Quinoa Black Bean Sliders

I have never made black bean burgers before, or sliders for that matter.  For some reason the idea of a black bean burger salad popped into my head earlier this week, so I decided to start with the burgers! (watch foodlove for that salad recipe coming soon!) These are tasty, flavorful and freeze well.  Also - they are the cutest things ever! Enjoy and watch for my black bean burger salad later this week!

Servings: 14 Sliders
Serving Size: 2 Sliders
Points Plus: 2pp*
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, minced
2 T onion, minced
1 scoop of garlic to taste, or 1 large clove, minced
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1 splash of Franks RedHot, or more to taste
1 egg
Pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place your black beans in a mixing bowl and squish them with the back of a wooden spoon.  Squish them until they are mostly all squished, but not completely blended. Add quinoa, bread crumbs, pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and Franks.  Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. Add the egg and mix it all together again until mixture is a gooey consistency.

Spray a baking sheet or do as I did, and place a silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet. Form the black bean mixture into 14 balls.  I used the Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop, which is about 2 T large. You could easily use a regular tablespoon to make the balls.  I used the scoop to make 14 balls, placing each on the cookie sheet after I scooped.  I then used my finger to press down the balls creating more of a patty shape that is about 2 inches in diameter.

Bake your black bean burgers for 20-25 minutes, until they are crisp and crunchy on the outside. Remove from oven and let cool for about 3 minutes. 

*This recipe includes points plus for the burgers only, but feel to make these into your favorite type of burgers!  I used a small juice glass to cut a piece of bread into four small circles.  I then added lettuce, stone ground mustard, ketchup, tomato, and a dab of Franks to create mini burger sliders.  My mean including 2 burgers, bread and all the fixings was just 4pp!  Also note - these sliders are pictured on a salad plate, and about 2 inches in diameter.  They are not half the size of a dinner plate!

Tip
If sliders isn't your thang feel free to make these into bigger burgers and adjust the points plus accordingly!

XOXO - Katie