The cooking school yesterday was a great the room was full of people who wanted to learn more about eating a vegetarian diet. We shared a bunch of sandwiches and salads that are great for picnics. One of the favorite recipes we shared was for home cooked black bean burgers.  There are many burger recipes on the market but this homemade version is easy to make and they freeze well. So when you make them just double the recipe and freeze the ones you don’t need for a quick lunch or supper another day.

Here is the recipe from my friend Patty LaVanture from Country Life Natural Foods.

Black Bean Burgers

• 1 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid Aminos
• 1/2 cup black beans, mashed or refried
• 2 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 medium onion, diced fine
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons gluten flour
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon chicken-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
• Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 and prepare baking sheet by spaying with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together water, soy sauce and black beans.
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Scoop burger mixture with 1/4 or 1/3 cup measure or use a large ice cream scoop. Flatten into patties.
5. Cover and bake on bottom rack for 20 minutes or until browned. Uncover and flip patties and bake for 10 minutes.