Oat and Bean Patties

When oatmeal and veggie burger worlds collide....

It was only a matter of time before my worlds of oatmeal and veggie burgers (and also beans!) would collide. Fate had its way, and to be honest, I’m surprised that the outcome is so delicious.

You’ve probably already noticed that I find a good amount of inspiration in my leftovers, and that’s how this recipe originated: leftover steel-cut oats, leftover roasted squash, and a pantry-staple can of beans. In fact, my original leftovers were these French Onion Soup Oats, another delicious adventure this month, and because the deep, distinctive richness of the caramelized onions was so satisfying and pronounced, I had to work a caramelized onion into this recipe.

Having the cooked oats on hand does speed things up, but you can also quickly cook them off while sautéing the onions. And the veggies — I’ve tried these with butternut squash, pan-fried carrots, and wilted greens, and in each version it was a perfect use for the small amounts of leftovers on hand — they can easily be left out. The cheese, too, is optional, which is all to say that there’s a lot of wiggle room in this recipe.

(And before anyone nitpicks, no, these aren’t veggie burgers in usual sense where I’d serve them on a bun with the usual condiments; they’re more like savory vegetable and grain patties. Though you could certainly make larger patties and serve them on buns.)

I improvised them earlier this week, but wanted to offer a proper a recipe for you. Besides being so flexible, they’re so easy, cheap, and nutritious, and also taste like a treat. In other words, perfect.