G-Free Black Bean and Corn Burgers

So many people are choosing to or needing to eat gluten-free these days. And I would imagine a lot of vegetarians are needing to eat that way as well.  Obviously there are several other sources to which these eaters go for recipes that fit their lifestyle, but if any of you who read my stuff are wanting a recipe like that from me, then this one is for you!

I’m not a vegetarian or on a gluten-free diet myself, in fact I am totally and completely in love with both meat and wheat, but I love these burgers, as do both my boys. They are a great thing to feed a kid when you want to sneak veggies and vitamins into an otherwise un-healthy and vitamin deficient meal. I made these for my 4 year old son the other night for his ‘Special Friday Night Dinner’, along with some oven-baked fries, just telling him it was a burger, and he gobbled it up quick. And my husband and I were standing over the stove picking at all the pieces that fell apart from the patties…these things are just that good.

There are many other spices you could add to these burgers… you could really play up the Southwest feel and add chili powder and a pinch of cinnamon, then eat them with guacamole on the bun, you could add minced ginger and chopped scallions to make them Asian, etc. This is just the basic version that I made. And add any other finely chopped veggies if you don’t want to use the corn, just be sure to keep the total amount of veggies the same.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Black Bean and Corn Burgers

-Preheat a skillet on medium high heat with some olive oil.
-In a food processor, add half a small onion or 1/4 a standard, medium onion and pulse until finely chopped.
-Add to this 1 can of black beans that you’ve drained and rinsed, a handful of corn kernels (I used frozen), about 1/2 cup of raw, rolled oats, a garlic clove, a pinch of ground cumin and a couple pinches of kosher salt. Pulse this until everything is well combined and has broken down (especially the oats).
-Transfer to a bowl and check your seasoning before adding 1 large egg, beaten. Mix well.

-Using an ice cream scoop that you’ve sprayed with cooking spray, scoop out your patties and place in the hot skillet. (Depending on the size of your scoop, you should be able to get about 6 burgers.) Cook for a minute on the first side before checking to see if they’re ready to flip. (These are very messy until they begin to cook and set up, so be careful and don’t worry if they fall apart at first.)

-Once brown and crispy on the first side, carefully flip and cook on the other until brown and crispy and cooked through in the center.
-Serve immediately and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple days or wrap tightly in plastic, then in foil to store in the freezer for a couple months.