The Best Beet Burgers

If you’ve ever heard someone say, “a beet helps the heartbeat,” they’re right. In fact, these small vibrantly-colored root vegetables contain a high concentration of nitrates. Nitrates are a natural chemical found in soil, air, water, and some foods that can help your body to reduce blood pressure, which can lead to less risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke. You can’t beat eating beets! Mix them into your smoothie or chop them into fine pieces and add them to your salad.

Equipment

  • Saladmaster food processor

  • Blender or electric food processor

  • Pan for flipping burgers

Ingredients

Saladmaster Cone guide: #1 (shredded), #2 (stringer or small dice)

  • 2 (small beets 2 cups peeled & shredded cone #1
  • ½ cup rolled or quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup walnuts or other nuts or sub seeds
  • 1 14 oz can kidney beans 9 oz rinsed & drained or sub other beans/lentils*
  • 1 red onion diced cone #2
  • 2 garlic cloves cone #1
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1-2 tsp dried herbs e.g. a mixture of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2-3 tbsp oil for frying
  • Burger Buns
  • Veggies lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, cress

Making the patties

  • Grate the beets. Set aside.

  • Heat a large pan with a teaspoon of oil and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes, until translucent.

  • Add garlic and sauté for another minute, until fragrant.
  • Then add cumin, dried herbs, tomato paste, and Tamari sauce and sauté, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated.
  • Add beet and sauté for further 2-3 minutes or so, until tender (but not soft!). Set aside to cool for a minute.
  • Add oats and walnuts to a food processor and pulse into a coarse flour, leaving some texture.
  • Then add the kidney beans and beet mixture and pulse a few times until combined (if the mixture is too wet, add some more oats. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water).

Cooking and serving the patties

  • Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form each into a burger patty.

  • Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Add the burgers and cook for 5-7 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp from the outside (be careful when flipping as they’re pretty delicate).

  • Serve on top of burger buns with lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions and cress. Or enjoy as a side dish with your favorite dip!

  • Notes:
  • Beans: Instead of kidney beans, you can also use black, pinto or cannellini beans or cooked brown lentils. You could also use chickpeas, however, they tend to make the burgers drier.
  • Walnuts: Feel free to use other nuts or seeds, such as pecans, toasted pine nuts, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds.
  • Storing & Freezing: Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to two months.

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