*Ed note: This recipe is from the cookbook Seriously Delish, by Jessica Merchant. For more recipes from Jessica, check out her blog How Sweet Eats.*I make a lot of bean burgers because, frankly, I love burgers. I don't make vegetarian options for vegetarians or vegans, or even because we are trying to eat less meat, though that's a bonus: I make them because I genuinely love the flavor and like trying new things. You can really flavor beef only so much—but vegetarian burgers? It's a whole new world. On top of that, beans rank up there as one of my favorite foods. They sit on a pedestal with bacon and avocado and are just so versatile because they can constitute an entire meal. I guess so can bacon, but...you know. With bean burgers, you can test out a lot more flavors and they stand out more than they do with beef, chicken, or turkey and actually taste better. Love. On top of just loving bean burgers in general, I find that covering them in a sauce or spread ranks way up there too. This avocado cream not only works as a topping but also can double as a dip for your chips or fries. Or even veggies. I guess. If you're into that kind of thing.

Greens and Beans Burgers

*Ingredients: *

2 slices thick-cut bacon

6 ounces fresh spinach

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup all-purpose or whole-wheat flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons freshly grated


2 scallions, sliced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Avocado cream:

2/3 cup plain full-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 to 8 whole-grain buns, toasted


  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add bacon. Cook it until crispy and fat is rendered, then remove bacon with a slotted spoon and let it drain on a paper towel. To the same skillet, add spinach and garlic and stir to coat it in bacon grease. Cook until spinach is wilted, 5 minutes. Turn off heat.

  2. Add all contents of spinach skillet to bowl of a food processor. Add beans, bacon, flour, eggs, cheese, and scallions. Pulse until mixture is coarsely chopped but not fully pureed.

  3. Use a spatula to remove bean mixture from food processor. Use your hands to form 6 to 8 patties out of bean mix, depending on size of buns.

  4. Heat same skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add bean burgers and cook until golden on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

  5. While burgers are cooking, make avocado cream. Quickly wash or wipe out food processor from burgers. Add yogurt, avocado, salt, and pepper and puree until smooth. This stays good in the fridge for 1 to 2 days if tightly covered or sealed.

  6. Serve burgers on toasted buns with avocado cream on top.


OK, veggie-burger fans! Who's making these babies?

Excerpted from SERIOUSLY DELISH © 2014 by Jessica Merchant. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.