Baked Eggplant Burgers

I first made these burgers for the first time over the summer when I had some friends over for dinner. One of my friends does not consume dairy or meat, so this burger recipe was the perfect thing to make for her!

I fell in love with these burgers and made them the other night for my roommates. They were a huge hit and I served them with spicy baked pineapple and sweet potatoes. 

The recipe makes about 5-6 burger patties and I ended up with some leftover mixture. I used up the mixture the next day for lunch when I cooked up the leftover and put it over baby spinach. I then added the leftover pineapple and sweet potatoes and used tahini sauce as the dressing. It was extremely delicious!

Baked Eggplant Burgers:

(original recipe from: http://thetolerantvegan.com)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 red onion, diced

1 14 ounce can cannellini beans

1/4 cup red pepper, diced

1/2 an eggplant

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup hummus

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

tahini sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Brush both sides of the eggplant with olive oil.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through.
4. Place the onion in a skillet with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and saute until the onion is tender.
5. Once the eggplant is done baking, turn the oven heat down to 400°.
6. Place the eggplant, onion, beans, red pepper, parsley, pine nuts, garlic, sea salt, cumin and hummus into a bowl and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until incorporated.
7. Stir in the breadcrumbs and shape the mixture into patties. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place the patties on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Flip the patties halfway through.
8. Put the patties on a burger bun and top with tahini sauce. Enjoy!