Southwestern Black Bean Burgers with Cilantro Cream Sauce

First, prepare your cilantro cream sauce. In a food processor, blend together 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 bunch cilantro with stems removed, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now it’s time to make your burgers. Clean out the food processor you just used. Drain the black beans and give them a quick rinse. Put beans, eggs, panko crumbs, green onions, cilantro, pepper, salt, cumin and garlic powder into the food processor bowl. Turn it on and puree 5 to 10 seconds. You still want the mixture to be somewhat chunky.

Divide mixture into 6 portions and shape into patties. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place all patties into the skillet and cook 3-4 minutes per side.

To make your burgers, spread a small amount of cilantro cream sauce on each side of the bun. Top with black bean patty, sliced avocado, tomato and spinach leaves. Serve immediately.

To freeze black bean patties: wrap each patty in plastic wrap and store in a freezer Ziploc bag and freeze up to 3 months. Or keep the patties in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Store cilantro cream sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 days.