Our meal time keeps getting later and later. Last night it was closing in on 7:30, and I still didn’t have a clue what I was going to fix. I just knew that it was Friday night, and I did not want to be in the kitchen all night. (My husband, who does the dishes, also asked that it be a one-pot meal, but I callously ignored that.)
I decided to fix oven-baked hash browns before I knew what would go with them. While I weighed the merits of scrambled tofu or barbecued beans, I got the hash browns started. Here’s what you do:
Hash Browns
Ingredients
- 10 2-inch diameter red potatoes or 5 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- non-stick spray (optional)
- chopped onions and bell peppers (optional)
- seasoning of choice such as Creole seasoning, Old Bay, chili powder, salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Start a pot of water boiling. Cut some small potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. I used about 10 2-inch diameter organic red potatoes, but you can use yukon gold or whatever. Since I leave the skin on, I wash them extra-well beforehand. When the water’s boiling, toss the potato cubes into it and boil for 5 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes well, and lightly oil, spray, or otherwise lubricate a cookie sheet (or use a silicon mat or parchment paper). Spread the potatoes out on the sheet and bake them for about 10 minutes. Then turn them with a spatula and bake for 10 more. Check them for brownness. When they look almost done, you can toss in a handful of chopped bell peppers and onions and cook for 5 more minutes. Or you can skip the peppers and onions altogether, but just take them out before they’re burned.
- While they’re still hot, sprinkle them with the seasonings of your choice. I used some hot and spicy powdered seasoning called Pico de Gallo on ours, but my daughter E. doesn’t like spicy, so she had celery salt on hers.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s) Cooking time: 35 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Nutrition (per serving): 205 calories, 2 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 16mg sodium, 1120.9mg potassium, 46.5g carbohydrates, 5.9g fiber, 2.1g sugar, 5.4g protein. (Potatoes only; oil spray, optional ingredients, and seasonings will add calories, fat, and sodium.)
While the hash browns were baking, I finally decided what would go with them: Black Bean Burgers. There are “official” recipes for black bean burgers, but I didn’t feel like looking them up, so I made this up on the spot.
(E. took the photo, by the way. In one shot. Now that it’s published here, she will never understand why Mom takes 30 photos of each dish.)
Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans (about 16 ounces), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chipotle chili pepper (or chili powder of choice)
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- (1 tbsp. corn starch, optional)
Instructions
- Start by sautéing the pepper and onion in a tablespoon of water, just until they start to soften. Mash the black beans and add the peppers and onions and the other ingredients; mix well.
- Spray or brush a non-stick skillet with oil, and heat. Spoon the bean mixture into the hot skillet, forming patties. It’s best to do this by dropping spoonfuls into the skillet and using the back of the spoon to shape; they don’t do well if you try to form them into patties beforehand. Cook until well-browned on each side, turning once.
- A note about the cornstarch: I made the first 3 burgers without it, and they were hard to turn without them falling apart. So I added a tablespoon of cornstarch to the remaining mixture. Those cooked up much more firm, but I don’t think I cooked them long enough because I could taste the starch. I’ve reduced the amount to 1 tablespoon for the entire batch in my instructions above, but if you use it, be sure you cook them thoroughly.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Nutrition (per serving): 125 calories, 19 calories from fat, 2.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 104.3mg sodium, 243.4mg potassium, 21.4g carbohydrates, 5.8g fiber, <1g sugar, 5.5g protein.
That’s it! I got the meal to the table in about 30 minutes, minus the time I spent taking photos. We served these with salsa, onions, black olives, jalapeños, lettuce, and tomatoes, but you can have them however you want. In fact, E. put hers on whole wheat bread with Nayonaise and Ketchup. (We don’t know where that child got her taste buds!)
Azahara
March 14, 2010 at 7:59 amI served these with your rendition of the ratatouille and the combination was fantastic.
Like the author of the last comment, I too am a college student, and love the fact that I can get these burgers ready while the ratatouille cooks in the oven.
Thanks for making it so easy for us!
cortney
June 12, 2010 at 3:09 pmI just made these and they were so, so good and so filling! I topped them with sauteed mushrooms and onions. I didn’t use the flax seed and probably used about a third of a tablespoon for the mix, and that worked well. I seasoned it with cumin and Lowry’s seasoning salt, which was absolutely yum. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Amanda
June 23, 2010 at 11:15 amThis was a hit last night!
I wanted to make my Dad something new…he’s not vegetarian and he’s big on processed snacks and likes meat for a main course. I’m working on getting him to eat healthier…well, I have been for years, but it seems he’s actually budging now. Perhaps it’s because I’m a little better at preparing foods than I used to be. Anyways, he really liked this meal and so did I. It will definitely be a regular.
I’ve known about this site for a while but yesterday was the first time I really felt inspired to go through with the recipes on here. I’ll be trying another recipe of yours for tonight’s dinner: Real Louisiana read beans and rice…can’t say that I’ve ever had the real thing but my mom used to make red beans and rice with sausage and I liked it so I’m really looking forward to a veganized one!
CarrieAnn
December 26, 2010 at 3:55 pmThe black bean burgers were delicious. I’ve never made them with rice until now, and it was perfect. Will definitely make again.
Raychelle
January 25, 2011 at 6:58 pmI just made these burgers for dinner and the were so tasty! Thank you!
kristina
May 10, 2011 at 7:36 pmHi Susan V.,
Just want to thank you for your blog. I have a very picky 19-month old and husband and have been having trouble finding stuff they like. My daughter seemed to love these and hoping my husband will also.
Could you share with me what your typical food budget is for a week? We are on such a tight budget and wondering how well this will work. Also what do you find is the easiest way to plan meals? Do you have a bunch of tried and true recipes and then mix in some new ones? Would you be willing to share a tried and true weekly menu? Having such a hard time converting to vegan and non preprocessed items… and have found that alot of meals seem to take me two hours to prepare with disasterous results.
Thank you!!!
LT
May 10, 2011 at 9:00 pmHey Kristina!
First, there’s two of us in this household and we normally spend $60 per week on produce.
When I plan I normally choose 3 – 4 recipes that I know will work, 1 – 2 that I’m pretty sure will work, and one that is adventurous. In that mix, I try to choose things that use common ingredients, preventing me from having to buy 60 different exotic things every week. You may want to consider making Thai green curry one night and preparing extra rice, then the following night you make stir-fried rice with veggies and tofu – which is easy because the rice was cooked yesterday!
My time saving advice is to clean up your veggies when you get home from the store. Wash cilantro and parsley, then store them in a container with paper towel to absorb moisture and extend shelf life. Clean up broccoli and cauliflower, soak in water – rinse daily. Clean up carrots and celery, also soak in water. Onions and garlic can be chopped up and stored in containers. With all this out of the way, it’ll save you a lot of time when you’re actually making dinner.
Hope that helps!
Lisa
Katie
May 11, 2011 at 10:35 amHi Kristina,
http://melomeals.blogspot.com/ has some good tips.
kristina
May 11, 2011 at 1:35 pmThank you both for your advice! I am somehow spending alot more than that.
katiekay7
June 7, 2011 at 6:55 pmLove these… and going in recipe box.
As a note on recipe the first time I made these I didn’t have any brown rice so I made without. Only had leeks so I used those. They stuck together great and didn’t need cornstarch.
The second time I made these I used rice and they fell apart… so my advice would be to leave the rice out and you wont miss it 🙂
katiekay7
June 7, 2011 at 6:55 pmoops – above is note on burgers not hasb browns.
Nancy Greene
September 14, 2011 at 11:59 amLove your website But recipe’s are not printer friendly.
SusanV
September 14, 2011 at 12:04 pmMost of my recipes now have printer pages, but a lot of the very early ones didn’t. If you see something you want me to make printable, just let me know. I’ll add a printer page to this one ASAP.
Lilly
September 16, 2011 at 10:10 amThis looks great!
What I like to do is each week I go through the kitchen and write on the chalk board everything that I can think of to make with what we have. It makes dinner time planning easier so quicker, reduces waste and prevents us from buying things we don’t really need. But I still get left with odd bits of stuff and Im always looking for new things to use them up. This looks just what I need, thankyou, I love this blog.
Kathy
January 19, 2012 at 1:29 pmThank you for all your wonderful recipes! You make my new lifestyle (4 months now) so very easy and so delicious! Thank you!
Micah
February 27, 2012 at 8:07 pmYour site is a gold mine. I absolutely love it. Thank you for posting all these recipes and great looking foods. I get so hungry here!
Jessica
July 16, 2012 at 10:14 pmLove these! Made these this afternoon and formed into patties and stuck in the fridge. I did not use the corn starch and they were very easy to flip when I cooked them later. Added 2 cloves of chopped garlic to onions and peppers…yum!
Melanie
August 4, 2012 at 8:53 amAbsolutely love your recipes! I plan to make this for the carnivorous hubby tonight. We both love black beans so I’m confident he will love it. I love how simple and straightforward they are! And the fact that you have pictures is great for people like me who are visually stimulated 🙂
Teresa
August 12, 2012 at 9:09 pmIf I baked these instead of fry them, would you still recommend using the corn starch? Thanks for sharing!!
Susan Voisin
August 12, 2012 at 9:24 pmYes, it just helps them stay together better, even if they’re baked.
Esther J
November 4, 2012 at 6:08 pmI wanted a low-key Sunday supper, and this definitely was it. I made both the burgers and the hash browns, and added steamed broccoli to the meal.
Thanks, Susan, for all your work and sharing so very generously your gifting with all of us. I started an oil-free, plant-based/nutritarian diet (for health reasons) in January, and without your recipes, the transition would have been so much more difficult (and far less delicious). Now, I can’t imagine eating any other way.
Your blog has truly been a Godsend.
Thank you so very much and be well. 🙂
Esther J
November 4, 2012 at 6:29 pmOh, I meant to include that I added a couple of cloves of minced garlic to the burgers, and I also baked my hash browns in soy sauce (low-sodium), then sprinkled with garlic powder out of the oven. A very familiar flavor from my childhood. Yum.
Frances
May 1, 2013 at 10:09 amThis recipe “inspired” my dinner last night. I didn’t have cooked rice handy so I crumbled in a couple of slices of bread. I also didn’t use the flax or cornstarch and they held together pretty well due to the bread. I had a little guacamole with them and the whole thing had a great flavor. Thanks Susan, as always. I use your site several times a week.
Vikki
January 3, 2014 at 5:37 amHi Susan, just wondering, do you need to mix the flaxseeds in water first or do they go into the mix dry?
Susan Voisin
January 3, 2014 at 8:21 amHi Vikki, I just add the ground flax seed directly to the mixture, dry.
Anna
July 20, 2014 at 3:00 pmJust made these and they are absolutely amazing!!!!! Even my father (born and raised on a cattle farm), really liked them. Perfect on a gluten free bun with ketchup and dijon mustard.
Anna
July 20, 2014 at 3:01 pmP.S comment was on Burgers, haha!
Kathy
December 19, 2014 at 12:00 pmGreetings,
I cook for someone who won’t eat anything with flax (this is not someone who typically eats anything vegan). I wondered if I could leave the flax out. There are a number of recipes (sweet and savory) in my vegan cookbooks that I have shied away from for this reason.
I don’t use nonstick cookware and was wondering if these could be baked instead.
This is my first time to write although I visit often and make the ‘ridiculously easy’ enchiladas as well as the lentil and split pea soups all the time. There are many other recipes I’ve enjoyed. Thanks for all you do.
Susan Voisin
December 19, 2014 at 1:03 pmHi Kathy, in a recipe like this, you could leave the flax out and substitute about a teaspoon of cornstarch or other starch. It’s just there to help them hold together better. I would have to look at other recipes on a case by case basis to tell what the flax seed does, but usually it’s for thickening.
You could definitely bake these. Do you use silicone? You could put them on a silicone baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper to keep them from sticking and bake until they are firm.
Morgan
July 8, 2015 at 10:58 amJust made the burgers and added a little bit of ketchup to bind them together instead of the cornstarch and it worked pretty well and they taste delicious! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Cynthia
November 15, 2016 at 7:47 pmI stubble upon this site looking for a vegan bread pudding. I love your site. Thank you for the great meal choices 🙂