I had a yearning for a spicy bean burger, so decided on a whim to give Mae’s Kitchen Spicy Bean Quarter Pounder Veggie Burgers a try.  I think it was that magnificent word “quarter pounder” that sucked me in – such a filling sounding wording!  I had high hopes.

The picture on the front of the box should’ve given me a clue really – they don’t look very “fat” or juicy at all.  I think fat and juicy veggie burgers were what I had in mind.  These cost £1.39 for a pack of four in the frozen section, which is 35p each.

The spicy bean quarter pounders cook from frozen in 24 minutes – with the box advising that oven cooking would take 22-24 minutes and cooking them under the grill would take 16-18 minutes.  I cooked my first one in a mini oven, using a combination of oven and grill cooking.  Firstly I turned on the top and bottom elements of the mini oven/grill and cooked them for 10 minutes, then I turned the spicy bean burger over and turned the top (grill) element off, cooking it for a further 10 minutes with just the oven setting on.  After 20 minutes in total, the mini oven turned off and I left the bean burger sitting in there to stay warm while I cooked its accompaniments.  I had run out of any bread or bread rolls, which would’ve been my preferred serving suggestion, but I did have some Jersey Royal potatoes, so I steamed those and served the burgers with new potatoes and beans – I’ll admit that’s an odd combination, but when you are shopping/cooking for one you often have to use what you’ve got and forgo “choice” as such 🙂

Spicy Bean Burger Ingredients:

The outside is green coloured – this is parsley mixed in with the breadcrumb coating.  Inside, Mae’s Garden Spicy Bean Burgers contain 22% beans, made up of kidney beans (60%) and haricot beans (40%).  There’s water, onion, potato flakes (8%), sunflower oil, sweetcorn (8%), tomato puree, carrot (7%), breadcrumbs, dried parsley, paprika, turmeric and green pepper (6%).  Looking through, the spicy taste comes from combining onion powder, cumin, chilli, black pepper, ground coriander, dried oregano and red chilli.

Spicy Burger Review:

Looking at the Aldi website most people seemed to love the taste of these – and, to be honest, the taste of the spicy bean filling wasn’t too bad.  It was spiced, more than spicy – so tasty rather than “hot”. But I thought that the size/shape, being wide and thin, took away some of the enjoyment of “biting into” a burger shape.

I felt that they didn’t brown enough (OK, I could’ve grilled them longer) … and the outer coating wasn’t “moist” – this is a product that would probably best be cooked by frying, or spraying with oil before cooking.

That said – the taste was fine – and they’re beans, two colours of beans, so that must count for something towards that 5/day (now 10/day) we’re supposed to aspire to.

I wouldn’t rush to buy another pack though, next time, given choice, I’d try another brand/shop and see how theirs compare – or make my own as it’s not difficult.  In short, I didn’t feel I got my money’s worth with these…. but I still have another three to eat, so that’s tough really.

Can You Microwave Spicy Bean Burgers?

You know, that was actually my original intention – I only cooked them in the oven/grill as I wasn’t in too much of a rush!

Next time I cook one, which will be in the next 2-3 weeks, I will microwave it and report back.  All it should lose would be any crispiness of the outer coating – and as that wasn’t anything to write home about it’s no great loss!

Spicy Bean Burger Served with Jersey Royal Potatoes and Baked Beans:

As you can see, the outer coating isn’t glistening and moist – and could’ve been browned more/longer.  Inside the contents are still a little chunky/whole and not simply a spicy paste that’s all mashed up.

Update:

This product was discontinued and is no longer available.

Update 2022:

The closest to this are the Plant Menu Spicy Bean Burgers – which I’ve tried and like! These are not quarter pounders though.

Costing £1.15 for 4x113g they are a handy affordable food item I often keep in the freezer.