Oaxaca Mole Black Bean Burger
Hearty black bean and sweet potato patty topped with Oaxaca cheese, mole sauce, and pickled red onions.
- Prep
- 25min
- Cook
- 50min
- Total
- 1 h 25min
- Serves
- 2
- Calories
- 730per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Black bean patties tend to go mushy, so this one is built for structure. Roasted sweet potato and brown rice add body, masa harina soaks up moisture and brings a toasted corn taste, and an egg binds everything. The sweet potato roasts while a spoonful of brown rice boils like pasta, and both cool briefly before the egg goes in. Leftover rice saves half an hour.
Mole goes on twice: brushed over the patties in the skillet, where it warms into a glaze under the melting Oaxaca cheese, then drizzled on at the end. Pickled red onions cut through the dark, slightly bitter sauce.
Oaxaca Mole Black Bean Burger
Prep 25 min, cook 50 min, total 85 min. About 730 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/oaxaca-mole-black-bean-burger
Serves 2.
Ingredients
Instructions
Tap a step to keep your place.
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss 6 oz cubed sweet potato with 1 tsp vegetable oil on a small baking sheet and roast for 25-30 minutes, until soft and browned at the edges.
Meanwhile, boil 4 tsp brown rice in a small pot of salted water, like pasta, for 30-35 minutes until tender. Drain well. If you have leftover cooked rice, skip this step and use about 2 tablespoons per burger.
Mash the roasted sweet potato and let it and the rice cool for 10 minutes, so the warm mix doesn't start cooking the egg.
In a large bowl, combine mashed black beans, the mashed sweet potato, the cooked rice, 2 tbsp minced cilantro, egg, 2 tbsp masa harina, 1 tsp cumin, salt, and ¼ tsp smoked paprika. Mix well and form into 2 equal patties.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and pan-sear patties for 5 minutes per side, until golden and crispy on the outside and an instant-read thermometer in the center reads 160°F (71°C), since the mix contains raw egg.
During the last 2 minutes of cooking, brush patties with 2 tbsp mole sauce, top each with a slice of Oaxaca cheese, and cover to melt the cheese.
Toast telera rolls or brioche buns until lightly golden.
Assemble burgers: place 2 oz shredded lettuce on bottom buns, add patties with melted cheese and mole glaze, top with pickled red onions, drizzle with remaining 2 tbsp mole sauce, and crown with top buns.
Tips
- Rinse, drain and pat the beans dry before mashing. Wet beans are the most common reason bean patties fall apart.
- Leave some beans half whole when you mash; that texture keeps the patty from turning into paste.
- Jarred mole paste is very thick. Thin it with warm broth or water until it brushes on easily.
- If the formed patties feel soft, chill them for 20 minutes before cooking. Cold patties flip in one piece.
Substitutions
- Mozzarella or Monterey Jack for Oaxaca cheese: a similar stretchy melt.
- Vegan: use a flax egg (15 ml ground flaxseed with 45 ml water, rested 5 minutes), skip the cheese, and check that the mole contains no lard.
- Quinoa instead of brown rice: same amount, boiled for about 15 minutes, with a slightly firmer bite.
- Gluten-free: masa harina is corn-based, so a gluten-free bun does the rest; check the mole label, since some are thickened with bread or crackers.
Make ahead & storage
Roast the sweet potato and cook the rice up to 3 days ahead, and shape the patties up to 1 day ahead; keep everything covered in the fridge. Cooked patties keep 3 to 4 days; reheat in a skillet over medium heat to 165°F (74°C), adding a fresh slice of cheese to melt in the last minute.
