While the entire family is not vegetarian, some people are close so it is important for us to have vegetarian dishes often. This Asian Black Bean burger makes low-calorie sliders that can be part of a fun, tasty meal.
I suggest you do not dress the vegetarian sliders yourself because some people will like the wasabi mayo and other people will not.
What makes this dish Asian is the ginger, cabbage, sesame seeds, red chili paste and sesame oil in the dish which gives it an Asian flavor. It also has more rice and less bread crumbs/flour than a traditional recipe. However, it is not an overwhelming vegetarian slider taste. Most people will enjoy the subtle flavors.
I also use whole wheat pitas with flax seed as the bun, which can bring down the calorie count substantially on this dish compared to using slider buns. That way the Asian Black Bean Burger is low cal and very different.
When I do serve this dish to the family, I need to have some truffle fries or chile adobo hash on the side to give it a bit more heartiness. Just warning you in advance, this is tasty but also a light dish you will want to have a good side dish with.
This dish is inspired by black bean burgers and Asian flavors, along with a Mediterranian Pita flair that makes the whole dish lower-calorie, healthier and a combination of flavors you have probably never tried before.
Vegetarian Asian Black Bean Burger Slider
Equipment
- Oven
- Mixing Bowl
- 2 baking sheets
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black Beans with some juice
- 1/2 Bell pepper Any Color, Diced
- 1/2 Onion Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic Peeled and Crushed
- 1 Tbsp Red Chili Paste
- 1 tbsp Ginger
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1/4 cup Cabbage thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Rice Cooked or Instant
- 2 tbsp Bread Crumbs or Flour As needed to bind
- 3 Whole Wheat Pitas
- 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp Wasabi
- 3 leaves Romaine Lettuce thinly shreaded
- 1 Tomato Thinly Sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Mix black beans and instant rice (or cooked rice) in a mixing bowl
- Dice onion and bell pepper, add to food processor with garlic and sesame oil, blend until a chunky paste
- Mix with bean rice mixture. Add cumin, ginger, cabbage and sesame seeds. Mix more
- Add egg, mix. Add small amounts of bread crumbs or flour until mixture is thick enough to form patties. Form patties on baking sheets.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes per side, until firm like a burger
- When you flip patties, add pitas to oven to heat for 3-4 minutes. Pull out and cut into 1/4 wedges for slider buns.
- While baking, cut lettuce and tomato for sandwich toppers
- Make mayo and wasabi sauce by either mixing them, or putting side by side so people can mix their own.
- Serve on pita wedges. Diners can build own toppings and sauce.
Notes
You can use canned black beans for this dish, but you can also make your own black beans in an Instapot and enjoy having more black beans for less cost, plus you control the levels of salt and additives.