I love a juicy hamburger with melted cheese, mushrooms and a little bit of mustard. It’s delicious. As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I also want to make sure to feed my family lots of veggies. The The 2015-20 Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat or fat-free dairy. Research shows that a diet rich in these food groups can help prevent chronic disease. Even though I know better, I’ll be honest and say veggies just aren’t my favorite food group – so I have to be creative. Enter the Black Bean Salsa Sliders, they help make a veggie-packed meal. In addition to helping my veggie count for the day, these are also perfect on a budget. This recipe comes out at $1.15 per serving. You can’t beat that price tag when you are feeding your family a healthy meal!
Step 1: Gather the ingredients and preheat the oven. When you are cooking on a budget, always check the store brands. Take note of the price per serving or price per ounce in order to make sure you are getting the best deal. Notice that I only have one name brand item in this recipe. Another note: Panko is a whole wheat breadcrumb, a little healthier than your standard white breadcrumb.
Step 2: Blend most of the beans, onion, garlic and cumin in a food processor, blender, or you could even do it by hand with a potato masher! Process until the mixture is smooth.
Step 3: Add the leftover beans, breadcrumbs and cheese. Pulse just a couple times to incorporate. I did not leave enough texture to my burgers. So on this step, don’t process until smooth, but leave the mixture chunky.
Step 4: Transfer to a bowl and mix more with your hands until everything is combined.
Step 5: Form into 8 patties and place on a greased baking sheet. I used my toaster oven because it is still too hot to do serious cooking in Texas!
Step 6: Bake for 18 minutes, flipping when the burgers have cooked for 9 minutes. Serve each person 2 burgers on slider buns and enjoy! I made some simple steamed vegetables and whole grain tortilla chips.
Total cost for the recipe: $4.61
Total cost per serving: $1.15
