Oat and Bean Burgers: Quick 5-Ingredient Veggie Burgers

When I started blogging in 2016—wow, that’s a decade ago!—I knew I wanted to share recipes and talk about food, because it’s so central to everyday life. Literally, food is the fuel of everyday living and striving toward justice. Over the years, I’ve pulled back on recipes and “why vegan?” posts not because they’re less important but because life is pulling me in many directions. Over time, I’ve shifted toward more whole food plant based (WFPB) eating, still working on my relationship with sugar, and recognizing the significant role food plays in experiencing life as pleasurable. 

Recently, I read Alice Wong’s essay “Getting to the Marrow” in Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, and I felt re-inspired to affirm that food has such potential to support and enhance life. Wong writes about adaptations for eating and weaves throughout deep appreciation for favorite foods, textures, and tastes. Her love of food shines through and reminds me why I started this blog with recipes in the mix. Truly, how much time I spend thinking about what and when I’ll eat! How much time I spend preparing food. And how much time I spend savoring flavors and being grateful for others who are part of food production and preparation. Our food systems are an area rife with trouble, but also rich with the potential for connecting and nourishing ourselves, our communities, and our commitments. 

So, with gratitude for Wong writing about how food access includes pleasure and joy and body needs and “safe food, easy to make food, and good tasting food,” I share here one of my go-to recipes for veggie burgers. It’s one that I can make while processing life with friends (no strict recipe following here) and one that can be frozen for future life needs (double or triple this recipe as desired). 

Here’s the gist of these 5-ingredient veggie burgers:

Ingredients:

• 1 can of kidney beans with the liquid drained. Mash the beans.
• 1 cup of oats. If the mixture gets too wet, just add more oats.
• 1 tablespoon of mustard, approximately.
• 2 dill pickles. Chop the pickle into small pieces for flavor and texture. I like pickles for crunch and because these are almost always in my refrigerator, but you could also add roasted red peppers and likely onions or corn.
• + any spices you like. I typically add salt and pepper. Sometimes I add curry powder or dried onion mix. There’s room to experiment and play.

Instructions:

This recipe is very forgiving, and I appreciate not having to pay close attention when preparing. Just mix ingredients together (no need to measure), and form into small patties. 

Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes. Flip the burgers. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. 

There are two tricks to these burgers:
(1) Make sure the mixture is fairly wet so that everything sticks together well. When the mixture needs more water, I pour in some of the pickle juice. Water works as well. Or add a tomato.
(2) The burgers will be crumbly, so it helps to keep them small.

When traveling, these burgers can be eaten on their own or with greens or other veggies or as part of a sandwich. I like them cold and hot. Did I mention they are very forgiving?

Enjoy these burgers with gusto, knowing that we are nourishing ourselves with each bite.

With wishes for nourishment of many kinds, now and into the future, especially when times are tough (which, wow, they are tough)! Beth

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This post is written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. (she/her) for Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice. Subscribe to the email newsletter for regular updates, including for upcoming writing groups, retreats, and coaching.

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