Meatless Mondays is a new weekly feature which will showcase some of my hits and probably misses with living a meatless life. Many of you know I stopped eating meat about a year ago for personal reasons. While, I haven’t had any desire to go back to eating meat, it has been a struggle to find healthy foods to eat.
Everywhere you go, meat is the main dish. Since I was new to this lifestyle, it led me to eating unhealthy options. I’m on a path now to cook healthier options at home without meat. While going meatless is a personal choice for me, you can still save money by having one meatless meal a week.
Will you join me on this journey by preparing one meatless dish every week? There is a movement called MeatlessMonday.com where you can learn more!
Southwest Black Bean Burgers w/Guacamole Topping
Ingredients
Black Bean Burgers
- olive oil
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 15 oz. can of black beas
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime (or any Mexican flavored spice!)
- 1/2 c. breadcups, plain
- salt/pepper
Guacamole
- 2 Avocados, ripe
- 1 red onion
- 1 lime
- 1 chili pepper
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- salt/pepper
I start with the black bean burgers. (Peek a boo on the Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats in the background.)
I use my Ninja Kitchen (of course) to dice my onions and celery stalk. I’ve heard the Magic Bullet works nice too but I don’t have one of those so you will only hear me talking about my Ninja.
Saute the onions, celery, and garlic in olive oil (or butter or vegetable oil.) I use what I have on hand.
Drain and rinse your black beans.
Mash the black beans. I use a potato masher but you could use a spoon or a fork. (Peek a boo Blistex.)
Then add a lightly beaten egg, bread crumbs, and your celery/onion mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. I still will eat eggs cooked in products. This particular egg was a farm fresh egg from my lovely aunt & uncle. (Thanks, Jane & Scott!) If you don’t eat eggs, you can use a substitute. Stir until mixed.
.
Form into patties.
Place on a baking sheet and cook at 375 degrees for around 10 minutes on each side.
While these are in the oven, you can whip you some fresh guacamole.
The chili pepper is not pictured because I forgot to grab one at the store. I was looking at them and then completely forgot. I did remember the lime this time and that made a huge difference.
You will want to remove the stems from the cilantro. Then finely chop. I used the Ninja to shave time. Chop the pepper and the red onion (I only use half a red onion.) I learned how to properly cut my avocado from Erin at $5 Dollar Dinners.
Once you have the prep work done. Mash the avocado, add the chopped ingredients, squeeze the lime into the mixture, and finish with salt/pepper to taste.
Serves 4 – 6.
Post Dinner Analysis
It’s a hit! This Southwest Black Bean Burger recipe has completely replaced my previous frozen option. They are so simple to make and are very tasty. I do want to experiment and try a black bean rice burger at some point.
The guacamole is simple with a whole bunch of flavor. Once you eat this, you will not be able to go back to the seasoning packets for guacamole. Bryan and my oldest daughter prefer the Guacamole without the onions. Of course, the little ones as a rule won’t touch anything that is green. I, on the other hand, will eat this guacamole straight out of the bowl.
In the completed meal pictured, I didn’t eat this as a traditional sandwich. I simply topped a large baking potato with goodies and then mixed the black bean burger topped with guacamole.
Freezer Friendly
Batch cook the Southwest Black Bean Burgers for easy meals. Top on salads or potatoes instead of your usual meat. Sorry but everything I’m reading on guacamole is it can not be frozen. This has to be made fresh, which is probably why it is so yummy.
Meat it Up
I can’t think of a option to add meat on this. Unless you want to add a strip of bacon to the burger. <giggle>
Vegan Option
Use an egg substitute to make this a vegan recipe.
If you have any questions about the vegetarian lifestyle, you can read more about it at GoVeg.com.
I am making these for dinner and just realized that I never used the Mrs. Dash….how much do you put in?
You can absolutely freeze guacamole, I do it all the time.
The back of the Wholly Guacamole I buy at the store says ” Use or Freeze by” which gave me the idea.
Best way is to transfer it to a ziploc-type freezer bag, and squish it all down to the bottom. Try and keep it off the sides and get it all down in the bottom and make sure you get out all the air. Rolling the bag after you’ve sealed and opening a little bit and then letting that last bit of air out really helps. The very top most part of the guac may turn slightly brown if it’s exposed to air, but it tastes just fine.
Defrost by floating the still sealed bag in a sink full of hot water while you make the rest of your dinner.
These look really good! So do you eat them with the guac on a bun? Or would it become mushy? ……..I tried going vegan for lent (I’m already a vegetarian) and it was one of the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I live in Wisconsin and cheese is everywhere! But I now eat more vegan recipes and I’m loving learning new (and healthier) things every day on my journey…… Thanks so much for doing “Meatless Mondays”! I LOVE that you included pictures with each step, sometimes when I cook a recipe without a picture, I wonder “Is it supposed to look like this?” and this clears it all up!!
Just made these tonight. Very good. I’ve never had luck with these recipes before, but these turned out nice. I think the key was using the food processor to chop the onion/celery instead of by hand.
I’ve made this before, it’s a favorite with my non-veg family members too. I’ve cut out all animal products, so I know what you mean about how hard it is to find healthy alternatives. It can be especially frustrating when dining out with family!
This can also be made with red lentils for a more iron-rich alternative. They freeze really well too! I usually top mine with salsa. :)
I’ll have to look up red lentils! Thanks for that tip!
This sounds great. I am going to have to try this. I love black beans. We are mainly vegetarian in our household (my daughter is completely vegetarian, we sometimes eat fish) so new recipes are always fun to try out. Plus, this sounds cheaper and healthier than buying pre made ones.
Costs way less money than the store bought ones and taste 1000% better!
Not sure about the guacamole, but I’ll definitely have to try the black bean burgers.
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Excellent post!
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You can freeze the avocado. Just mash it in a zip lock baggie and freeze. I have done this before and had no trouble.
That’s good to know! I’ve read differing reports on the internet! :)
I’m pretty sure I have everything for this, so I think I’m going to make it tonight! It looks awesome! We are doing gluten-free right now, so I’ll use oats instead of the bread crumbs.
.-= Rachel @ Surviving The Stores´s last blog ..Kids Bowl Free This Summer =-.
Those look great!!
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Oh, I can’t wait to try these, thanks for sharing!!
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