THE Ultimate and Delicious Black Bean Tempeh Burger

Don’t we all crave a juicy burger with all the fixings!? This black bean and tempeh burger has got your covered! It is:

• dairy and meat free!
• high in protein
• high in fibre
• has two types of vegetables (not including what you put as your toppings!)
• high in folate and vitamin C
• it’s savoury, “meaty” , healthy AND so delicious

There is something so intensely satisfying in making your own meatballs and burgers! I love that you can place so many different ingredients inside and they come together so well!
You won’t miss the taste of meat at all with these deliciously tasty burgers – the taste comes from the smoked tempeh, sweet carrots and sweet potatoes and savoury black beans! 

What exactly is tempeh?

Tempeh is made mostly from soybeans. To make tempeh, soybeans are cooked and fermented and packed into the brick like way you see when you pick it up from the store.

It cannot be eaten raw and has to be cooked. It contains many prebiotics, like fibre, which helps promote gut health by feeding the good bacteria in your system!

Here’s some more information on it.

What are the ingredients in this delicious burger!?

• Sweet potatoes: a beautiful way to bind your burgers and a delicious way to add bulk to your burger. Roast this until tender for a deliciously different sweeter taste than boiled sweet potatoes.
• Black beans: I LOVE black. beans so much. I added them straight from the can or you can cook them from scratch and add your own spices to the water. The recipe calls for 1 cup but on my last go at this I upped it to one and half cups.
• Tempeh: this comes in the refrigerator section where you find tofu. I like buying the “smoked” flavour as it adds a bit of smokiness to the overall taste of your dish.
• Carrots: this isn’t noticeable at all and adds another bulking and binding agent to the burger. It’s not a very “wet” vegetable that gives out a lot of liquid. Bake this and have it ready to go in the pan.
• Onions: what’s a home made burger without onions? Adds such an important flavour component!
• Garlic: This goes hand in hand with onions! Can’t have one without the other!
• Coriander leaves: This can be optional but I add coriander/cilantro leaves to my dishes whenever possible. It also gives a flavour boost that goes so well with the onion and garlic
• Spices: smoked paprika and black pepper are great ways to heighten the heat. I also add onion powder as well.
• Parsley leaves: This can be dried or fresh.
• Soy sauce: I love soy sauce! It adds a bit of umani to the dish.
• Lemon juice: Just a splash!
• Panko bread crumbs: this can be gluten free too! I’ve seen it on the shelves!

How do you make this recipe?

You need two types of equipment for this recipe. One if you don’t mind mashing it with your fork instead of pulsing the batter in a food processor.

Bring your oil, roasted sweet potato and carrots (that you already pre roasted or boiled), onion, garlic and tempeh to a simmer in a pan. Stir and pan fry for about 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of your ingredients, not including the beans and panko bed crumbs.

Using a food processor, place your mixture and beans inside. Pulse about 4-5 times. Ideally you want your mixture to be bulky!

Turn the mixture out into a medium bowl and add panko bread crumbs. The mixture should hold itself and not fall apart in your hand. Add some more bread crumbs if necessary to bulk it up. Stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Which method is best to cook these burgers?

I’ve done these burgers in the oven, air fryer and fried in a pan and they all work well!

• Air fryer: I made meat ball sized balls and popped it into the air fryer for 7. minutes. It left the outside crispy and inside soft
• Frying pan: I love cooking burger patties in a bit of olive oil in a frying pan. The patties don’t break apart. Before you place the patty into the pan, I suggest putting the formed patties you made into the fridge for a half an hour to firm up and then fry them. Cook them about 5 minutes on each side on low-medium hit. Use a metal spatula to loosen up the bottom if it gets stuck to the pan.
• Bake: Bake your patties for 10 minutes on each side at 350F. I’d coat them lightly with some olive oil and place them on some parchment paper on a baking tray.

The best part! – the toppings to go along with your burger!

Here’s where your creativity can shine to make an irresistible burger.

Here are some ideas to think outside the box:

• Cauliflower popcorn
• avocado creme
• “cheezy” sauce
• grilled portobello mushrooms or zucchini

Troubleshooting

Flavour – don’t be shy in adding your own magic to the mixture. If you like more lemon, salt, pepper, garlic, smoke, or even swap another vegetable all this is possible with recipe. It’s your tribute to making your very own delicious burger you can be proud of eating!

Incorporating more plant based recipes into your diet

Sustainability was my word for 2022.

Making this burger spurred my thoughts on this topic again, especially since we are entering a new year (2023).

My oldest daughter was wondering why the toaster oven and everything was off in the kitchen. I had recently learned about “Energy vampires” and unplugged everything in the kitchen. It’s little things that we don’t think of that make a big impact over time!

And while you may not be a vegan, I really do think we need to make simple changes. Meat source shouldn’t be our main source of protein. These burgers are made from tempeh, sweet potatoes, carrots and black beans and they were so good! Dressed with a cauliflower cheese, you’ve got yourself eating from so many veggies. 

Try this week to make a swap. Use my page or all the beautiful inspo on other food blogs. The goal is to sustain and, possibly, make our world flourish better than before. 

What are some tips for sustainability that you can do? Write them below in the comments! Here are some of my suggestions:

• 🌎 trim your showers by 30 secs
• 🌎 EAT MORE PLANTS!
• 🌎 buy second hand/from thrift stores or Kijiji.