Sizzling spicy pinto bean corn burger

by

AuthorCassandra Finch
DifficultyBeginner

One bite of this spicy pinto bean corn veggie burger and your mouth will tingle with the warmness of chipotle, cumin, and cilantro. I think we sometimes pass up pinto beans for black beans in our veggie burgers out of habit. After making this recipe you'll wonder where have pinto bean burgers been all your life. They're that perfect!

Yields4 Servings
Prep Time45 minsCook Time10 minsTotal Time1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients
 15 oz (1 can) pinto beans
 1 ear fresh or 1 cup frozen corn
 ½ cup small diced green pepper
 1 yellow onion
 3 garlic cloves, minced
 2 tsp jalapeno, deseeded
 1 tbsp tomato paste
 1 tbsp thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
 2 tsp chili powder
 2 tsp ground cumin
 ¼ cup cup chopped cilantro
 ½ cup rolled oats Run the oats through your food processor until they look like coarse flour. If you don't have a food processor you can leave the oats whole.
 ¼ cup ground flaxseedyou can buy whole flaxseed and ground it yourself in a food processor or buy them already ground
 ½ cup chopped walnutsChop into small bits by hand or with a food processor
 1 tbsp barbecue sauce (optional)
 ½ tsp salt
 3 tbsp grapeseed oil 1 tbsp for sauteing vegetables, 2 tbsp for browning pinto burgers

Directions
1

To prepare the burgers, drain beans and coarsely mash in a large bowl with fork or potato masher. Set the beans aside.

2

Take about 1 tbsp of the oil and sauté the onions, green pepper and jalapeno for 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic, thyme, chipotle pepper, chili powder, cumin, and tomato paste to the onion mixture. Stir and continue to saute the mixture for 3 more minutes and transfer to a large bowl.

3

To the bowl add the corn kernels, chopped cilantro, rolled oats, ground flaxseed, barbecue sauce, and mix together. If the mixture seems too loose gradually add a little more oats until it firms up. You should be able to form a ball with your hands.

4

Take the mixture, pat it down into a small casserole dish, and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps the flavors meld together and thicken the ingredients even more.

5

When you’re ready to begin cooking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and shape the pinto bean mixture into 4 equal patties.

6

Coat a large skillet with remaining grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the patties to the pan, brown them on the underside for about 3-4 minutes, flip them over and set the pinto bean burgers inside the oven for about 5 additional minutes.

7

Finish the patties inside the oven until both sides are nice and brown. Do not overcook.

8

To assemble the burgers, place on buns. Top with lettuce, red onion, tomatoes and your favorite condiments: barbecue sauce, ketchup or salsa.

Ingredients

Ingredients
 15 oz (1 can) pinto beans
 1 ear fresh or 1 cup frozen corn
 ½ cup small diced green pepper
 1 yellow onion
 3 garlic cloves, minced
 2 tsp jalapeno, deseeded
 1 tbsp tomato paste
 1 tbsp thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
 2 tsp chili powder
 2 tsp ground cumin
 ¼ cup cup chopped cilantro
 ½ cup rolled oats Run the oats through your food processor until they look like coarse flour. If you don't have a food processor you can leave the oats whole.
 ¼ cup ground flaxseedyou can buy whole flaxseed and ground it yourself in a food processor or buy them already ground
 ½ cup chopped walnutsChop into small bits by hand or with a food processor
 1 tbsp barbecue sauce (optional)
 ½ tsp salt
 3 tbsp grapeseed oil 1 tbsp for sauteing vegetables, 2 tbsp for browning pinto burgers

Directions

Directions
1

To prepare the burgers, drain beans and coarsely mash in a large bowl with fork or potato masher. Set the beans aside.

2

Take about 1 tbsp of the oil and sauté the onions, green pepper and jalapeno for 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic, thyme, chipotle pepper, chili powder, cumin, and tomato paste to the onion mixture. Stir and continue to saute the mixture for 3 more minutes and transfer to a large bowl.

3

To the bowl add the corn kernels, chopped cilantro, rolled oats, ground flaxseed, barbecue sauce, and mix together. If the mixture seems too loose gradually add a little more oats until it firms up. You should be able to form a ball with your hands.

4

Take the mixture, pat it down into a small casserole dish, and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps the flavors meld together and thicken the ingredients even more.

5

When you’re ready to begin cooking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and shape the pinto bean mixture into 4 equal patties.

6

Coat a large skillet with remaining grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the patties to the pan, brown them on the underside for about 3-4 minutes, flip them over and set the pinto bean burgers inside the oven for about 5 additional minutes.

7

Finish the patties inside the oven until both sides are nice and brown. Do not overcook.

8

To assemble the burgers, place on buns. Top with lettuce, red onion, tomatoes and your favorite condiments: barbecue sauce, ketchup or salsa.

Spicy pinto bean corn burgers

How to up the flavor

Let the beans shine. When forming them into patties make sure pieces of the beans are still visible. Sometimes bean burgers are too mushy. Don’t overwhelm your beans with too much flour. 

If you want your burgers to be crispy on the outside get that pan hot! Make sure your pan is hot enough so the burgers will brown nicely. When I worked as a grill cook at Whole Foods we always pan-fried our veggie burgers on top of the stove and finished them in the oven so they could cook evenly. Although I’m no longer a professional cook, I still make my veggie burgers this way today.
Pinto bean burger in skillet
I’ve tinkered with this Pinto bean and corn burger for a while. You probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen cabinet already. If you can’t eat nuts, just leave out the walnuts…If you can’t find flaxseeds I’m sure you’ll be fine without it. However you make it, you’ll definitely be satisfied.

So are you going to give this delicious pinto bean corn burger a try?  Let me know how it turned out in the comments below.

Cassandra

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Cassandra Finch is a plant-based educator who helps non-cooks and food lovers of all kinds find the motivation to add more vegetables to every meal.  

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