White Bean Patties with Garlic-Lime Sauce

Let me start by saying this... If you had told me a year ago that I would be throwing around words like "Garlic-Lime Sauce", I would have laughed you right out of my under-utilized kitchen. Fast forward to today. Not only do I talk about sauces like this - I actually make them! And then I serve them with things like these white bean patties (fritters?) that I made this morning.

This was not my original intention. I was planning on making black bean and corn patties, but since I was fresh out of black beans and corn, I needed to head in a different direction. After some pantry raiding, I grabbed a can of white beans and a new recipe was born.

White Bean Patties with Garlic-Lime Sauce
Makes 8 medium patties for snacks or lunches
(or 4 large patties for burgers or 16 small patties for appetizers)


What I use:

• 1 can white beans (any kind will do - cannelini or great northern or small white)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic in oil
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 c. Italian seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
• Salt

• 1/2 c. sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 to 2 tsp. garlic powder

How I do it:

1. Drain and rinse the beans under cold running water.

2. Place half the beans in a food processor and the other half in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Add the egg and minced garlic to the food processor. Pulse a few times, until it's fairly smooth but still a little chunky.

4. Transfer the pureed bean mixture to the bowl with the whole beans and add the onion and bread crumbs. Stir until combined.

5. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

6. While the oil is heating up, shape the bean mixture into patties.

7. Fry the patties in batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

8. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels and sprinkle with salt immediately.

To make the garlic-lime sauce:
Place the sour cream (or yogurt), lime juice, and garlic powder in a small bowl and mix well. Serve as a dip or thin the sauce with a little milk and drizzle it over the completed patties.

We have all created new recipes when we realized we were out of a key ingredient.
What is your favorite recipe like that?