Serve up these easy black bean patties over rice or quinoa, or on a whole wheat bun for instant vegetarian sliders!
Black Bean Patties with Avocado & Tomato Salsa Recipe
When we find something that we like to eat, we tend to go a little overboard with it, particularly if it’s a healthy item. Black beans (and now these black bean patties!) certainly fall under this category. We buy them buy the case at Costco and then proceed to put them in everything from soups and dips to chili and quinoa salads. Any leftover beans are thrown into whole wheat tortillas , along with brown rice, corn, diced red bell pepper and whatever chicken or meat that’s leftover from the night before, for a quick and easy lunch.
Black beans are one of the powerhouses of the legume world, packing an impressive amount of fiber and protein per serving. This means you’ll fill up a lot faster and won’t have room for dessert. That doesn’t sound like a good thing but, believe me, when there are stacks of Nutella Cream Cheese Blondies calling from the pantry, filling up on the healthy stuff becomes a necessity.
These patties work well on their own when topped with the simple avocado and tomato salsa. Actually, I’m not sure if I can count the avocado and tomato mixture as a salsa, since all I did was stir them together with a little lime juice. Whatever you call it, it gives a fresh pop of flavor and color to the patties.
We also like to serve the patties between a whole-wheat dinner roll, topped with a little queso fresco cheese and Tomatillo Salsa Verde. Ta-da! Black bean sliders.
The black bean patties recipe:
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse sandwich bread to form breadcrumbs. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft. Add garlic, jalapeno, and cumin. Saute for additional 2 minutes.
Scrape the mixture into the food processor. Add black beans, brown rice, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the beans are chopped, but not pureed.
Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike photographing brown food?
Scrape the black bean mixture into a large bowl. Add half of the breadcrumbs and the chopped cilantro. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until combined.
Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form into patties. If the mixture is too moist to form patties, add more breadcrumbs. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick, so a good crust can form) set over medium heat. Add 4 patties and cook for 4 minutes per side. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining 4 patties.
For the salsa, gently stir together avocado, tomatoes and lime juice.
Serve 2 patties on each plate, topped with salsa.
Other bean patty recipes:
101 Cookbooks’ Vegetarian Lentil Burgers
Cooking Books’ Sweet Potato & Black Bean Cakes
Lisa’s Kitchen’s Black-Eyed Pea Patties with Chili Sauce
Black Bean Patties with Avocado & Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 pieces day-old or toasted whole wheat sandwich bread
- 3 tablespoons olive or canola oil divided
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper membranes and seeds removed
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salsa:
- 2 avocados cut into 3/4 inch pieces
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
The patties:
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse sandwich bread to form breadcrumbs. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft. Add garlic, jalapeno, and cumin. Saute for additional 2 minutes.
- Scrape the mixture into the food processor. Add black beans, brown rice, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the beans are chopped, but not pureed.
- Scrape the black bean mixture into a large bowl. Add half of the breadcrumbs and the chopped cilantro. Stir the mixture until combined.
- Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and form into patties. If the mixture is too moist to form patties, add more breadcrumbs.
- Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick, so a good crust can form) set over medium heat. Add 4 patties and cook for 4 minutes per side. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining 4 patties.
- Serve 2 patties on each plate, topped with salsa.
The salsa:
- Gently stir together avocado, tomatoes and lime juice.
Nutrition
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Sheril
These look great! I’m about to make 80 of them for a VBS luncheon on Friday…how the kids enjoy them. I’ll do some sweet potato fries on the side, just so it’s a little more kid-friendly. Thanks Dara!
Beth
We love these! They are now on our heavy-rotation list for meal planning. My children like them even more than their favorite store-bought veggie patty. I do leave out the jalapeño and add more cumin. Thanks for a great recipe.