We rarely eat meat anymore, and I don’t miss it much, but once in a while I miss the particular flavor of a McDonald’s cheeseburger. The soyburgers that try to taste like ground beef succeed only (in my opinion) in tasting like my elementary school cafeteria’s hamburgers; I prefer the veggie burgers that don’t even attempt to imitate meat but just do their own thing. My last several experiments with using up leftover beans led to the development of this recipe that fulfills my McDonald’s craving.

I’m not giving any measurements because this is such an ideal way of using those random plain beans left over from some other meal. Just use what you have and season to taste! I guess it takes about 1/2 cup of beans to make a nice substantial sandwich.

You will need:

• pre-cooked, rinsed beans (pinto, black, or other soft beans)
• finely chopped onion–about 1/4 the volume of the beans
• cooking oil or butter
• ketchup
• mustard
• black pepper
• nutritional yeast flakes (huh?)–about 1 tsp. per cup of beans–it’s tasty without this but better with!
• toasted bun or bread

Optional toppings:

• cheese (I like to toast it on the bun)
• pickles
• lettuce
• tomato

Cook onion in plenty of oil in a small pot. For the most McDonald’s-like taste, move on to the next step immediately so the onions will be semi-raw. Cooking them until browned is very tasty, though.

Add beans, ketchup, mustard, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Remove from heat. Stir in yeast flakes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve beans on bun with optional toppings, or serve beans in a bowl and scoop them up with bread.

This is, of course, sloppier to eat than a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Good, though! It has that American flavor which is so elusive in vegetarian food because most American food is meat-centric.