Prep Time:  30 minutes | Cook Time: 15-20  minutes | Serves: 6-8

Organic canned  beans and quinoa are something I always have on hand in my pantry.   Black Beans in BPA free cans or in glass jars are great quick meal ingredients.  Quinoa cooks quickly

in only 16-18 minutes making it the perfect go to when time is short and everyone’s hungry.  I like the pretty tri- colored quinoa for this dish, but feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand.  Make these mini sized for an appetizer topped with salsa or a dab of guacamole or form them into main dish sized burgers and serve with your favorite fixings.

Prep Time:  30 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Serves: 6-8

  • 1 cup tri-color quinoa, rinsed
  • 15 ounces  black beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon  cumin powder
  • 2 each carrots, scrubbed and grated
  • 3 each  scallions, minced
  • 2 Tablespoon diced green chilies, drained
  • salt to taste
  • 1/4- 1/2 cup  gluten free crumbs
  • handful  chopped parsley or cilantro
  • coconut oil for browning
  • Method
  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, add rinsed quinoa and cook for 16-18 minutes at a simmer until quinoa is done.  Drain quinoa and rinse, set aside.
  2. In a medium sized bowl add drained black beans, garlic powder, cumin , carrots and  quinoa.  Use a fork or potato masher to gently mash up some of beans to incorporate into quinoa.
  3. Add scallion, green chilis, salt, gluten free crumbs and parsley or cilantro.  Stir to combine.
  4. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes so crumbs can absorb moisture.  If mixture is too loose add a little more crumbs.
  5. Form mixture in mini or larger sized patties.
  6. Heat medium sized saute pan-  ( I like to use a cast iron pan for this) over medium heat.
  7. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to pan and cook patties for 3-5 minutes on each side until browned and crispy, do not overcrowd the pan. Add a bit more coconut oil to pan while cooking as needed.
  8. Place cooked patties on a clean plate while remaining patties are being cooked.
  9. Serve immediately or reheat in 350 degree oven or saute pan for a few minutes when ready to serve.

Variations:

Add in  1/2 cup minced greens such as spinach or kale to patty mixture.