Experiment with Black Bean Loaf

Beans, oatmeal, onions, ketchup… what’s not to like?

A look at my results (less two servings… plus seconds). (Photo by author.)

Michelle Teheux posts on Medium and Substack, as do so many of us nowadays. She did a story on Substack that caught my eye:

You Can Serve Dinner for a Dollar

I love meals with canned beans. I love spicy black bean burgers from the store (they aren’t trying to be a meat substitute, they are what they are, take ’em or leave ‘em). I really like meatloaf (as does Deb), but nowadays that’s a LOT of meat for us — we haven’t gone vegetarian, but we’ve cut back. So I thought why not?

Oh, I should mention that I follow recipes. Kinda. Really “more the spirit than the letter” sort of thing. And no, I don’t take notes, and I will grab leftovers out of the pantry and fridge if I think they won’t ruin the meal.

So Michelle’s recipe called for:

2 cans black beans
½ cup oatmeal
1 sweet potato, cooked
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water OR two eggs
Seasoning as desired — I usually use a taco blend
Optional about ¼ cup ketchup mixed with 1…