Black Bean Pumpkin Burgers

Before the sugary goodness that will come over the next few weeks, I wanted to share a healthy recipe that you can make ahead and freeze. Just pop one out of the freezer, either fry or bake to reheat, and serve with a salad and you have an easy recipe for a busy evening which happens a lot this time of year.



Black Bean Pumpkin Burgers
adapted from this recipe by Sara Forte

3 small cloves of garlic
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 C pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 C cooked quinoa
2 Tbsp ground flax
1/3 C oat flour
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

 1. In food processor, combine garlic and green onions and pulse to chop

2. Add pumpkin, olive oil, and spices and run to just combine.

3. Add quinoa, flax, and flour, and pulse a couple of times

4. Add the beans, and pulse just to combine. The beans will be chunky, and the mixture should stick together.

5. Form 6 patties with your hands. At this point, you can freeze patties for future use. Just lay them on a piece of parchment paper on a pan, and stick in freezer for about 1 hour. Then you can remove them from the freezer, and place them in a labelled Ziploc bag for easy storage.

6. If using now, heat some oil in a frying pan, and cook patties until browned and slightly crispy on each side. Alternately, you can cook in an oven. Lightly spray with oil, and place on parchment lined pan. Cook at 350 for about 8 minutes per side. I would do this if I already had the oven on cooking sweet potato fries or something. You can cook patties from frozen either way. It will just take some extra time.

Sara recommends garnishing with avocado and cilantro. I would also add a little bit of Greek yogurt to that.

Nutritional info per burger (for 6 burgers)
cal 156
fat  6.8g
   sat fat 0.8g
carbs 19.7g
   fiber 5.2g
   sugar 1.2g
protein 4.6g