Once upon a time, we didn’t have Impossible or Beyond or Ultimate. Veggie burger patties did not taste like meat, nor did we expect (or want!) them to. They tasted of beans (and not just black beans), vegetables, mushrooms, rice. Sometimes they were served as a sandwich, but just as often they were served wrapped in a lettuce leaf with burger fixin’s, or just plain on a plate with two veggie sides. If they weren’t on a burger bun, we called them “bean cakes.”

There’s a lot of reasons to return to these old-school veggie burgers. They’re inexpensive. They’re easy. They’re fast. You can identify and pronounce all the ingredients. Even if you fry them, they are much lower fat than commercial veggie burgers – AND lower sodium. They are a great outlet for your culinary creativity.

And they taste so, so much better than frozen veggie burgers!

This Pinto Bean Burger is full of flavor and texture. Eat it as a sandwich filling, with the usual burger toppings. Or, eat it as a Bean Cake as I did here, served alongside a slice of cornbread and an off-camera side of collards. You can, if you wish, top with some salsa or a simple aioli (Vegenaise mixed with a pinch of garlic powder or smoked paprika). Or just a little regular ketchup!

Ingredients For Pinto Bean Burgers/Pinto Bean Cakes

Cooking Spray or Oil

One 14.5 oz Canned Pinto Beans

1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped

1 Small Serrano Pepper, diced (optional)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika

1/2 Tsp Chili Powder (for seasoning chili – NOT plain red chili powder)

1/2 Tsp Sea Salt, or to taste

2 TBL Ketchup

2 TBL Corn Meal (more if needed)

Directions For Pinto Bean Burgers

Preheat oven to 375.

Drain and rinse the beans. If you are watching your sodium, choose no-salt-added beans OR rinse the beans a few extra times.

Put the beans on a large dinner plate and mash them with a fork. I like to use a potato masher. You want the beans mashed, but not absolutely smooth – you should still see recognizable chunks of bean here and there. This will give your burger some texture. WARNING: Do NOT use a food processor – pinto beans are a very soft bean and they puree very quickly.

Scrape into a mixing bowl. Add the diced pepper, if using, and the chopped onion. (Do not use onion powder, as the chopped onion adds texture as well as flavor.)

Stir to combine.

Add all the dry spices – garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, chili powder, and salt. Add two tablespoons of ketchup. Stir.

Add 2 TBL corn meal and mix. This should make the mixture “dryer” and easier to handle.

With your hands, form the pinto beans into balls and then gently flatten into patties. If too sticky, add a little more corn meal and/or put in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Next, do the two-step cooking trick:

Spray oil into a frying pan and gently fry each side of the bean patty five minutes. Then, transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for about five minutes each side.

Serve on buns with all the typical burger fixings, or serve as “bean cakes” without the bread.

Notes: The two step cooking tip initially seems like extra work, but it is the secret that will make you love your veggie burgers. Frying makes burgers taste better – brings out the flavors and creates a nice crunchy surface texture. But it can be difficult to cook the patties evenly all the way through. An oven will cook the patties through, but the texture tends to become too dense and moist, almost bread-like.

The above recipe makes 4-5 burger size patties or 6-8 smaller “bean cakes.” (Making smaller bean cakes looks high-falutin when you serve them with a dip or spread.) For simplicity’s sake, the nutrition information is broken down for four burger size patties. Keep in mind bread will add additional calories, and you’ll likely have more than one serving.