Other White Meat Burgers
Since chickpeas, black beans, and lentils are common in veggie burgers, I took mine a different route. These Other White Meat Burgers are made with delicious and delicate cannellini beans.
I’m still playing around with the veggie burger. I’m playing with different cuisines, different flavor types, and different beans. I mean, chickpeas are the duh bean. And black beans, too. So this time, I went with cannellini beans, which in my book are white kidney beans. Who knows, maybe I’ll do kidney beans next?
Anyway.
I thought, since this is a different burger, why not really make it different? So, I took it southwest with this deliciousness. Actually, let me back that up. That’s not really the route I planned on taking with this burger. I had something entirely different going on, but got home and just winged it. Wung it? Wang chung it? Who knows.
You see, we had some grilled corn from the weekend that I didn’t want to go to waste. Then we had a red onion left over. I don’t know about you, but for me corn an onions = Southwest cooking! No? Just me?
Moving on.
This time, I really tried NOT to over process the burgers. I did take the potato masher to ours and let me tell you it wasn’t easy! Those beans were a pain to mash. Whereas before they were going to be too wet, I honestly thought they were going to be too dry! Honestly! They were like mashed potatoes without the milk. Just…DRY!
This is where you just have to trust your gut, like I did. You have to wang chung it!
If you think they’re going to be dry and you need something to mix the ingredients together, add some egg. I put 1/4 cup egg substitute in the mix and it worked perfectly. If your corn is wetter than mine was, then add some bread crumbs, oatmeal, quinoa; something to bind it together a little better. Heck, a little flour would work, too! Just trust your gut with this one.
But that burger. That baby doesn’t look dry at all, does it? Nope, didn’t think so! The sweet corn and the onions add plenty of moisture and delicious flavor to these babies. Then there’s the kick from the taco seasoning (I make my own blend. I should share it some time). Finally, the juicy tomato and the yummy cheese. All this makes for a juicy, tasty veggie burger with a kick!
Now, I just put some regular mayo on my burger, but you could make a nice crema or a chipotle aioli for your burger. Now, come to think of it… that sounds pretty good! I love me some chipotle flavored foods. I think I’ll try that next time I make these burgers. Because there WILL be a next time!
Why yes, yes they were a mouthful to try to eat!
Just look at how big that baby is! I made them extra thick and extra juicy for our #meatfree dinner. I did toast the buns a little too much. Please don’t do that. It makes the burger a little difficult to eat. I swear, they were not even toasted when I looked, then just a short time later, they were extra crispy. I think I went to slice the tomato and BAM! Almost burnt. DO NOT do this. It made the burgers a little difficult to eat.
Have you tried making veggie burgers? How did they turn out?
The Other White Meat Burger
Since chickpeas, black beans, and lentils are common in veggie burgers, I took mine a different route. These Other White Meat Burgers are made with delicious and delicate cannelini beans.
Ingredients
- 28 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups corn (I used left over grilled corn, but any should work)
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 cup egg substitute (or one large egg)
- 4 hamburger buns
- Sliced tomatoes, onions, cheese, and other toppings of choice
Instructions
- Place the beans in a mixing bowl and, using a potato masher, mash the beans to a coarse consistency. You don’t want to turn them into paste, but you don’t want them to be too solid, either.
- Once mashed, stir in the next five ingredients (corn through garlic salt) until well blended. They should hold their shape well, but if the mixture is too loose, feel free to add some bread crumbs, oatmeal, or other binder to the mixture and omit the egg. If, once you’ve added the egg, it’s still too thick, add a little more egg to make it a workable mixture.
- Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Divide the mixture into four patties and sauté 6 to 8 minutes per side or until heated through and golden brown.
- Top each bun with a burger and dress with your favorite toppings and serve.
