Why bean fritters are the MVP of my pantry challenge

crispy, savory, and kid-approved plus a streamlined Superiority Burger for Slackers

Queen Bean

I’ve been on a mission to eat down my pantry, and like many of you, I’ve found myself staring at a lot of beans. But here’s the thing, I’ve cracked the code on the most satisfying, crispy, and versatile way to use them up: bean fritters. They’re quick, endlessly adaptable, and so good that even my bean-averse teen devours them. Whether it’s savory breakfast bites in this egg-conomy, a protein-packed lunchbox snack, or a crowd-pleasing dinner, bean fritters work for every meal. Plus, they’re cheap, sustainable, and part of a long history of making humble ingredients shine. If you’re looking for a way to love your bean stash, this is it!

When I was a kid growing up in NE Mississippi, we would occasionally have pea cakes for breakfast as a sausage replacement. And other times for supper like we might have salmon patties or squash fritters. Only years later did I learn these were from the West African influence on Southern food and known as “akara,” or black-eyed pea fritters.

By far the most popular bean fritter that I know of today is falafel and for very good reason. I can’t get enough of falafel salads or pitas stuffed with hot crispy falafel and all the pickles and creamy sauces and fresh, crunchy vegetables. Maybe you have made falafel from the convenient box mixes available widely. But are you aware of just how easy they are to make from scratch at home? AND you don’t even need to deep fry them.

And then there is the American veggie burger or bean burger that was very popular in the days before lab meat and is slowly coming back into style. A big part of that is the bean based veggie burger of fame from Superiority Burger. At the start of this challenge, I decided I was going to utilize my beans and grains in a Superiority-style burger. And I did. Except that the recipe was so cumbersome. It required that I use 5 different dishes, cook every ingredient separately, and took hours to make. Then it didn’t even work. The burgers wouldn’t hold together so I made the call to add twice as much potato starch to bind the ingredients together. Did I mention the recipe required me to buy a bag of potato starch that I will now have sitting in my pantry for years I am sure! It is exactly the kind of recipe that I would never make again.

The second batch of binding did work and the veggie burgers were, in fact, delicious. They tasted pretty much like falafel with slightly different spicing and more than 5 times the work! It was a recipe that really left me scratching my head and wondering WHY not just follow the falafel formula?

Well, it turns out you can and I did and I am going to share that with you now! It takes far less time, is just as delicious, uses less dishes, and you don’t even need the potato starch! OH! I suspect you can use just about any well soaked bean here. I have had great results with split yellow dal and a spring-y green version made with split peas and lots of herb. Feel free to experiment with other beans (edit: I just made a batch with some very old red beans that left some hard bits in the final patty so beware), or try grains or nuts (but not too many nuts which add a lot of fat). Just be sure that the mixture is pretty dry or it will crumble when you fry it.

soak beans and grains, add spices and herbs and mince in food processor, pan fry until crispy!