These burgers are so good that you don't miss the meat for one second, that is if you are a regular meat-eater. These bean burgers are a great alternative to regular burgers. They're a stunning and harmonious blend of red beans, bambara beans, and oyster mushrooms which form the base of the patty. Seasoned to perfection with paprika and a host of other spices, you will definitely be making these burgers very often. If you are looking for veggie burger ideas, then this recipe is the one to try.
In a previous post, I made these delicious fritters made from bambara beans in their raw form.
For this recipe, however, the beans are cooked before they are processed any further. For the taste of the bean burgers to be as unadulterated as possible and yet still be flavourful, I used only one egg as a binder. The trade-off here is a touch of patience while frying these bean-mushroom patties. This is because they are quite delicate and will come apart if you're not careful.
You will therefore need to be patient while frying them or turn to the alternative of adding more of your favourite binder to make life a bit easier.
Once they cool down after having being fried, they are still delicate but easier to handle. This bean-mushroom mix also makes a great vegan burger if you replace the egg with a vegan-friendly binder such as flaxseed or breadcrumbs.
The assembling of the burgers is probably the most fun bit. To make this luscious burger, I also added some caramelised onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado cream. Some plantain chips for a bit of a crunch and you have the perfect no-meat burger. Feel free to pile on whatever you want.
Bambara Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 400 grams bambara beans soaked overnight and cooked
- 100 grams red beans soaked overnight and cooked
- 4 tbsp dry oyster mushrooms chopped
- ½ large onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 2 tbsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp black peppercorns finely crushed
- salt
- 1 egg
- 1 small avocado
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp lemon basil
- 6 burger buns
- lettuce
- 5 tbsp caramelised onions
- 1 large tomato sliced into 6
- green plantain chips optional
Instructions
- Fry mushrooms with onions and garlic for about 3 minutes. Add a bit of water while frying the mushrooms to rehydrate them. Leave to cool.
- Mash red beans and bambara beans with a fork and mix.
- Add a mix of paprika powder, black pepper, and white pepper to the mashed beans.
- Add mushrooms and the egg to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Place the mix in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- Remove flesh from avocado and mash with a fork. Add parsley, basil, lemon juice, and mix. Cover and set aside.
- Form the patties from beans mixture and pan fry them for about 2 minutes on each side. Careful when flipping them over, as these are delicate. See notes.
- Leave patties to cool slightly before handling them.
- Cut burger buns and toast each side lightly.
- Layer the lower buns with lettuce, bean-mushroom patty avocado cream, caramelized onions, crushed plantain chips, tomatoes, and finally the bun.
Notes
- The bean-mushrooms patties are delicate so care needs to be taken when frying them and especially when flipping them over. A good way to improve this is to add an additional binder such as egg, flour, breadcrumbs, oats or flaxseed.
- You can use any other darker beans in place of the red beans. These were mainly added for a darker patty but they also bring a ton of flavour to the burger patties.
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