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Gearing up for a big tailgate or backyard barbecue? This vegetarian recipe for Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers will be a fan favorite!

Grab the recipe for these Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers below or PIN IT for later!

Growing up and living in Texas for most of my life, it is hard to ignore football season. Even if you are not that big of a football fan, if your gunna live in Texas, you need to know enough about football to get you through any social event or gathering from August till February. And of course, even if you aren’t a huge fan of football, I’m sure you are a fan of football food, like these Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers!

Luckily, I love football! No, I’m not a crazy fan, attending every game or scrutinizing every referee call, but I do love to spend a fall afternoon watching a football game (and for me it doesn’t matter – high school, college, or professional teams) with friends and family!

I love football season, because no matter what team you are cheering for, football brings people together. Whether it’s small Texas towns whose whole livelihood centers around the local high school team or college buddies coming together once or twice a year to cheer on and remember their past, football makes people happy and bonds people like nothing else.

This fall has been super busy for us, but we finally got to host a football “homegate” over the weekend, and I invited several of our friends and family over to watch our favorite college team play.

You all know I love any excuse for a party, because I love fussing over the décor and planning a delicious menu, and our football watch parties are no exception! Just like everyone else, I love classic football eats, like pizza, chicken wings and all those chips and dips!

But several of my friends and family members are vegetarian, so whether I’m hosting a football tailgate or other dinner party, I always try to have at least one vegetarian main dish or enough vegetarian sides and appetizers on hand to serve my vegetarian guests.

That’s why I like MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers and MorningStar Farms® Grillers Original Burgers – not only can I stock up on in the value packs while shopping for other groceries and party supplies at my local Walmart; MorningStar Farms® products are convenient and everyone loves them! In fact, MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burger is America’s #1 Veggie Burger and a family favorite! (Click here to save on MorningStar Farms® products, while supplies last.)

And even though we are not a vegetarian household, we do try to eat “meat free” several times a week to add variety to our diet. Since MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers are quick and easy to make, I like keeping some in my freezer for meals (lunch or dinner) on busy days!

For our most recent football “homegate,” I decided to serve a burger bar. We busted out our grill and grilled up a ton of burgers including those MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers and MorningStar Farms® Grillers Original Burgers. Everyone loves a good burger, but setting up a burger bar, with various tasty toppings is always a hit.

Inspired by the bold flavors in the MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers and my Texas roots, one of the burger combinations I came up with were these Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers. Fried pickles are a favorite restaurant appetizer, but I decided to make things a little more Texan and do fried jalapenos instead.

The MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers already have a lot of flavor and a little heat and the fried jalapenos add a nice texture and extra flavor. The ranch mayo then helps cool things off for the ultimate, Texas style veggie burger!

Helpful Tips and Information:
Burger Bar: Want to set up your own burger bar? Here are some suggestions for condiments and toppings to include:

Condiments: mustard (Dijon, yellow, stone ground), ketchup, mayo, ranch mayo (see below), BBQ sauce, thousand island dressing, teriyaki sauce, buffalo wing sauce, hot sauce, salsa, guacamole

Veggies: tomatoes, onions (raw red or white and/or grilled or caramelized), lettuce, arugula, coleslaw, fried jalapenos (see below), pickled jalapenos, pickles

Cheese: cheddar, blue cheese, swiss, pepper jack, provolone

Cooking Tip: I always keep a box of cooking gloves in my pantry to use for cooking and baking. For baking, gloves are great for working with fondant or making homemade fudge/candies so you don’t leave finger prints on your creations. For cooking, I always use gloves to slice jalapenos to prevent getting that fiery pepper juice/skin on my hands and accidentally touching my eyes after chopping jalapenos, because man, that hurts! Also, I find that breading things using my hands is so much easier than working with tongs and using gloved hands helps keep my hands clean and helps me work more efficiently. 

Serving Suggestion: You can cook extra fried jalapenos to serve as a side dish with these Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers or serve them with homemade or store bought sweet potato or carrot fries and/or a kale slaw.

Do you host football watch parties at home? If so, what are your favorite dishes to serve?

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Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers

Yield: Serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Gearing up for the big game? Score big with this fan favorite football food - vegetarian Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers!

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Ingredients

• 4 MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers
• --
• Crispy Fried Jalapenos:
• 10-12 jalapeño peppers*
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable or canola oil, (optional, see notes)
• --
• Ranch Mayo:
• ½ tablespoon ranch seasoning
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, or Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• --
• For Serving:
• Whole wheat hamburger buns
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes

Instructions

1. For MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers: Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat and oil grill grates. Grill frozen MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burgers for 4-5 minutes per side or until burgers reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
2. Crispy Fried Jalapenos: Cut stems off of the peppers and then cut each pepper into 1/4 -inch rings. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, bread crumbs, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk.
5. Dip the sliced jalapenos in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and then back into the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. Place coated jalapenos on a plate or baking sheet and set aside.
6. To deep fry the jalapenos, heat oil in a large heavy bottom saucepan or cast-iron skillet. Once oil reaches 365 degrees F, working in batches use a slotted spoon to slowly lower the flour coated jalapenos into the hot oil. Cook jalapenos until crispy and golden brown, then use a slotted spoon to transfer fried jalapenos to a paper towel line plate. Repeat frying process with remaining jalapenos. (To oven bake/fry the jalapenos, see notes.)
7. For Ranch Mayo: In a small bowl stir together ranch seasoning, mayonnaise and buttermilk, until thoroughly mixed.
8. To assemble Crispy Jalapeno Ranch Black Bean Burgers: Place lettuce and tomato on the bottom of a hamburger bun. Top tomatoes with a grilled MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burger. Top black bean burger with 4-5 fried jalapenos. Spread a thin layer of Ranch Mayo on the bottom of the top bun and press onto the burger. Serve immediately.

Notes

To oven bake/fry the jalapenos: Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Place flour coated jalapenos in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray the top of the jalapenos with a thin layer of cooking spray. Bake in preheated 420 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Remove sheet pan from oven and flip the jalapenos over. Return the jalapenos to the oven and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on the other side. Serve immediately.

*Pickled jalapenos can be substituted for the fresh jalapenos, but will need to be drained and patted dry with a paper towel before using.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Stock up on MorningStar Farms® Spicy Black Bean Burger Value Pack, MorningStar Farms® Grillers Original Burger Value Pack and other MorningStar Farms® products on the frozen food aisle of your local Walmart. Click here to save on MorningStar Farms® products, while supplies last. And if you are looking for more vegetarian dinner recipes, click here or follow MorningStar Farms® on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!