Summer BBQ: Garbanzo Bean Burgers

One of my co-workers hosted a bbq this weekend so we thought it would be fun to make some homemade veggie burgers.  And while we knew we weren’t really making them for anyone but ourselves, it was nice to have something that we could eat without making the hosts feel like they had to prepare something special.  While everyone else had boring old bbq chicken, we had yummy garbanzo bean burgers — filled with onions, cilantro, lemon zest, and bean sprouts.

I borrowed the recipe from Super Natural Cooking (from the author of 101 Cookbooks) and it was super simple to follow.  My only real gripe with these burgers is the egg - you use so much egg, it almost made them taste like a veggie quiche.  I also think I will add mushrooms and maybe some paprika for a little extra flavor the next time I try this recipe.

Here’s what they looked like before we fired them up on the grill…

And here they are ready to eat - they were great to eat on a bun or by themselves with a little Wholemato Ketchup…

• 2 and 1/2 cup garabanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 onion, chopped
• Grated zest of one large lemon
• 1 cup sprouts, chopped
• 1 cup whole-grain bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Combine garbanzos, eggs and salt in a food processor until the mixture is consistency of a very thick hummus.  Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in cilantro, onion, lemon zest and sprouts.  Add bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so they can absorb some of the moistue.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, add four 1 1/2 inch thick patties, cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.  Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes or until golden.  Remove and let cool.

Tagged as: 101 Cookbooks, grilling recipes, health, healthy cooking, Heidi Swanson, low calorie, low-fat, natural food, summer BBQ recipes, Super Natural Cooking, vegetarian