Trying to eat on the healthier side every once in a while, we made some spicy black bean burgers with Ghost Scream hot sauce and it was delicious. The smokey flavors in Ghost Scream compliment this SouthWest-inspired dish with adding a nice layer of heat.

These burgers are simple to make, keep well in the freezer, and perfect for a snack or meal. We took inspiration from a number of sources to create the belowr ecipe which has worked best so far, though we’re constantly tweaking and this is definitely a recipe you can add your own twist on. A bit of fair warning, these will not taste like beef burgers and aren’t intended to - they are something delicious and healthy all on their own!

Hot Tip! One method we did not try here (we didn’t find it until later!) is drying out the black beans before mixing together. The Internet says this works well to save the patties from being too mushy. Some suggest drying them in the oven, while others just advise to try them out with paper towel etc. Let us know if you give this a go!

Ingredients
2 cans black beans
1 can of corn corn
1 cup bread crumbs as binder
2 teaspoons Ghost Scream hot sauce
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons of minced cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Method

1. Drain and dry the beans, either by paper towel. OR you can try drying them in an oven, Serious Eats recommends 20 minutes on 190c
2. Drain and grill the corn. With just a little olive oil and flour, grill the corn in a pan until crunchy
3. Add and take away whatever you like. This recipe allows for lots of experimenting, hence us adding in Ghost Scream which really upped the flavor we were going for and pleased with
4. Keep about 1/8th of the beans aside, mush together the rest.
5. Mix all of the ingredients together including the 1/8th of the beans you left aside.
6. Form burger size patties, you should be able to get about 8-10.
7. Freeze patties in between wax paper.

Freezing the patties before hand will help with the cooking process. Once they’ve been in a freezer to harden, cook on a pan for about 8-10 mins on each side. Or, place them in an oven at 190c until you see the edges start to brown.

We love these burgers because of the flavor and spice, and the recipe is pretty forgiving. As long as you have a a binder and (bread crumbs, eggs, blended cashews etc.) and get the flavors you like in there.

The hot sauce works for us because obviously we like it spicy, and Ghost Scream in particular enhances the flavor profile we wanted as well as the good kick we crave, enjoy!