These were a total experiment that came out was better then I expected. The recipe can use a little work. It’s far from perfect but this may spark some idea for you so why not share? That’s really why I blog anyway. :)
So here’s the story… I found myself, again, with only 2 burger patties in the freezer. This has been happening a lot lately. I’m going to have to learn how to be better prepared to cook for 3 grown boys! Anyway, I decided to make the traditional burgers for the boys and try to make myself the pinto bean burger idea I had floating in my head. 
Unfortunatly, I had no pinto beans. This also happens a lot to me anymore.
No old jokes. Ok? I’m just getting REAL bad at stocking!
Regardless, I had my heart set on a bean based burger so I grabbed a can of kidney beans and this is what I ended up with…
- 2 Wedges of The Laughing Cow Light Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle
- About 45g of chopped spinach (Mine came out of a bag I froze to save it)
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 3 tbsp corn meal
I put the beans, cheese, spinach and salt in a bowl..
..and then mashed with a fork.
Yes, I know. Not looking very appetizing.
I started to question myself at this point. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea afterall.
I’m not sure if it was because my spinach was frozen but there was a LOT of moister. That’s when I grabbed the corn meal. I wanted to use ground oats but I was all out.
MAN! I really did get bad at stocking!
I added 1 tbsp of the corn meal at a time and assessed the moister level. After 3 it still seemed sticky but not wet. So I formed 3 patties, threw them on a heated George Forman… (which was sprayed with Non-stick cooking spray)
…closed it and thought, “There’s no way these are going to turn out.”
After 4 minutes I opened to see 3 nice patties!
I was shocked, to be honest. It worked out!
For dinner I ate 2, smeared with salsa. Totally satisfying and tasty. They’re a little dry but other than that, I may be on to something. I’ll have to try a few more combinations.
Any suggestions?
| Servings | Amt per Serving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 patty | |||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs | |
| 185 | 2g | 6g | old: 3 | new: 4 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein | |
| 1g | 1g | 31g | 10g | |
Disclosure: I’ve partnered with The Laughing Cow. Click here for more info and click here to see all my ideas using the Laughing Cow!
YEAH! I’m so glad you posted this! I’m such a kidney bean freak…these will be right up my alley!
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to try these burgers !
This recipe for chickpea burgers is delicious, maybe you can give it a go sometime:
link to blog.fatfreevegan.com
These look great, I would never have thought of putting Laughin Cow in them!
These sound great! I LOVE any form of bean burger. Now you are making me wish I had a George Forman for when I make bean burgers, they usually fall apart a little when I flip them.
I might add a little cumin or chili powder to make a chili flavored burger as I associate kidney beans with chili. Chopped onion, zucchini, or tomato may add some more moisture.
I saw on a cooking show the other day where they added cooked eggplant to meatballs for moisture but no calories! maybe that would help.
These sound amazing! I want to try them with this light (ish) cilantro sauce I made for the first time yesterday which was just light greek yoghurt blended with cilantro, a teaspoon of fresh lime juice and a teaspoon of garlic. Amazing!