 tbsp salsa
Instructions
- Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and cook the red onion for about 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Add the chopped garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute more.
- Meanwhile, put all of the burger ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and stir together. You can then either blitz the mixture in a blender for a smooth consistency or, if you prefer a chunkier texture, mash it with a potato masher.
- Divide the mixture in to 4 (or however many you need, the rest will keep in the fridge and also freezes well.) Using your hands roll them in to balls, then squash in to patties of about 1cm thickness. Tip: Have a bowl of flour next to you to dip your hands in to between rolling each patty, this will prevent them sticking.
- Cover and place in to the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- When you're ready to cook the burgers, heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. When it's hot place the burgers in and cook on one side for 5 minutes.
- Carefully flip the burgers over, then drape a slice of cheese over the top. Cook for a further 5 minutes, with a lid on to help the cheese melt.
- Serve on the warmed burger buns, with burger sauce, sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes, salsa and pickles.
Santè!!
If you like this recipe and are looking for more healthy meal ideas, head over to my family friendly recipes page.