Bean Burgers

Mar 13, 2020 | 3 comments

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I went to Canterbury Christmas Market with the U3A last December. One of the things I did there was to browse in the Oxfam book shop. Lots I wanted, of course, and I bought 3, couldn’t carry any more! One of the books I bought was a very sweary one called Thug Kitchen. I didn’t realise at the time that it is vegan, I just noticed lots of recipes I wanted to try.

bean burgers

One of those recipes was a white bean and red lentil burger. Very tasty, has lentils and beans so a complete protein, very adaptable as these kind of burgers tend to be. I made some with my cookery group, and we changed the recipe somewhat as we went along, and I’ve tweaked it again, as you do. So, this is my version of a Thug Burger. I really like this recipe for a bean burger. I’ve tried a few burger recipes and this one is the nicest I think

Pop the lemon carcass into the freezer. There are lots of things that can be done with it

Variations of the Thug Burger

Add some smoked paprika for a smoky hot hit, some sweet paprika for less heat, or cayenne for even more!

Change the curry powder, I used a lovely mellow korma powder that I had in the cupboard. Use a tblsp of any paste to vary the flavour

Leave out the curry powder and use individual spices. Add a bit of chilli if you like that

Flavour with a tsp Marmite or Bovril (not vegan). Use miso paste, or 2 tblsps tomato puree

A combination of any of the above too

Serve your burgers  with home made chips baked in the oven, or make chips from a mixture of root veg (swede, carrot, potato, celeriac)

bean burgers

 

bean burgers

Bean Burgers

4.50 from 4 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course:
Dinner
,
Lunch
Cuisine:
English
dairy free by Olguioo from the Noun Project
Dairy Free
,
No Nuts by Llisole from the Noun Project
Nut Free
,
vegan by Guilherme Furtado from the Noun Project
Vegan
,
Vegetarian by Philipp Petzka from the Noun Project
Vegetarian
freeze by Hare Krishna from the Noun Project
Freezes Well
Servings: 8 burgers
Cost per portion 10p per burger
Calories: 113kcal
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Ingredients

  • 30 g red lentils
  • 158 ml water
  • 355 g cooked beans use baked beans, rinsed
  • 50 g onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 40 g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tblsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt a scant measure
  • ¼ lemon zest and juice

Flavourings

  • 2 tblsp curry powder

Instructions

  • Put the lentils in a saucepan with the water
  • Simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the lentils are soft and the water mainly gone. Keep an eye on them, we don't want them to stick
  • Click here to start a 10 minute timer
  • Open the tins of beans and tip into a sieve. Now run under the tap to rinse away all the sauce. If you want to keep the sauce for use in your next soup or casserole, drain them into a bowl first before rinsing under the tap.
  • Tip the rinsed beans into a bowl and mash them with a fork
  • Chop the onion quite finely
  • If you don't have any breadcrumbs stashed in the freezer, make them now from slices of bread. Grate the slices, or chop, chop, chop them until very fine. Or use a stick blender etc
  • Add everything to the bean bowl and give it all a good mix. If the mixture is a little wet to hold it's shape, add a few more breadcrumbs. If it seems to dry, add a tblsp of water
  • Now divide your mix into 8 equal sized amounts and shape into burgers. I use a cheap burger press I got from Lakeland decades ago. It's a useful tool for this kind of thing. Similar to this one
  • Rest the burgers in a cool place until ready. Or wrap them and freeze. Be gentle, they're very soft
  • When you're ready to eat, put a little oil in a frying pan, place your burgers in and fry gently for a few minutes until golden. Flip over, add a little more oil, just a tsp, and cook the other side. Serve immediately

Serving Suggestions

  • We had ours with some home made oven chips and a bit of salad - a bit of broccoli, grated carrot and a little fine chopped yellow pepper, dressed with the rest of the juice from the lemon and some rapeseed oil
  • You could go the whole burger hog. Toast some burger buns, spread with mayo, lettuce, tomato slice and sliced gherkin and sandwich your burger in the halved bun
  • Or have with a jkt potato, and some cooked veg or salad

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Bean Burgers
Amount per Serving
Calories
113
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
3
g
5
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Sodium
 
187
mg
8
%
Potassium
 
239
mg
7
%
Carbohydrates
 
18
g
6
%
Fiber
 
6
g
25
%
Sugar
 
2
g
2
%
Protein
 
5
g
10
%
Vitamin A
 
47
IU
1
%
Vitamin C
 
4
mg
5
%
Calcium
 
44
mg
4
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @ThriftyLesley or tag #ThriftyLesley !

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Pongodhall

    3 stars
    I like it because it is vegan. There’s some really good, frugal cooking here. Just what so many of us need.

  2. Thrifty Lesley

    No, it’s not 1/4 tsp, it’s a 1/4 of a lemon. So that would be about 1/2 tsp zest and a tblsp or 2 of juice

  3. New England Flybaby

    Sorry to bother you w/ this, but am I correct in assuming that it’s only 1/4 tsp. of lemon zest, & just a splash of lemon juice? (You can tell I don’t often use lemon in savory recipes, right?)

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