I love to make grazing boards. I’m kind of known for them. Maybe it’s because I serve them a lot. Or maybe it’s because whenever I make one, I can’t help but snap a photo because they are SO BEAUTIFUL! Either way, I’m sort of the charcuterie queen in my area.

The thing is, once you’ve made something enough times, you sort of get sick of it. While other people are impressed with the grazing board, I get plain bored with them.

Last winter, we co-hosted a wine and cheese night at our friend’s tiny barn where they had an ice skating rink. It was so fun! It seems that charcuterie and skating are the perfect combination!

There were about 25-30 people there, and I went all out with the boards. I wanted unique charcuterie board ideas so that I didn’t get bored with the process. So, I came up with a couple ideas that I’ll share with you here.

As a side note, if you’d like to hear tips on how to create grazing boards for a crowd, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned over the years! Just comment and let me know!

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella – Unique Charcuterie Board Idea #1

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Prep them in advance

These were super easy to make in advance, which is a huge plus for me! Begin by cutting the mozzarella into 1/2″ chunks. Then cut the prosciutto slices into half. After that, cut each half into thirds so that each long slice made 6 strips.

Wrap each strip around a chunk of mozzarella and secure it with a toothpick. After they are secured, you can either use them immediately, or just put them all into an airtight container for a day or two.

When you’re ready to serve, put them in a dish

Once you’re ready to put them onto your charcuterie board, place the prosciutto wrapped mozzarella chunks in little dishes. I used low 1″ tart pan type dishes that I’ve found over the years. They are just like the ones you’d use to make creme brûlée – here’s an example of them. These would be equally as cute if you had a little plate with edges that curved up, or tiny pie plates.

Drizzle with chili oil

Next, drizzle them with chili oil. The chili oil was made by steeping 1 cup olive oil with 2 Tablespoons of Korean Chili Flakes in a pot on low for about 15 min. Don’t let it boil. Just let the oil get nice and warm. After it has steeped in the chili flakes, put it in a mason jar and pop it in the fridge and pour it over everything!!

I think you can also buy chili oil like this one – but it looks quite a bit chunkier than mine so it might not drizzle well without adding a little more oil to it.

Sadly resign yourself to the fact that there will be no leftovers

These were a huge hit and not a single one was left! Since they have a toothpick to secure them, it makes them super easy to eat. The bonus is that people can grab them by the toothpick and swirl them around in the chili oil to make sure they are good and covered in the yummy, slightly spicy oil.

Honey Whipped Goat Cheese – Unique Charcuterie Board Idea #2

I love goat cheese. One of my favorite cheese board regulars is goat cheese and strawberries on sweet Meyer Lemon Cookies. Or goat cheese and lemon curd with fresh blackberries.

Unfortunately, I find that sometimes people are a little weird about goat cheese?! Maybe it’s because it’s a bit crumbly? However, if you whip it up with honey and a drizzle of olive oil and a little cream cheese…people LOVE it!

Whip the honey goat cheese, cream cheese, and olive oil

This is such an easy one to prep in advance as well! To make this super easy, I’m using the goat cheese that’s already infused with honey.

If you can only find regular goat cheese, that’s fine too! Just add a couple more tablespoons of honey to the mix and it will bring out all that sweet honey flavor!

Add a 4oz. package of honey goat cheese, along with 2oz. cream cheese and 1T. olive oil to a bowl and mix it with a hand mixer.

After you mix that, add 1-2T. of honey and continue to use the hand mixer to whip air into the mixture.

Put it in a small dish

After you whip it up, put it in a small dish, cover, and refrigerate until it’s time to serve. You can use it right away, or you can make it in advance to save time before the actual event.

(I didn’t take good pictures while I was making it originally, so this bowl is different than the one I used in the after photos!)

When you’re ready to serve your honey whipped goat cheese, drizzle a little more honey on top and add a cute spoon – these are the ones I use – and tuck it onto your charcuterie board. Make sure you have some strawberries and blackberries and blueberries around it. They all go perfectly with the sweet and tangy honey whipped goat cheese!

Give your guests directions

I usually give my guests recommendations. Especially if they have never tried some of the items on the board, they tend to stick with what they know. However, when you say, “I love the honey whipped goat cheese on the Meyer Lemon Cookie with a chunk of strawberry on top” they will normally give it a try.

Other Unique Charcuterie Board Ideas

Homemade Ranch

In the photo above, you can see that in the center of the board, I put a tiny trifle dish of homemade ranch. This was a surprise winner! I had multiple people ask for the recipe and they LOVED having the veggies available on the board.

I tucked carrots, celery, radishes, and cucumbers throughout the cheese boards and it was a total hit. I’ll have to make a blog post about my ranch recipe. It’s SOOOOO good!

Chocolate Covered Goodies

Because this was a wintertime party, I went with a winter theme on the chocolate covered goodies. I covered mint Joe Joe’s from Trader Joes (but Oreos would be great), pretzels, and strawberries.

I sprinkled them throughout the boards to fill in gaps, and I had a little dish of them on a side table too. It wasn’t a surprise that there were none left over!

Salty and Spicy Treats

I always add in salty treats – I love the everything nuts from Trader Joes, or salted Marcona almonds. On this night, I put tiny bowls of buffalo seasoned pretzels. I got the recipe from Foodal.com and it was great!

I think it’s a good idea to always be adding little surprises to your grazing boards. It changes them up and keeps them from getting boring.

What unique charcuterie board ideas do you have? I’d love to hear them to add variety to my cheese boards!

Unique Charcuterie Board Ideas

These two recipes add so much diversity to your grazing boards!

Chili Oil

• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Korean Chili Flakes

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella

• 8 oz Fresh Mozerella
• Small Package Prosciutto

Honey Whipped Goat Cheese

• 4 oz honey goat cheese
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons honey + more for drizzling on top

Make Chili Oil for Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella

1. Add 2T. of Korean chili flakes to 1c. olive oil and heat on low for 15 minutes to allow flavors to infuse. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat. Cool. Store in airtight glass jar in the refrigerator. Drizzle over anything!!

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella

1. Cut mozzarella into 1/2" chunks.

2. Cut prosciutto in half. Then cut each of the halves into thirds so one slice is 6 strips.

3. Wrap a strip around the mozzarella chunk and secure with a toothpick. At this point, you can put them in an airtight container for later, or serve immediately.

4. Place in low serving dish and drizzle with a few Tablespoons of the chili oil before serving.

Honey Whipped Goat Cheese

1. Combine 4oz. goat cheese, 2 oz. cream cheese and 1T. olive oil in bowl. Mix with hand mixer until combined.

2. Add 1-2T honey and mix with hand mixer until smooth and creamy. I let it go for a little while to whip air into it. At this point, you can store in an airtight container for later, or serve immediately.

3. Put in small dish and drizzle with additional honey. Serve on charcuterie board with fruits and meats and crackers.

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I love to know how to make things. While I don’t make mayo every single time I need it, I make it often because

1 – It tastes SO much better!

2 – I can control the ingredients.

This whole egg mayonnaise with avocado oil will stay for a week or two in the fridge, as opposed to months for the store-bought variety. That’s because there are only whole food ingredients in this mayonnaise recipe. It doesn’t contain preservatives or additives like the grocery store counterpart. That’s what makes it shelf stable, and last forever in your refrigerator.

Additionally, unless you’re buying avocado mayo, the oil that is used in processed mayo is not one you’d use in your daily life. There’s lots of research behind what oils we should be eating, but I won’t get into that here. Just know that when you make it yourself, YOU get to choose what oil you use and make sure it’s what you want your family to eat.

We just got chickens a few months ago, so egg production should be starting by the fall. I cannot wait to use my free range eggs to make this. I can’t imagine what a difference it will be over Aldi or Costco eggs!

What is Whole Egg Mayonnaise made of?

This whole egg mayonnaise recipe is so easy, because you only need a few ingredients! You’ll need:

• 1 room temperature egg

• lemon juice (or vinegar)

• Himalayan sea salt

• A light oil (like avocado oil or extra light olive oil)

Note: Because this recipe uses raw eggs, make sure they’re fresh and handled safely. While rare, salmonella poisoning can happen with undercooked or raw eggs. Using farm-fresh eggs or pasteurized eggs reduces this risk.

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Oil

The first time I tried making a whole egg mayonnaise recipe, I was in for a rude awakening. I used my regular olive oil and the mayo was SO disgusting! It basically tasted like I was eating straight olive oil.

After that, I began to use extra light olive oil – something like this one. That worked perfectly.

After I was making mayo for a while, I began to see avocado oil mayonnaise everywhere. And it was so expensive! But when I went to Costco, they sold avocado oil and it was so reasonable! This one on Amazon looks like a good price if you don’t have a Costco membership.

Lemon juice or Vinegar

I have used both bottled and fresh lemon juice for this recipe and give it a mild flavor.

Many recipes call for vinegar in the mayo, but sometimes that can give it a sharper flavor. But in a pinch, I have used both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar. But my favorite is lemon juice.

Using lemon juice makes it so fresh and very neutral tasting. But in a pinch, you can definitely replace the lemon juice with vinegar.

Salt

I usually use pink Himalayan sea salt in my house. But if I run out, I use the cheap iodized salt I always have on hand just in case. Either way, you’ll want some type of salt in this mayonnaise recipe.

Room Temperature Egg

In order to make this whole egg mayonnaise recipe, you definitely need a room temperature egg. If the egg is too cold, the mayo won’t emulsify.

In the past, when that happened, I would just throw it out. But recently it happened and I found a great website that showed me what to do to save my mayo. It worked like a charm!

I used the method of putting an extra egg yolk in a bowl and slowly drizzling in the mayo that didn’t emulsify. It saved my cup of avocado oil! Yay!

If you don’t have a room temperature egg, you can run it under hot water for 30 seconds to a minute to try to get it to room temperature. This has worked for me in the past, but the last time my mayo didn’t come together, it was because I used this method and didn’t just wait. So beware!

Some people only use egg yolk to make homemade avocado oil mayonnaise. I don’t find that necessary. I like the use the whole egg and don’t find that the egg white adds anything negative to my whole egg mayo and skips an unnecessary step.

How to Make Whole Egg Mayo

There are a couple ways to make whole egg mayo. One of them is to put the egg and salt in a blender and SLOWLY drizzle in the oil to emulsify it. This Vitamix mayo works great, but I find that I end up having a ton left in my blender, and it wastes so much of the mayo I worked so hard to make!

Tools I use for whole egg mayo:

The way I make this whole egg mayonnaise recipe is with an immersion blender (also referred to as a hand blender or stick blender). This is the current version of the one I have. I also always make my mayo in a wide mouth quart jar or a pint and a half mason jar like I have here. We use these a lot as drinking glasses and smoothie cups. I used to find them at Target, but recently they are REALLY difficult to find!

Why the jar? Because when you make mayo in a jar, you can blend right in the container and avoid waste. Plus it’s perfect for turning the mayo into a quick salad dressing like ranch dressing or caesar dressing.

Process to make whole egg mayo:

At the very end, I bring it out and put it back in just to finish it all off. It literally comes together from beginning to end in just a couple minutes. It’s amazing!

Isn’t it so thick and creamy?! It is so dreamy!

Here’s a quick video on how I make the whole egg mayo!

The last step of the whole egg mayonnaise recipe is to stir in the lemon juice to the mayo. And that’s it! Once you get the hang of it and make it a few times, you will be able to whip up a batch so fast that you’ll never consider running out to the grocery store to buy mayonnaise!

FAQs

How to Use Whole Egg Mayo

Homemade mayo is the base for so many recipes:

• Chicken salad or egg salad
• Deviled eggs
• Homemade ranch or caesar salad dressing
• Use for creamy sauces like chipotle aioli
• Jalapeno cilantro lime ranch for taco salad
• Dips for fries, sandwiches, or even on salmon bowls

My favorite ways to use Whole Egg Mayo?

I sometimes use this for a regular mayo if I’m making something like chicken salad – we love to add curry powder to ours and serve it on wraps or croissants. IT IS DIVINE! I also usually use it for egg salad or deviled eggs.

The biggest reason you’ll find me making this homemade mayo with avocado oil is to use for my homemade ranch dressing. If you want me to post that recipe here, let me know! I feel like the real mayo really takes the dressing to the next level!

I also use this whole egg mayo for homemade creamy caesar dressing, and jalapeño cilantro lime ranch for taco salad.

Also, I always use this when I’m making an aioli. Do you know that’s just a fancy word for mayo with stuff in it!? Yup! I will often add the sauce from chipotle peppers to drizzle on an asian bowl.

Or I add my Oregano Pesto and dip fries into it or put it on a sandwich. You’re totally missing out if you haven’t tried that!

Use it as the base for homemade ranch dressing – I need to share the recipe because it’s AMAZING!!!

I guess you could say that I whip up a batch when I need a large amount of it for one dish. In all transparency, I usually keep real mayo in the fridge for tiny things like sandwiches, since we don’t eat those often.

Storing – How long does egg mayo last in the fridge?

Keep your mayo in an airtight jar in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. See the instructions below if you’d like to make it last longer.

How can I get my Whole Egg Mayo to last longer?

Want homemade mayonnaise to last longer? Add a tablespoon of whey (from Greek yogurt) and leave it at room temperature for 8 hours. This creates a lacto-fermented mayonnaise, which lasts up to a month in the fridge.

Can I make homemade mayonnaise with a food processor?

Yes! A food processor works great for making mayo. Just add egg, salt and lemon juice, turn on the food processor and then VERY SLOWLY drizzle the light tasting olive oil or avocado oil in to allow it to emulsify.

It’s a bit messy to have to clean an entire food processor just to make a small amount of mayonnaise, so I’d recommend making a larger batch, as long as you can eat that much before it goes bad.

What is the best oil for homemade mayonnaise?

Neutral oils like a very light tasting olive oil or avocado oil work best. If you use regular extra virgin olive oil, the taste can have a strong aftertaste and off-putting. These lighter oils give it the best flavor and color.

Is mayonnaise better with whole eggs or yolks?

The classic French mayonnaise uses only egg yolks. Whole eggs make the recipe faster, lighter in texture, and less wasteful. You still get that rich creamy flavor, though!

Can I make homemade mayonnaise with egg whites?

Unfortunately, you will need the egg yolk to emulsify the mayonnaise, so you won’t be able to make this homemade mayo without a whole egg.

Is whole egg mayo healthier?

Whole egg mayo is much healthier than any of the store bought varieties on the market. The grocery store counterparts have to be shelf stable for years. Because of that, they are filled with ingredients that help to stabilize the mayo and make it last a long time.

This homemade mayonnaise is only made with a handful of ingredients and go bad quickly. But because of the lack of preservatives and ingredients you can’t pronounce, it makes it much healthier than what you would buy in the store.

Why did my homemade mayonnaise break?

If your mayo didn’t emulsify properly, it was probably due to using a cold egg that was not at room temperature, or not following the instructions very carefully. Because the oil needs to be added very slowly, the immersion blender needs to be straight up and down as you make the homemade mayo. This allows the blades to pull in a small amount of oil at a time as it emulsifies it.

If this happens, don’t toss it! Add a fresh egg yolk to a clean jar and slowly add the broken mayo while running the stick blender. This usually fixes it.

Is it safe to eat mayo made with raw eggs?

Most people safely eat whole egg mayo with no problems as long as the eggs are either farm fresh or pasteurized. However, there is always a small risk of salmonella poisoning when using raw eggs, so be very careful how your eggs are sourced.

I hope you love this whole egg mayonnaise recipe! Let me know how it turns out for you below!

Whole Egg Mayo (Homemade Mayonnaise)

Whole egg mayo is SO easy to make that you won't believe you haven't made it before! Once you try it, you won't want to go back!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup light olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 egg - ROOM TEMPERATURE
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. In this recipe, I use a wide mouthed pint and a half mason jar and an immersion blender.
Add the oil, room temperature egg, and salt to the mason jar. Pour in the oil, then add the egg and salt. At this point, you need to follow directions really carefully! When you put the immersion blender into the oil, you want to make sure that you NEVER raise it above the level of the top of the oil.
2. Sink your immersion blender in and set it straight up and down so it's on top of the egg, and it's pulling the oil in the sides of the immersion blender. This essentially acts like you're drizzling the oil in to the egg.
3. Once it starts to thicken on the bottom, I hold the jar and begin to move the immersion blender up and down a little, but not bringing it up out of the oil.


4. At the very end, I bring it out and put it back in just to finish it all off. It literally comes together from beginning to end in just a couple minutes. It's amazing!

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Ok, I might be in the minority here, but I have a love/hate relationship with basil. It is SO summery and I absolutely love it! But then sometimes I pick it and the basil leaves taste like black licorice. What is the problem!?

I cannot get consistently basil-y tasting fresh basil. As a result, sometimes my fresh pesto tastes like garbage – please forgive me if you are a black licorice fan! I know it’s personal preference, but I really can’t stand it!

My other problem is that oregano is one of my favorite herbs so I have a really bit plant. But, it literally takes over the herb garden and produces SO much! I mean, it’s mid May in Northeast Ohio, and this guy is already a monster! It’s a great way to use that oregano when it goes crazy!

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So I took a risk!!!!

Last year I decided that I would take a risk. I would try to make a traditional pesto recipe with oregano and see how it turned out. Wouldn’t you know that it was absolutely unbelievably amazing?! That taste of fresh herbs and had not a hint of gross black licorice flavor!

I froze it and I can’t tell you how delicious it was in the middle of winter. All that summer goodness packed into a quart zip top baggie or in ice cube trays for me to use when the ground is covered in ice and snow. What a treat! It’s SUCH a great feeling to grab the frozen cubes of pesto in the middle of winter. The bright green color of the pesto sauce is so beautiful and it makes that summer flavor last all year.

Whether you normally make homemade pesto, or buy it in a jar at the grocery store, I think you’ll agree that this recipe is the best thing that came out of your herb garden this year! So here is the delicious recipe. You’ll never go back tot a traditional basil pesto again!

Homemade Oregano Pesto Recipe

With just a few simple ingredients, you can make homemade oregano pesto. It’s quick and easy in a Vitamix or a food processor. I don’t love to clean out my huge food processor for a small dish like this, so I tend to use my Vitamix. I have this one and I absolutely love it! I’ve owned it for around 13 year and it is worth every single dollar I paid for it!

I’ll show you how it’s made in a Vitamix and you can just do the same thing in a food processor if you have that instead. I suppose a blender also works too! I just haven’t had a regular blender in a while but I bet that would work fine.

Harvest your fresh oregano leaves

You’ll want to start with garden fresh oregano leaves. You can pick this from your own herb garden, or get it from someone else’s. I am not shy when harvesting my oregano. I cut it totally down to the ground and it always comes back with a vengeance! This is all that’s left after my harvesting and I bet it will be completely back in about 3 weeks.

I use a few very large handfuls because it really blends down into a very small amount. Bring it in and wash it and then put it through the salad spinner to get all the water off.

If you can’t use it right away, that’s ok. Just put a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container and store it in there after it has been washed. It should last a few days until you can get to it.

Gather ingredients for homemade oregano pesto

Really good extra virgin olive oil

parmesan cheese – or pecorino romano

fresh oregano leaves

lemon juice

fresh garlic cloves

salt

Grate the cheese

If you bought a block of cheese, get that grated. If you bought already grated parmesan, you’re in luck! Just measure it out! Isn’t that parmesan so dreamy?! I love cheese too much…

Microplane your garlic cloves

Rachel Ray taught me years and years ago to use a microplane for my garlic cloves and it is one of my favorite ways to use the microplane! I know some people would just throw the whole clove in the blender, but I don’t want to take the chance that there would be a chunk left!

Juice the lemon

This part is pretty simple. Roll the lemon on the counter to get the juices flowing, then juice the lemon. Strain the seeds out of the lemon juice and you’re ready to go! This is my favorite kind of citrus juicer.

Fill up the Vitamix with fresh oregano pesto ingredients

This part goes SO fast!

Strip the leaves off the oregano stems and throw those in the Vitamix first. They’re light and so the heavier ingredients will hold them down.

We do the same thing when we make green smoothies by putting the spinach or kale in the bottom and then piling all the heavier items on top. It really helps to blend it quicker without leaves flying all over the inside of the Vitamix.

Add a bit of lemon juice, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste. Everyone has a different salt level that they like, so add to your taste. Blend until all the ingredients are incorporated into a loose paste. Some people like a chunkier pesto but I prefer it to be pretty smooth.

You may have to use the stick that goes with the Vitamix to get it all pressed down into the blades. If you do use a Vitamix, you’ll want to make sure you don’t let it blend for too long. Because the machine heats up, it does tend to heat what’s in the blending container if you let it go for a while.

OPTIONAL ADDITION – Toast your pine nuts on low heat

Sometimes I add a handful of toasted pine nuts to this. My son has a nut allergy, so it’s not super often. But if he’s not eating dinner with us, I LOVE to add pine nuts! Here’s the instructions on how to add those.

Put the pine nuts in a cast iron pan and put them on low heat until they begin to brown up. I keep moving them around with a wooden spoon while they work their magic. This toasting gives them so much flavor!

Once they start toasting, they go really fast, so make sure to get them out of the pan as soon as they look golden brown. Put them on a plate and let them cool.

Serve your oregano pesto

That’s it! I toss mine with freshly made pasta and it’s unbelievable! If you reserve a little of the pasta cooking water, it makes it a bit saucier. As I’m dreaming about it right now, I think it would taste absolutely amazing mixed with creamy Alfredo and then topped with grilled chicken.

Serve it immediately, because as it hits the heat of the pasta, it turns from bright green into a darker green. So it’s prettiest when it is first mixed.

You could also:

*add a little more olive oil and slather this on chicken or pork tenderloin before you grill it

*Make my cold fermented pizza crust and use it as a sauce and then top it with chicken and cheese

*mix it with mayo and dip fries into it (this is AMAZING – I couldn’t stop eating it!)

*add it to more vinegar and oil to make homemade vinaigrette salad dressings to top leafy greens

*use it as a condiment on sandwiches

*stir a little bit into your spaghetti sauce to deepen the flavor and brighten it with the flavor of the fresh herbs

*add some nutritional yeast in place of parmesan for a vegan homemade pesto that still tastes cheesy

There are so many ways you could use this!

Freeze leftover oregano pesto – if there is any!

I put my leftovers in a quart ziplock bag and freeze it flat. Then when I want to use it, I just open the frozen baggie and break off a chunk. It works perfectly! Alternately, you can use ice cube trays and freeze the fresh pesto in those. Just pop out the frozen cubes and store in an airtight container or freezer bag. Just make sure to try to get as much air out as you can in order to prevent freezer burn.

Of course when I made it today, I only had one snack baggie and that’s all! So I improvised and used that. Make sure when you freeze it, you put it on something to make it lay flat. With quart baggies, I normally use a cookie sheet. Today, since I just had a snack baggie, I put it on an ice pack for lunchboxes.

Can I use different nuts?

I think this could be good with all kinds of different nuts! Walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans…they could all be great!

Can I use dried oregano?

No. Definitely not! This is one of those recipes where only fresh herbs will do!

Next time you have an abundance of fresh oregano leaves in your herb garden, try this simple recipe. Just a little bit of time for so much flavor. Your taste buds will thank you!

print recipe card below:

Simple Fresh Oregano Pesto

Basil shouldn’t have all the fun! Make the most fresh and yummy oregano pesto – you may never go back to basil again!

5.0 Stars (146 Reviews)

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Ingredients

• 3 big handfuls freshly harvested oregano (approx. 3 packed cups)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese or pecorino Romano
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 2T.)
• 1 fresh garlic clove
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Harvest your oregano

You’ll want to start with garden fresh oregano. I use a few very large handfuls because it really blends down into a very small amount. Bring it in and wash it and then put it through the salad spinner to get all the water off.

If you can’t use it right away, that’s ok. Just put a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container and store it in there after it has been washed. It should last a few days until you can get to it.

2. Grate the cheese

If you bought a block of cheese, get that grated. If you bought already grated, you’re in luck because you’re done with this step!


3. Juice your lemon

This part is pretty simple. Roll the lemon on the counter to get the juices flowing, then juice the lemon. Strain the seeds out of the lemon juice and you’re ready to go!

4. Microplane your garlic

Rachel Ray taught me years and years ago to use a microplane for my garlic. I know some people would just throw the whole clove in the blender, but I don’t want to take the chance that there would be a chunk left!

5. Fill up the Vitamix with pesto ingredients

This part goes SO fast!

Strip the leaves off the oregano stems and throw those in the Vitamix first. They’re light and so the heavier ingredients will hold them down.

We do the same thing when we make green smoothies by putting the spinach or kale in the bottom and then piling all the heavier items on top. It really helps to blend it quicker without leaves flying all over the inside of the Vitamix.

Add the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, good olive oil and salt to taste. Everyone has a different salt level that they like, so do what you like. Blend until all the ingredients are incorporated into a loose paste. You may have to use the stick that goes with the Vitamix to get it all pressed down into the blades.

If you do use a Vitamix, you’ll want to make sure you don’t let it blend for too long. Because the machine heats up, it does tend to heat what’s in the blending container if you let it go for a while.Serve your oregano pesto

6. OPTIONAL ADDITION toast your pine nuts

Sometimes I add a handful of toasted pine nuts to this. My son has a nut allergy, so it’s not super often. But if he’s not eating dinner with us, I LOVE to add pine nuts! Here’s the instructions on how to add those.

Put the pine nuts in a cast iron pan and slowly heat them until they begin to brown up. I keep moving them around with a wooden spoon while they work their magic.

Once they start toasting, they go really fast, so make sure to get them out of the pan as soon as they look the right color. Put them on a plate and let them cool. Make sure to do this first so they can cool while you complete the other steps.

Serve your oregano pesto

Notes

Freeze what’s left – if there is any!

I put my leftovers in a quart baggie and freeze it flat. Then when I want to use it, I just open the frozen baggie and break off a chunk. It works perfectly! There’s nothing like having a tase of summer in the dead of winter!

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Years ago, we purchased a Pampered Chef pizza stone and a pizza peel and we used that stone until it was black! Every Friday night we made pizza and used any leftovers we had on hand. We also started hosting Make Your Own Pizza Nights with our youth group. Since there were so many students, we switched to a big rectangular stone and a pizza steel so that we could make 4 individual pizzas at a time on each rack.

We kept honing our skills and trying to perfect the homemade pizza dough. I think we finally found the best way to make pizza crust in your home oven with this homemade pizza dough recipe!

What is cold fermented pizza dough?

One day my friend told me that the small local pizza shop she loves makes their Friday pizza dough on Wednesday. What?! The owner swears the crust is better using the cold fermentation method, and allowing it to sit in the cooler for 2 days. He was right. It’s amazing.

I’ve done multiple trials with both sourdough pizza crust and the regular yeasted pizza crust. We tried baking it the same day it was made, and then 2 days later after it had been cold fermented. Every time, the cold fermented crust that had extra time in the fridge was way better. Chewier, bubblier, better flavor, and all around superior.

Why?

When temperatures are warm during the bulk fermentation process, yeast reacts quickly, forming bubbles and allowing the crust to rise. When you put that same dough in the refrigerator at a much lower temperature, it slows the process way down and the dough ferments gradually.

Essentially, the same rise that took just a few hours at a higher temperature of 70 degrees takes days at 34-40 degrees that is used in the cold fermentation method. Letting the dough rest for that extra time gives it the opportunity to develop a more complex flavor. It also allows the gluten structure to improve. That’s what gives it light, beautiful bubbles and makes it the most perfect crust.

Today, I’ll share my cold-proof pizza dough recipe, along with our instructions for how we make a delicious crust in our home oven. Now you can enjoy a better pizza at home without a wood-fired oven. You’ll get pizza that has an airy texture, great flavor, and gives good results every time!.

How to Make Cold Fermented Pizza Dough

While cold ferment pizza dough is far superior, there are a few negatives that crop up when it comes to making cold fermented pizza dough:

First, you need some advanced planning. In order to make cold ferment pizza dough, you need to plan a few days ahead. I try to make my dough 2 days before I need it. So if it’s pizza Saturday, I’d make the dough Thursday and throw it in the fridge, ready to pull out on the weekend.

Second, because you need time for the gluten development in colder temperatures, you need to have room in your refrigerator. However, if you live in a place that gets winter temperatures like I do, you can let your dough rise in your “garage fridge” in the wintertime and let those cold temperatures outside aid in the slow fermentation process.

Honestly, those two negatives of the cold fermentation process are small price to pay for the benefits of that amazingly good pizza flavor and texture that develops over a long, cool rise.

2 days before pizza making day:

Two days before you want to make your pizza, you’ll start making the pizza dough. I have always used a Kitchenaid Mixer for this with a dough hook attachment.

Measure your cold fermented pizza dough ingredients

In order to make cold-fermented pizza dough, you just need a few simple ingredients. Flour, water, salt, and active dry yeast. I use a strong flour that has a high protein content, like bread flour. I use filtered water but tap water is fine. Any type of salt works but my favorite is Himilayan sea salt. Lastly, I just use active dry yeast. Avoid using quick rise yeast — we want a nice sloooooooow rise!

In your stand mixer bowl, combine the bread flour, salt, active dry yeast and filtered water. There’s no need to use warm water since you’ll be rising it in cool temperatures. Most times recipes call for warm water to get the yeast making carbon dioxide faster and that speeds the rising process.

In order to get it perfect every time, I always weigh the ingredients for this just like I do for all my sourdough recipes. Each cup of flour can weigh drastically different amounts, so the only way to get a super consistent product is to weigh the ingredients.

I invested under $20 in this waterproof digital scale and it has been an amazing investment. A bonus is that you don’t have measuring cups and measuring spoons to wash!

Mix pizza dough with the dough hook attachment

Once the few simple ingredients are weighed in the stand mixer bowl, attach the dough hook, and turn the Kitchenaid to level 2. This will bring all the ingredients together pretty quickly.

Once the dough comes together, drizzle 2T of extra virgin olive oil into the bowl. (I eyeball this step) Then, set the timer for 5 min and let the mixer do all the kneading work!

My brother in law owns a sourdough bakery and he says that for the best results, always mix the flour and water first and allow them to combine before you add the oil. He’s super smart and there’s something sciency that happens if you mix the flour and water together first and then add the oil. I don’t ask a lot of questions when it comes to things like that 🙂 I just do what he says!

Cover cold fermented pizza dough and refrigerate

At this point, you just cover the large bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days for the first rise – some people rever to it as the bulk fermentation. You can leave it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but it gets more sour the longer it’s in the fridge. If I make it on Wednesday, I try to use it Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It’s great because you can be a bit flexible in when you pull it out. That way if your plans change a little, your dough isn’t ruined.

It should look like this when you take it out of the fridge.

This photo was taken on Friday after making the cold fermented pizza dough on Wednesday. I actually started to pull it out of the bowl before I remembered to take a picture, so that’s why it looks a little wonky.

I usually leave the dough covered at this point and put it on top of the oven to get it to come to room temperature. This allows the dough to warm up and be ready to work with. Alternately, you can throw it in your handy dandy pizza dough proofing box! I explain in this post how to make a homemade pizza dough proofing box and it will work so well to get this dough warmed up!

How to bake the pizzas:

This is the biggest secret of making the most amazing pizza at home! You need to have a baking steel or a pizza stone. They hold the heat in and act a little more like a brick oven without having an outdoor pizza oven.

You won’t get the same results as a wood-fired oven since they reach super high temperatures of 700-800 degrees. They can cook a pizza in 90 seconds! We can’t quite recreate that at home, but we can get close!

Preheat the oven

I place my pizza stone or pizza steel in the oven and preheat it as high as it will go – 550 degrees on mine. It’s important that the stone or steel is in the oven when it begins to preheat. The stone will break if you put it in a super hot oven while it is cold. Additionally, the stone or steel need a long time to absorb all that heat. I try to heat mine for a minimum of 30 min. but I aim for an hour just to get it good and screaming hot.

Prepare pizza

Pat a circle of pizza dough out on parchment paper with the palm of your hands. You can use a little bit of flour if it seems sticky. We normally get two large pizzas out of one recipe. We also use these quite often as individual pizzas but I can’t remember how many per recipe! Maybe about 6?

You can also make your hands into fists and pull from the center to thin it out.

Then lay it down on the parchment paper and start at the middle and work toward the edges, creating a little ring around the outside.

Top with sauce and cheese and toppings.

Bake pizza 7-9 minutes

Using a pizza peel, slide the pizza and parchment paper onto the pizza stone or pizza steel. I use this parchment paper from Costco and sometimes it burns around the edges, but it seems to hold up well in the oven.

Set the timer for 7-9 minutes. Check at 7 minutes to see if it’s brown and bubbly, if not, give it a little more time.

The parchment paper gets pretty browned. What I like to do is halfway through the cooking time, slide the pizza peel between the pizza and the parchment. Swap the pizzas so the one on top moves to the bottom and the one on bottom moves to the top. When I do that, I remove the parchment from underneath them so it doesn’t get quite so burned.

This time I just cooked it the whole time with the parchment under it so you can see how dark it gets and it won’t freak you out! You will want to make sure you don’t put your stone on the bottom rack, though. If you have a gas oven and it’s too close to the fire on the bottom, it can ignite. So be careful.

Slide pizza onto wooden cutting board

After it’s done, you can slide it onto a wooden cutting board. I find that with the wood, it absorbs the steam and doesn’t make the bottom of the crust soggy.

I’ve tried to put it onto a metal pan in the past, but it holds all that steam in and makes the pizza really soggy on bottom.

Let it rest, then cut

I let it rest around 5 minutes to let the cheese coagulate, and then cut it with a pizza cutter.

Enjoy!

Can I use my dough without cold fermenting it?

Yup! You can allow it to rise right after you knead it. Once it has doubled in size, you can use it right away. It works just fine and that’s actually how we ate this particular pizza dough for years. I’m so glad I found out that not only COULD you put the dough in the fridge, but it actually tastes way better that way!

Do I have to wait 2 days to use my cold fermented pizza dough?

Nope. You can pull it out and use it the next day. The flavor just won’t be quite as good as if you leave it a little longer, but it will still be yummy!

If you do pull it out the day after it’s made, I’d allow it to rise on the counter for a little bit. It takes 2 days to double in the fridge, you won’t have a full rise using it the next day. Just allow it to rise in the bowl, or shape the pizza and let it rise before you top it and bake it.

Do I have to use bread flour for my crust?

No you don’t! Bread flour has a higher protein content, so it contains more gluten. That gluten will give it a chewier crust and make it a stretchy dough that’s easy to work with.

If you want a crispier crust, use all purpose flour. This crust won’t have as much stretch in it, so it does have a greater tendency to tear. But it will be less chewy and more crispy. I didn’t have bread flour when I made the recipe for these photos, so all the pictures are using all purpose flour.

I have heard that the 00 flour is the be all, end all of pizza making. It has the higher protein content and is stretchy, but produces a crispy crust. I have been dragging my feet because I already have so many types of flour in my house that I don’t know if I can justifying purchasing yet another. What do you think? Have you tried it? Is it worth it?

Does cold fermented pizza dough work without a mixer?

I think it would work fine if you hand knead the dough ball for 5-8 minutes. If you try that out, let me know! If you are hand kneading it, I’d add the olive oil when you put all the other ingredients in. I can’t figure out a way to hand knead the extra virgin olive oil in without making a mess. I used to make this recipe by adding all ingredients at once and it was still really good.

I’d put all the ingredients in a large bowl, then mix it with a wooden spoon until it’s mostly combined. Then dump it onto the counter and knead it by hand for 5-8 min until it makes a smooth ball.

I hope you love this crust as much as our family does! If you try it, let me know how it turns out!

Cold Fermented Pizza Dough

Cold fermented pizza dough may take a little more time, but it is well worth the effort for this full flavored, chewy, crispy, delicious crust!

5.0 Stars (148 Reviews)

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Ingredients

• 650 grams bread flour
• 10 grams yeast
• 10 grams salt
• 380 grams filtered water
• add oil
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Combine bread flour, yeast, salt, and filtered water in bowl and mix with dough hook attachment until combined.
Add olive oil and allow Kitchenaid to mix on 2 for 5-8 min.
Cover and refrigerate for 24-72 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and preheat oven to 550 degrees with pizza stone or pizza steel preheating as well. Preheat for 30 min to 1 hour.
Divide dough in half and on a piece of parchment, press from the center to create a flat center with a ring around the edge.
Top with sauce, cheese and toppings.
Using a pizza peel, slide pizza and parchment onto stone or steel and cook 7-9 min.
Remove from the oven and slide pizza onto wooden cutting board.

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I don’t like the idea of wasting what I have. My garden chives produce the most beautiful blossoms in the spring. While they bring beneficial pollinators to the garden, I love to look for ways to use these in the kitchen too. That’s where these recipes come in.

What are Flowering Chives?

In the spring, chives are one of the first things to flower in the garden. It brings bees buzzing and it also is one of the first harvests of the year!

Those flowering chives taste a bit similar to the stem portion we normally eat, but they do have their own distinct flavor. They also impart a beautiful pink hue!

Because they are so delicious, I’m always looking for flowering chives recipe ideas to utilize these beautiful edible blooms.

Prepping Flowering Chives

Step 1 – pick the chive blossoms

Once the blossoms are in full bloom, you’ll want to pick them. The photo above was taken a few days before I harvested the flowers. You can see the the blossoms aren’t fully open, so that was not the ideal time to take them.

I waited just a couple more days and then only took the ones that were fully open. The following week I harvested a few more that had opened up. I think I’ll even get one more good harvest before they’re gone!

These are super easy to pick. You don’t even need scissors! Just put your first finger and middle finger under the blossom. Squeeze a little and slide your fingers up toward the blossom. It just pops right off!

Step 2 – wash well

I always do a quick rinse with Trader Joe’s fruit wash in some water. Just utilize whatever you normally use when washing your fruits and veggies.

I swish them around in the TJ’s wash, rinse them, and then throw them in the salad spinner to get all the moisture out of them. Sometimes there are little ants and bugs in the blossoms, so do NOT skip the washing and rinsing portion!

Once they are rinsed and spun, you can get started on the recipes! The first one uses them chopped finely, but you’ll leave them whole for the other two!

Flowering Chives Recipes Ideas:

This is unbelievably incredible and SO easy! I do it the same way I make other flavored cream cheeses. It’s super simple and doesn’t need to be mixed with a mixer, especially if you use room temperature cream cheese.

How to Make Chive Blossom Cream Cheese

Chop the clean flowering chives

Use the above instructions to wash, rinse, and spin the blooms. Then finely dice about 1/4c. of them.

Soften cream cheese

Take 4oz (1/2 a bar) of cream cheese out of the fridge and let it soften until it’s room temperature. This isn’t totally mandatory, but it does make the mixing so much easier!

Mix

Using a fork, mix the softened cream cheese with the chive blossoms. You don’t have to be super delicate. Just work them in until they are evenly spread throughout. Isn’t it so beautiful and springy!?

Serve immediately or wait 24 hours

This is so fragrant that you can serve it immediately. But like chili, if you let it sit for 24 hours, the flavors meld together and make it taste even better!

Note: My ratio on this is 1/4c. to half a block of cream cheese. However, if you don’t have enough blossoms, you can always add some of the chives to it as well! Additionally, if you don’t like it that strong, you can always double the cream cheese for a slighter hint of chive.

How to store chive blossom cream cheese

You can store this in an airtight container or glass mason jar in the refrigerator. I used this adorable 4oz Ball Jar with an old fashioned lid I had gotten from an estate sale. Isn’t it so cute!?

In order to keep it fresh, go by the “use by” date on your block of cream cheese. That’s a pretty safe time frame to use.

How to use chive blossom cream cheese

My original plan for this chive blossom cream cheese was kind of boring. I wanted to use it on sourdough bagels in the morning. It would have been SO good! Unfortunately, 80 degree days and no air conditioning aren’t conducive to making bagels.

So I got hungry one afternoon and found some pretzel crisps and thought they would pair beautifully! Boy was I right!

I have a bit left, so I’m planning on using it as a spread on tortilla wraps with deli turkey and tons of fresh veggies!

This would also be perfect on a charcuterie board! It would be such a great addition because it’s something different, and it adds some really pretty color too.

I also love to add a scoop of cream cheese when I’m making pasta. I’ll sauté a bunch of veggies, add a little chicken stock and cream cheese and then toss the pasta in. This would be the perfect cream cheese to use for that dish!

How to Make Chive Blossom Infused Oil

This is a delicious flowering chives recipe that you can use in SO many things! It’s really easy to make and you’ll be so impressed with yourself!

Put cold olive oil in pan with a handful of chive blossoms

I used 1 cup of oil, and a handful of chive blossoms. I probably should have measured them, but honestly this is less of a recipe and more of a technique. This is the way I always infuse my oil with garlic, so I just followed the same process.

Heat the oil and flowers

Turn on the heat and let the oil get up to a simmer. Don’t let it boil. You just want a little simmer. It will tend to bubble around the edges of the flowers.

Turn off heat and let sit for 45 min

Once you have a good simmer going (it should look like the picture above), turn off the heat and set a timer for 45 minutes to give it time for the flowers to steep and flavor the oil.

Strain out flowers

After the oil has spent 45 min sitting off the heat, strain out the flowers and store in an airtight glass jar. I’m keeping mine in this low 8oz Mason Jar.

How to store chive blossom oil

You can just store this with your other oils on a shelf if you’d like. Alternately, you can also keep it in the fridge if you feel better doing that! It can store for a long time – many months!

How to use chive blossom oil

There are so many ways to use this!

Today, I sautéed veggies in it, and then added leftover grilled chicken, brown rice that I had meal prepped, and a little soy sauce for a 5 minute fried rice that was amazing!

I would totally use this as a dipping sauce for some crusty sourdough bread.

This would taste so good in a homemade vinaigrette – Find my vinaigrette recipe on this blog post.

I often use infused olive oil in place of red sauce on pizza. This oil would be killer! Just make sure you either put a sprinkle of salt on it, or use a salty cheese with it like asiago or parmesan. You want to make sure it has enough flavor.

Honestly, any way you would use regular olive oil, you can swap out for this and you’ll just have the most delicious hint of flowering chives.

How to Make Chive Blossom Vinegar

This flowering chives recipe is so yummy and so easy! If you like to make your own vinaigrette, this is a MUST!

Fill a mason jar with clean chive blossoms

Once your chive flowers are cleaned, rinsed, and spun, fill a mason jar with the blossoms. Don’t push them down to stuff more in. Just gently fill it up. I used an 8oz Jelly Jar, but you can make this in any size jar. Just make sure it’s all filled up with the blossoms.

This is such a great way to do it because if you only have a small handful, you can make a little jar, but if you’ve got a large harvest, you can use a large jar! It’s so versatile.

Cover chive flowers with vinegar

Pour regular white vinegar over the blossoms until they are covered.

Cover and put in dark cabinet

Put the lid on the jar and store in a dark cupboard.

After 1 week, strain

At around the one week mark, check on your vinegar. If it has taken on a rose glow, you’re done! If it doesn’t look pink yet, you can leave it for a few more days. Once it is pink, strain the flowers out and throw them away. Most of the color will have seeped out of them and into the vinegar.

How to store chive flower vinegar

Store it in an airtight glass jar wherever you keep your vinegar! I keep mine in a dark cabinet and it can stay there for many months!

How to use chive blossom vinegar

I almost always use this vinegar to make a delicious and subtle chive flavored vinaigrette. If you want my basic recipe for vinaigrette, it’s located in this post. It’s funny because I was using my chive blossom vinegar to make it that day too!

Another way that would be really good to use this would be as the vinegar/lemon juice portion of a marinade. Don’t you think it would make chicken or beef taste so yummy?

I hope you enjoyed these flowering chives recipe ideas! I’d love to hear what you think if you try them out!

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I love homemade burger buns. The hamburger buns from the shelf of the grocery store are light and airy. On the other hand, sourdough buns can sometimes be a little dense. So, I set out to develop a recipe that was soft and fluffy and reminiscent of store-bought burger buns. I think I succeeded!

Why use sourdough for burger buns?

I was talking to a friend this weekend and he told me that it wasn’t worth taking the time to make sourdough bread because it was just like regular bread. Are you kidding me?! They aren’t even close! And I’m not even talking about the taste.

Nutritionally, sourdough is head and shoulders above anything you could buy in the store because of the loooooong rise time. It’s even superior to what you can make at home with commercial yeast.

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Benefits of sourdough

1. Sourdough is more nutritionally dense

Sourdough has a super long fermentation process. Over that long rise time, it builds lactic acid. This lactic acid neutralizes the phytic acid that binds up nutrients usually found in yeasted breads that make them unavailable to our bodies.

Once the phytic acid is broken down, our bodies can absorb the calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron that are found in wheat. That breakdown of the phytates make it so much more nutritionally dense for us.

2. Sourdough is easier to digest for people with gluten sensitivities

The long fermentation process not only creates lactic acid, but it also breaks down the gluten in the wheat. That gluten breakdown makes it more easy to digest for people who are sensitive to gluten.

This does NOT mean that someone with Celiac can eat sourdough bread. Instead, it means that for people with gluten sensitivities, like my husband, it’s easier to digest.

Because of that , it may not cause the digestive issues that are common with products containing gluten. For my husband, any of the sourdough things I make do not bother him like regular bread or buns or pancakes or pizza or waffles would.

3. Sourdough has a lower glycemic index

Sourdough has a lower glycemic index than regular bread. This number tells us how quickly the body breaks down a carbohydrate. The quicker the carbs are broken down, the faster the blood sugar rises.

A lower glycemic index means our bodies don’t create as much of a spike in blood sugar, which is beneficial to our bodies. People that have blood sugar issues, like diabetes, may find true sourdough products helpful for them to control their blood sugar.

4. Sourdough is great for gut health

Sourdough is a fermented food, which means that it has prebiotic bacteria in it. Those prebiotics feed the good bacteria that are beneficial for your gut health. In generations past, fermented foods were eaten all the time. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t place an importance on that.

For optimum health, eat as much sourdough, yogurt, kombucha, fresh sauerkraut, and other fermented foods as possible. This will keep all that gut bacteria thriving!

How to Make Sourdough Burger Buns

Just like any true sourdough bread, you’ll need to think ahead before making these. I typically use one of two schedules for sourdough:

Option 1: Start the day before

Feed the sourdough starter at lunchtime or mid afternoon the day before you want to eat burgers. Give it 6-8 hours to double in size. 2 hours before you go go bed, mix up the dough.

Give it a stretch and fold every 30 minutes (for a total of 4 sets). Let it rise all night long, covered. In the morning, shape the sourdough burger buns, let them rise about 2 hours, covered. Bake them as instructed.

Option 2: Start 2 days before

Two days before you want to eat burgers, feed the sourdough before bed. The next morning, mix the dough, give it 4 sets of stretch and folds over a 2 hour period. Let it rise all day long, covered.

Before bed, shape sourdough burger buns, cover and put in refrigerator. The next day, pull them out of the fridge, uncover, and put directly into a preheated oven and bake as instructed.

Mixing the Dough

I mix this dough the same way I do for any other sourdough bread I use. I love to throw all the items in my Kitchenaid and set the dough hook to bring it all together for about 5 min.

Alternately, you can mix it up with a wooden spoon and just work all the dry flour in with your hands until it’s all incorporated. Either way works great.

Stretch and Folds

The next step in the process is pretty common in any sourdough recipe. You’ll need to build structure in the bread, since you won’t be kneading it. This is done by stretching and folding the dough every 30 minutes for about 2 hours. I will link a quick video here to show you how that is done.

Rising the Dough

After the 2 hour initial rise, you’ll cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 8-12 hours. It’s impossible to say exactly how long to rise the dough. Unfortunately, sourdough is sort of an art. The temperature of your kitchen will greatly affect the rising time.

I find that if I make the dough in the morning, it’s ready to throw in the fridge by evening. Or, if I start it the night before, it’s perfectly risen when I wake up in the morning. Just make sure the dough looks big and bubbly before you shape the burger buns.

Shaping the Dough

This part is super easy. Cut the dough in half, then in half again. This will make 4 parts. Then, I divide those 4 parts into thirds.

Roll each 1/12 of the dough into balls and put them on a parchment or silpat lined tray to get their second rise. Here is a quick video to show you how to do that.

2nd rise

For this second rise, you’ll want to cover the dough balls with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. At this time, you can throw them into the refrigerator to rise slowly over the next 12-24 hours. Alternately, you can let them rise for about 1-2 hours before baking them.

Topping the Dough

Once they have gotten a bit puffy, you can top them. (see the difference between the ones in the picture above and the ones in the picture below?)

These sourdough burger buns are perfect plain, or look and taste great with a sprinkle on top. I like mine pretty golden brown, so I brush them with buttermilk to give that toasty look on top.

At that point, you can leave them this way. Or, you can give them a sprinkle of sesame seeds or poppy seeds or freshly ground pepper or flaked sea salt or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning like I did!

Baking the Sourdough Burger Buns

These bake up so fast! I put them in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes and they were perfect.

Take them off the tray and cool them on a cooling rack for just a little bit. I couldn’t wait and bit into one while it was still warm and I was hooked!! Honestly, I’d use these as a regular dinner roll in a heartbeat because they were that good!!

I’d love to hear how you use these delicious sourdough burger buns!

Light and Airy Sourdough Burger Buns

These sourdough burger buns are NOT dense — they are light, and airy, and delicious! These burger buns can also double as rolls for a side dish!

The Dough

• 200 g Sourdough Starter (fed and bubbly)
• 150 g Filtered Water
• 450 g Unbleached flour
• 6 g Himalayan Sea Salt
• 70 g Vegetable oil
• 60 g Sugar
• 1 Large Egg

The Toppings

• 2 Tablespoons Buttermilk
• Sprinkle Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Just like any true sourdough bread, you’ll need to think ahead before making these. I typically use one of two schedules for sourdough:

1. Option 1 – Start the day before: Feed the sourdough starter at lunchtime or mid afternoon the day before you want to eat burgers.

   Give it 6-8 hours to double in size. 2 hours before you go go bed, mix up the dough. Give it a stretch and fold every 30 minutes (for a total of 4 sets).

   Let it rise all night long, covered. In the morning, shape the sourdough burger buns, let them rise about 2 hours, covered. Bake them as instructed.

2. Option 2 – Start 2 days before: Two days before you want to eat burgers, feed the sourdough before bed. The next morning, mix the dough, give it 4 sets of stretch and folds over a 2 hour period.

   Let it rise all day long, covered. Before bed, shape sourdough burger buns, cover and put in refrigerator.

   The next day, pull them out of the fridge, uncover, and put directly into a preheated oven and bake as instructed.

Mixing the Dough

1. I mix this dough the same way I do for any other sourdough bread I use. I love to throw all the items in my Kitchenaid and set the dough hook to bring it all together for about 5 min.

   Alternately, you can mix it up with a wooden spoon and just work all the dry flour in with your hands until it’s all incorporated. Either way works great.

Stretch and Folds

1. The next step in the process is pretty common in any sourdough recipe. You’ll need to build structure in the bread, since you won’t be kneading it. This is done by stretching and folding the dough every 30 minutes for about 2 hours.

Rising the Dough

1. After the 2 hour initial rise, you’ll cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 8-12 hours.

   It’s impossible to say exactly how long to rise the dough. Unfortunately, sourdough is sort of an art. The temperature of your kitchen will greatly affect the rising time.

   I find that if I make the dough in the morning, it’s ready to throw in the fridge by evening. Or, if I start it the night before, it’s perfectly risen when I wake up in the morning. Just make sure the dough looks big and bubbly before you shape the burger buns.

Shaping the Dough

1. This part is super easy. Cut the dough in half, then in half again. This will make 4 parts. Then, I divide those 4 parts into thirds.Roll each 1/12 of the dough into balls and put them on a parchment or silpat lined tray to get their second rise.

2nd rise

1. For this second rise, you’ll want to cover the dough balls with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

   At this time, you can throw them into the refrigerator to rise slowly over the next 12-24 hours. Alternately, you can let them rise for about 1-2 hours before baking them, while you preheat the oven.

Topping the Dough

1. Once they have gotten a bit puffy, you can top them. Mine took 2 hours at about 68 degrees.

   These sourdough burger buns are perfect plain, or look and taste great with a sprinkle on top. I like mine pretty golden brown, so I brush them with buttermilk to give that toasty look on top.

   At that point, you can leave them this way. Or, you can give them a sprinkle of sesame seeds or poppy seeds or freshly ground pepper or flaked sea salt or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning like I did!

Baking the Sourdough Burger Buns

1. These bake up so fast! I put them in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes and they were perfect.

2. Take them off the tray and cool them on a cooling rack for just a little bit. I couldn’t wait and bit into one while it was still warm and I was hooked!!

   Honestly, I’d use these as a regular dinner roll in a heartbeat because they were that good!!

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I love brown rice, but unfortunately, the long cooking time is a deterrent to having healthy meals on the table in a timely manner. Whether it’s in a pot or a pressure cooker, brown rice takes at least 45 minutes to make – minimum.

Years ago, my mother in law showed me some tricks she utilized to have items in the freezer, cooked and ready to use. Mostly, she cooked meat in advance and froze it in quart baggies, flat. This way they are quick and easy to grab out of the freezer for that evening’s meal. I loved that idea and adopted it in my own life to try to make meals faster.

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Did you know you could use the freezer for meal prepping rice?

One afternoon I was at a friend’s house and the Schwann man came by to drop off her order. He handed her a bag of frozen brown rice that was over $3.00. Seriously? I pay $3.00 for a huge bag of uncooked rice that would make WAY more than that little frozen bag. But it got my mind working. You could actually freeze rice?

The next time I made my rice, I made a double batch and let the remainder cool in the pot. I packed my trusty quart freezer baggies with the cooled brown rice, flattened them down, and threw it in the freezer. The next time I wanted brown rice, I grabbed my baggie out of the freezer in the morning and placed it on the counter to defrost throughout the day. It worked perfectly!

It’s such a great way to make a super fast meal like my Mongolian Veggie Stir Fry, burrito bowls or a quick fried rice. Having food like this prepped in advance makes it much easier to make the choice to eat at home because you know the meal will come together fast.

What is the best way to cook brown rice for meal prepping rice?

I use two different methods to cook rice. The first and most well known is on the stovetop in a regular pot. The second way, and probably my preferred method is to use a pressure cooker. I use either a 3qt or an 8 qt Instant Pot. The crazy thing is that it does not save a ton of time to use my Instant Pot. The reason I prefer the pressure cooker method is because once I set it, I can completely forget about it. No boiling over onto my stove. No remembering to come back and turn it on to simmer. It’s super easy. Here’s how.

How do I make brown rice on the stovetop:

Instead of using a 2 : 1 water to rice ratio, I always use 1.5 : 1. I feel like this gives me a rice that is less sticky and the grains are more separated. So that means that for every cup of rice I use, I put in 1 1/2 cups of water. This particular day, I used the following measurements:

4c. brown rice – this is my very favorite kind!!!

6c. filtered water

2t. salt

Bring to a boil. Put a lid on the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 30-45 min, or until all the water is gone and the rice is fluffy.

How do I make brown rice in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker?

A pressure cooker is unique in the fact that it maintains all the liquid you put into it. You don’t have any evaporation at all. Because of this, you need much less water in this method than in the stovetop version.

For the Instant Pot, I use a 1 : 1 ratio. For every cup of brown rice I put in the instant pot, I use 1 cup of water. I add salt and give it a quick stir. (Recipe below)

I always cook mine for 22 min on high pressure and then quick release it. I cooked the same amount of rice using both methods at the same time. For the stovetop, I used my soup pot. I also used my 8qt Instant Pot, and it finished 6 minutes before the stovetop brown rice. So it did end up being a bit quicker overall.

How to use the freezer for meal prepping brown rice.

I usually plan a meal with rice in it so I can use it that night. Then, I pop the leftovers right into the fridge to cool. I’ve also often left them out on the counter to cool, but I know that’s looked down upon because it leaves the food in the danger zone for bacterial growth for a longer period of time, so I can’t recommend that. Putting it in the fridge until it has cooled is your best option.

Add it to quart freezer bags one it’s cooled. Make sure to squeeze out all the air – that is what makes things taste old and freezer burned! Flatten your bags and label them with the contents and the date. Then freeze them! Because the bags are flattened, they will stack nicely in the freezer and take up less space.

How to defrost the rice:

When it’s time to use it, just take it out the night before and put it in the refrigerator. I have also taken it out of the freezer in the morning and left it on the counter. Again, this might be less safe because it is not kept at a consistent temp, but it works well for me.

Another way I’ve done the defrost quickly is to pop the sealed bag of brown rice in a sink full of warm water. This defrosts it the quickest of all my methods. If you had a microwave, you could also use that as an alternative.

How to heat the defrosted rice:

I don’t have a microwave, but if you do, that’s the easiest way to do it! We put the rice into a skillet with a bit of water, cover it with a lid, and heat it on low to medium. This keeps the moisture inside and allows it to not dry out while you’re heating it up.

If you’re making something like fried rice, it makes it super easy because you can cook up the meat and veggies and then add the cold rice to the pan and heat it up all together.

Does this work for white rice too?

Absolutely! I choose brown rice because the hull on the exterior of the rice makes your body work harder to break it down. This takes a lot longer and so it doesn’t raise your blood sugar as quickly as its white rice counterpart. Additionally, there are lots of nutrients in that brown rice exterior, so it makes the rice more nutritious. However, if you are using white rice, it works the same way for meal prepping rice!

What is your favorite kind of brown rice?

I have a definite favorite type of brown rice! Costco has a 12 lb bag of Lundberg short grain brown rice and it is usually under $15. I like it because it’s short grain so the pieces are short and fluffy and cook up really well and are never sticky! It also freezes well and reheats beautifully.

How to Cook Brown Rice in an Instant Pot

Meal prepping rice is one of the easiest ways to make sure you’re eating nutritious meals by having things cooked and ready to eat!

Instant Pot Brown Rice

Yield: 12 cups cooked rice

Making brown rice in an Instant Pot is a game changer. It comes out fluffy and perfect every time! Plus, you never have to worry about it boiling over on your stove again!

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Ingredients

• 4 cups brown rice
• 4 cups filtered water
• 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

1. Combine rice, water, and salt and stir.

2. Make sure your Instant Pot has the ring inside the lid.

3. Put lid on the Instant Pot and set on Manual (or High Pressure) for 22 min.

4. Make sure the valve is set to Sealing.

5. When the time is up, release the steam and remove lid.

This makes enough for a meal, as well as having quite a bit left over to store in quart baggies in your freezer for future meals.

Notes

STOVETOP DIRECTIONS

Instead of using a 1 : 2 rice to water ratio as normally recommended, I always use 1 : 1.5 I feel like this gives me a rice that is less sticky and the grains are more separated. So that means that for every cup of rice I use, I put in 1 1/2 cups of water. This particular day, I used the following measurements:

4c. brown rice – this is my very favorite kind!!!

6c. filtered water

2t. salt

Bring to a boil. Put a lid on the pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 30-45 min, or until all the water is gone and the rice is fluffy.

So that’s it! What types of things do you meal prep to make your life easier?!

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The post How to Eat Healthy on a Budget by Meal Prepping Rice appeared first on Little Reasons.

It’s quick, easy, healthier than store bought, and I always have the ingredients on hand!

Why make Mexican seasoning from scratch?

When I first saw a recipe for homemade taco seasoning in a natural mom group on Facebook, I was hesitant to try it. Our family was used to the kind in the packet and it was super quick and easy. The more I read packages and learned about what was in my food, the more I saw that those various Mexican seasoning packages didn’t JUST contain spices. They had anti caking agents and preservatives and sugar and even ingredients containing gluten. Weren’t these supposed to be spice blends?!

I didn’t just want to take care of my own family and help them eat better. I love to be hospitable and I find it very important to make sure the ingredients I use are friendly for my guests who have dietary restrictions like sugar, gluten and preservatives. After I made the switch, I found that I could serve it to almost anybody, and it was easy to make up a batch and have it on hand for whenever we needed it. And the great thing is that we loved the flavor!

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How to make Mexican seasoning:

Over the years, I’ve played with the original Mexican seasoning recipe. I’ve added chipotle powder, dried onions, and my favorite addition – glucomannan. This is the secret ingredient that makes it feel like a similar texture to the store bought variety. In the beginning, I didn’t like how the water and spices created a thin and watery consistency on the meat. It just didn’t feel the same to me, so this ingredient was a game changer!

What is glucomannan you ask? It’s a low carbohydrate thickener made from konjac root, that does not need to be heated in order to thicken. I often use it in place of cornstarch in a recipe. I also use it in my homemade dressings if I’m trying to cut back on the oil in them.

If you don’t have it, that’s ok! Alternately, you can just add a little sprinkle of cornstarch on your meat when you add the seasoning and water. That will give you a thicker consistency that you’re probably used to when using a store bought alternative.

I think that you’ll find this to be a super simple process once you get used to making up a batch when you’re running low!

Ingredients:

4 T. dried onion

4 T. chili powder

2 T. ground cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion powder

2 t. paprika

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 t. dried oregano

Pepper to taste – I use a few good grinds

1 T. + 1 t. salt

OPTIONAL:

1 t. chipotle powder (optional)

1 t. glucomannon (optional)

Instructions:

There’s really not much to this recipe! Just put all the ingredients into a mason jar, put the lid on it and shake! This will keep for months in your spice cabinet.

When you use it, add 4T. to each pound of meat, along with 1/2c. water. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it’s all incorporated and the water begins to evaporate. Want me to tell you a little secret? I NEVER measure this when I use it! I just dump a bit on top of the meat and add some water. It’s better to add a little less because you can always add more if you need to. However, if you add too much water, just let it cook a little longer until the moisture evaporates.

See? It’s SO simple!

I often get asked about my measuring spoons. Years ago, I purchased the regular set as well as the odd sized measuring spoons at Williams Sonoma, so the ones they sell now look a little different. The odd sized set is the one that has the 2 Tablespoon, 1 1/2 Tablespoon, and 2 teaspoon. I love them SO much, especially for this recipe. I often double it which makes it perfect to have a 2T and a 2t. on hand!

When you use this taco seasoning to mix up your burritos, tacos, or burrito bowls, don’t forget to add my homemade salsa. It’s unbelievable and adds so much authentic flavor to Mexican meals!

How to store Mexican seasoning:

Store this in the spice cabinet with the rest of the spices. I make sure it has a mason jar lid on it so it’s airtight. You can just as easily use any type of container that is airtight. It can be stored for months in the cabinet, just like you would store all the ingredients that make up the blend. But, I think you’ll find that you use it up before then!

Ways to use homemade Mexican seasoning:

Our family uses this taco seasoning in so many ways! The most obvious way would be to use it on ground beef, chicken, turkey or pork for tacos or burritos…of course we love that! However, there’s so many other things you can do with this versatile Mexican blend.

• Season homemade refried beans with a little of this blend to add a bit of spice.
• Use it in my delicious and simple black bean burger recipe.
• Add it to sour cream as a layer in a 7 layer taco dip.
• Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in an Instant Pot with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, a little water and a generous sprinkle of the taco seasoning. Set on high pressure for 15-20 min. After that is complete, allow it natural release for 10 min, then quick release. Shred the chicken and use for tacos, nachos, burrito bowls, or chicken burritos.
• Use it to season your chili. Just add a bunch of extra cumin to kick up the chili flavor.
• Rub it on a pork butt before you smoke it and use the smoked pork for burrito bowls, nachos, street tacos…the possibilities are endless!
• Season black beans with the spice blend for tacos, burrito bowls, or vegetarian nachos. Just put rinsed and drained canned black beans or frozen black beans in a pot. Add taco seasoning and water and cook down a little until the water begins to evaporate and the spices incorporate.

These are all ways we use this, but I’d love to hear some ways you find to use this amazing homemade taco seasoning! Let me know in the comments!

Quick & Easy Taco Seasoning

I've been making my own taco seasoning for years. It's quick, easy, and I always have the ingredients on hand!

• 4 T. dried onion
• 4 T. chili powder
• 2 T. ground cumin
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. onion powder
• 2 t. paprika
• 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 T. + 1 t. salt
• 1 T. Pepper (to taste – I use a few good grinds)

OPTIONAL

• 1 t. chipotle powder (optional)
• 1 t. glucomannon (optional)

1. There's really not much to this recipe! Just put all the ingredients into a mason jar, put the lid on it and shake! This will keep for months in your spice cabinet. 

2. When you use it, add 4T. to each pound of meat, along with 1/2c. water. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it's all incorporated. Can I tell you a little secret? I NEVER measure this when I use it! I just dump a bit on the meat and add some water. It's better to add a little less of the seasoning blend because you can always add more if you need to. However, if you add too much water, just let it cook a little longer until the moisture evaporates. 

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The post How to Make Mexican Seasoning From Scratch appeared first on Little Reasons.

I love a delicious vegan hamburger, but all the recipes I have tried end up being too time intense, or too dry or too crumbly or just don’t taste great. I decided to develop a black bean veggie burger that was gluten free, plant based, and tastes amazing! They store well, and can even be made in advance!

I often make most things from scratch, but this vegan hamburger can use a good amount of ingredients that don’t need a lot of work on your part, making them a super simple addition to your weeknight menu! I will show you both from scratch, as well as quick options so you can choose what works best for your family.

Any time I find a recipe that can be made in advance, it is a huge winner in my book! That’s why I love these. It’s a recipe that I can make ahead, and that stores well once they are complete. While I don’t mind cooking, I find that my schedule is hectic enough that cooking every single night just isn’t feasible for our busy family. I need to find options that are healthy, but that require 15 min or so to throw together. That’s where these veggie burgers really shine. They are so fast to cook once they are made in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer!

Another plus is that they are plant based, gluten free and vegan, but you’ll never taste the difference!

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Firsts Steps to vegan hamburgers

Taco Seasoning:

The first step I take when I make this vegan hamburger is to have homemade taco seasoning on hand. I make my own for so many reasons. First, it tastes amazing! We made the switch when my children were small, so they didn’t even notice the difference. They’ve grown up with it and love it!

Secondly, there are so many additives in the pre packaged kind that I find sometimes my guests can’t eat it. I always want to make sure I’m being sensitive to the people I have in my home, so making my own tends to negate that issue.

While some people think making it from scratch is more cost effective, I’ve never actually done the math to see. It might be, but I feel that even if it’s about equal, the benefits outweigh the fact that it costs a similar price.

Lastly, it’s so much easier to whip up a batch with things I have on hand rather than running out to the store to buy it when I’m out. Any time I’m making dinner and need it, I never have to wonder if I have it on hand, because I can quickly make it if I don’t.

I make a huge batch at once, and then I just keep it in a mason jar in my spice cupboard for when I need it. Get the recipe here.

Black Beans:

The second step to making my vegan hamburger is to make the black beans. This is absolutely NOT necessary! You can easily buy canned black beans and I often do that because it’s simple and cost effective. However, I often will make my own, using my Instant Pot.

There are so many reasons to make them from scratch. First, it is cheaper. I know when you’re talking about a $1 for a can of beans, it’s not a huge difference. You won’t see your grocery bill plummet. But I find that little things add up and this is one way to save money overall.

Secondly, they have SO much less salt! Any canned items tend to be pretty high in sodium. By making them myself, I can add the amount of salt I want.

Lastly, cans aren’t great for the environment. I know recycling is huge and we do try to do that, but any time I can reduce or reuse, that’s my first choice. This is an easy way to do that!

Let’s get started on my vegan hamburger!

Gather all the ingredients:

2T. chia seeds, ground

6T. water

1 1/2 cups oatmeal, ground

2 small cans of black beans or 3 cups homemade

1 large green pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

2T. taco seasoning

I have made this recipe in a bowl with a potato masher, with a Vitamix, and also in my food processor. All of them work just fine! But you won’t need fancy kitchen gadgets to make it – just use what you have.

Prepare the chia egg:

The first thing I do is to grind the chia seeds and mix with 6T water. I let this sit about 5 min while I begin to work on the rest of it. That gives it time to gel up and make the consistency of an egg. I love to make things plant based whenever I can, so this is an easy way of replacing the egg you would find in a typical veggie burger. It’s something I always have on hand, plus it makes it a bit healthier!

Grind the Oatmeal:

The next thing I do is to grind the oats. I start with 1 1/2cups of old fashioned oats and then grind them in my Vitamix for about a minute until they resemble flour. You can just grind them in a blender or a food processor if you don’t have a Vitamix. I’ve actually added them whole in a pinch, and they were still fine!

I decided to use ground oats in this recipe instead of the flour you would fined in a typical veggie burger recipe. They’re so healthy for you and it’s a super easy swap to make these gluten free!

After you chop the veggies, you’re done with the hardest part! Once you’ve got all that done, these really come together so quickly!

3 methods of preparation:

Potato Masher:

This is the simplest method of all of them and has the least clean up, so it’s kind of a winner in my book! I throw the black beans into a bowl and use a potato masher to get most of them mashed up. After that, I add all the additional ingredients and mix it all up. See? Simple!

Food Processor:

I love using the food processor for this, but honestly it’s such a pain to clean! But if I have it out already because I’m making salsa or grating cheese, I’ll use it!

Usually I still prepare all the veggies and chop them up since I want to make sure I don’t end up with any hunks of onion that won’t cook down. So at this point I’d add the beans on bottom, then all the other ingredients and pulse until they are combined.

Vitamix:

Before I had a food processor I always used my Vitamix to make these. It makes it pretty quick and easy. I usually still prepare all the veggies and chop them up since I want to make sure I don’t end up with any hunks of onion that won’t cook down.

Add the onions and green pepper first, beans next. Use the stick to push it all down as it processes. I like to keep some of the beans whole, so I mostly get the bottom part chopped up and then put it into a separate bowl. At this point I add all the additional ingredients and mix it all up.

Shaping the vegan hamburger:

Now it’s time to shape the vegan hamburger. I like to make mine thick, so this recipe tends to make about 7-8 fat ones that fill up a bun. Once they are shaped into burgers, you can throw them in the fridge or freezer with parchment paper between them to keep from sticking. The cooking portion remains the same no matter if you cook them right away, refrigerate them, or freeze them.

Cooking the Vegan Hamburger:

Cooking on a cast iron pan:

My preferred method is to cook these on a cast iron pan. I was gifted this cast iron pan and I’m obsessed with it! I use it for everything! In this case, I take the top off and use it like a skillet. I find that with my family of 5, I can cook more at once, so it’s more time efficient than using a small circular cast iron pan.

Preheat your cast iron pan until it’s pretty hot, then turn down the heat to medium low. Drizzle with olive oil or canola oil and put the burgers on to cook. Salt to taste before you flip them. Cook for a few minutes, and when the underside is golden, flip it for a few more minutes until cooked through.

You want to make sure you keep the heat relatively low, because they tend to crisp up on the outside, even if they aren’t fully cooked in the middle. I don’t love raw onions in this, so I take it a little slower.

Cooking the vegan hamburger in an air fryer:

While I love the taste of them cooked in olive oil on a pan, I do find that the hands off approach of the air fryer is SO easy. They turn out a little more dry, but they cook while you are doing something else, which is a huge benefit!

When I cook them in the air fryer, I rub them with a little olive oil and salt them. Then I pop them into the basket and cook for 15 min on 400 degrees, flipping halfway.

That’s it! I told you these are simple! The great thing is that if you keep beans on hand, either in the freezer or in cans, and you have an onion and a green pepper, these just use pantry staples and are a breeze to whip up.

Food Prepping ideas:

I always try to think ahead when I’m cooking so the next meal will be easier. For these black bean veggie burgers, there are a few things you can do ahead of time to make the meal come together faster.

Make a large batch of taco seasoning to keep on hand.

Make a large batch of black beans and freeze. When you’re ready to make these, just pull them out of the freezer the night before or the morning of.

Chop the green pepper and onion while you’re cooking another meal earlier in the week. Store in the fridge until it’s ready to use.

Make the black bean burger mixture while you’re cooking another meal and store in the fridge for a day or two until you’re ready to make them.

Make the black bean burger mixture, shape into patties, and freeze with parchment paper between layers. When you’re ready to cook them, cook as directed, adding a little extra time for them to defrost as they cook.

How to serve a vegan hamburger:

My favorite way of eating these is to put a couple on a plate with homemade salsa, fresh avocado, or homemade guacamole, and that’s it! You can add some veggies your plate or a salad and it’s a super simple lunch or dinner in a hurry.

I also LOVE them as pictured here. I chop up all the veggies I can find to make a colorful, healthy salad. Then I top it with a black bean burger, homemade salsa, and homemade guacamole. It’s amazing! My kids always add sour cream too. It’s like a taco salad but even healthier!

I’ve also recently learned that I love them on a bun or a lettuce bun, eaten like a burger. I butter my bun and toast it up, then I add mayo, lettuce, purple onion, tomato and a thick, delicious black bean veggie burger. It’s so good! My kids even put barbeque sauce on them!

I hope you’re able to try these out and fall in love with them like we have!

Vegan Hamburger (black bean burger)

These vegan hamburgers are delicious on a bun or on top of a salad!

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Ingredients

• 2 T. chia seeds (ground)
• 6 T. water
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal (ground)
• 2 small cans of black beans or 3 cups homemade
• 1 large green pepper (finely diced)
• 1 small onion (finely diced)
• 2 T. taco seasoning

Instructions

Make Chia Egg

Combine 2T ground chia and 6T water. Mix with fork until well combined. Let sit while you work on the rest.

Grind Oats

Grind 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats in blender, food processor or Vitamix for about 1 minute until it resembles flour.

Mash Black Beans

If using canned black beans, rinse and drain black beans and put in bowl. If using frozen, just place defrosted black beans in bowl. Mash with a potato masher until about 3/4 of the way mashed. I like to keep a few whole ones in there.

Combine

Combine finely diced onion and green pepper, mashed black beans, ground oats, chia egg, and seasoning. Mix well

Shape and Cook

Shape into 7-8 large black bean veggie burgers.

Cast iron: Heat cast iron pan until hot. Lower heat to medium low and drizzle olive oil on the pan. Cook a few minutes on the first side. When underside is golden, salt to taste and flip burger. Cook another few minutes until golden on the final side

Air fryer: Rub veggie burgers with oil and salt to taste. Place in air fryer and bake at 400 degrees for 15 min, flipping halfway through.

Serve

Serve as a burger on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo.

Serve as a taco salad by topping salad with burger, salsa and guacamole.

Serve on a plate topped with fresh avocado and salsa.

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So many people serve their kids green food on St. Patrick’s Day.  I love to do it too, but I’m not a fan of unnatural food coloring.  My kids requested green mac and cheese today, and I was happy to oblige.    When they were babies, I used the Annabel Karmel books to make purees and toddler foods.  We’ve adapted this recipe and used over and over throughout the years.  It’s still a favorite and made a perfect healthy addition to St. Patrick’s Day.  Maybe you can serve it to your family tonight!

Start the water for macaroni.  Meanwhile in a separate pan, make a roux with equal parts butter and flour, whisk it and let it cook for a couple minutes.

Add the milk a little at a time and let it come to a boil until it is thickened.

Add the swiss cheese and let it melt.  I have to say that I was originally a little hesitant to use swiss like she recommended, but it’s so mild that everyone is a fan.

Pour the cheese sauce over the package of spinach in a blender and blend until smooth.  Be careful because this is hot!

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  I like to use whole wheat.

The last couple minutes it’s cooking, add in the corn.  Or, if you’re like me and use a pot that is way too small as always, you’ll have to cook the corn separately!  Drain both.

And that’s it.  Mix the sauce and pasta/corn together.  Add salt to taste.  My kids each ate at least 2 bowls.  I think you’ll love it.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

[ultimate-recipe id=”2612″]

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