These super easy black bean burgers taste amazing and are ready in about 20 minutes! Dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free, these bean burgers require no complicated steps, are perfect for making ahead and will please both the meat eaters and non-meat eaters in your life!
Here’s how to make our favorite black bean burgers
We have a lot of veggie recipes on the blog, but these black bean burgers might be my favorite. We’ve shared these veggie black bean burgers before, but they require more hands-on time than I’d like for a busy night. So I save these burgers when I have more time and keep this weeknight black bean burger recipe handy. These burgers are vegan and quick to make!
Recipe overview for black bean burgers
I love that these bean burgers only require a few simple ingredients. For example, you don’t need any eggs to prepare it, which means that all the ingredients you need usually come from the pantry and not from the fridge.
These burgers start with walnuts, old-fashioned rolled oats, and black beans—the beans can be cooked from the can or from scratch (here’s our recipe for cooking black beans). For gluten-free burgers, be sure to use gluten-free rolled oats.
We used the idea of adding walnuts from our favorite veggie burger recipe. Walnuts add a nice meatiness and texture to the veggie burger patties. Try cashews, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, blanched almonds, or pecans instead if you don’t like or eat walnuts. For burgers without nuts, leave them out.
For more flavor, we add spice and umami to the dish with garlic, scallions, spices, tamari (or soy sauce), red wine vinegar and some maple syrup. A dash of real maple syrup rounds off the burgers nicely. At first I was hesitant to add maple syrup, but after trying the burgers I was convinced.
Prepare the burgers
You can make these black bean burgers two ways: by hand in a bowl or in a food processor.
- By hand: The burgers are a little more rustic, but still hold together and taste great when they are hand-made. We chop the garlic and green onions, leave the oatmeal whole and mash the beans with a fork. As long as you mash the beans enough, the burgers will hold together pretty well.
- With a food processor: These burgers can be prepared quickly with a food processor. Compared to manual making, the consistency of the burgers is more consistent, which prevents them from falling apart while cooking or eating.
We use both methods in our kitchen. I prefer the texture of the burgers when I make them in a food processor (like in our video), but when I don’t feel like getting the machine out, I like to make these black bean burgers by hand.
For the firmest burgers that won’t fall apart, we recommend the food processor method. However, if you’re okay with a bean or two falling out from the rim, prepare them by hand.
Do I have to dry the beans?
In our veggie burger recipe, we tell you that for the best burger, let the beans dry in the oven for 15-20 minutes before tossing them in with the rest of the burger ingredients. While this is true when preparing this recipe, we don’t think this recipe requires this step.
I made the same burgers with beans that were first baked in the oven so they could dry. Unfortunately, after being dried, mixed and formed into patties, and then cooked, they were too dry. Because this recipe calls for very little liquid (often found in additional ingredients like barbecue sauce, ketchup, and eggs), we don’t have to worry about the beans drying out.
Another meatless recipe to try: We both love these vegan lentil, mushroom and onion meatballs. We love her!
Cooking black bean burgers
You can make these black bean burgers a number of ways. Here are our tips:
Cook them in a pan: This is my favorite method as frying the burgers in a pan with a little oil gives the patties a nice crispy surface. I like to keep the heat on medium-low and let the patties cook slowly. Once the first side is golden brown and slightly crispy, I flip it.
Bake them in the oven: Baking the burgers is perfect for preparing a larger batch. Drizzle the patties with olive oil, then bake on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until heated through and slightly crispy on the outside. I like to flip after 10 minutes so both sides get a little crispy.
Grill them: You can grill these black bean burgers! They should hold up well on clean racks, but to be honest I prefer to cook them in a grill-safe skillet, like a cast-iron skillet.
Extra Easy Black Bean Burgers
- PREPARATION
We love this black bean burger recipe. The burgers taste fantastic and are ready in minutes! These are dairy, egg and gluten free and will keep both the meat eaters and non-meat eaters in your life happy. You can prepare these by hand or with a food processor. Both methods work well, but use a food processor for a more even consistency.
Makes 2 large (7 ounces) or 4 small (3.5 ounces) burgers
Watch as we prepare the recipe
you will need
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed or use 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 medium garlic cloves
2 spring onions, ends trimmed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup (30 grams) walnuts
1/2 cup (50 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
1 tablespoon light soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon oil for cooking
directions
- Prepare the burgers in a food processor
- Alternate Method: Make the burgers by hand
- cooking burgers
Place the garlic in the bowl of the food processor and mince until finely minced.
Add the spring onions and chop until finely chopped. Scrape the sides, then add the rolled oats, walnuts, chili powder, smoked paprika, tamari, red wine vinegar, and maple syrup. Process to a fine texture that resembles breadcrumbs.
Measure out 1/2 cup of the black beans and set aside. Place the remaining black beans in the food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth – watch our video for reference.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and fold in the reserved 1/2 cup of beans.
Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes to allow the oatmeal to absorb excess moisture from the mixture.
Finely chop the garlic and spring onions, and then finely chop the walnuts.
At the bottom of a wide bowl, mash the black beans with a fork.
Stir in rolled oats, chopped walnuts, garlic, scallions, spices, tamari, vinegar and maple syrup. If the mixture doesn’t hold together, mash the beans even more.
Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes to allow the oatmeal to absorb excess moisture from the mixture.
When ready to make the burgers, divide the mixture into two equal portions for 7-ounce patties or four equal portions for 3.5-ounce patties.
Shape each portion into a round patty, shaping the mixture firmly and pressing to keep it from falling apart.
Heat a pan over medium-low heat, add oil and place the patties in a single layer. (We use about a tablespoon of oil to make four burgers).
Cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until heated through, firm and browned. If any pieces fall off the sides when flipping, press them back into the sides of the patty. Be careful when flipping the burgers so they stay together.
To cook the patties, drizzle or spray them with olive oil, then bake on a baking sheet in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes on each side (or until heated through). For an outdoor grill, we recommend using a cast-iron skillet or griddle over a low heat to cook the burgers.
Adam and Joanne’s tips
- Preparation: Store the black bean burger mix in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Or make patties, cook them and freeze them wrapped in foil for up to 3 months. To reheat frozen, cooked burgers, bake in a preheated 180F (180F) oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through. Or heat in a skillet over medium-low heat until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes on each side. We do not recommend heating the patties in the microwave (they will steam and become limp).
- Walnuts add a nice meatiness and texture to the burgers. They can be replaced with other nuts or sunflower seeds. You can also omit them.
- Add more umami with mushroom powder (1-2 tsp) – this can be bought online or made at home. Check out this spice recipe to see how we make it.
- The nutritional information below is an estimate. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it with the hashtag #inspiredtaste – we love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutritional value per serving: serving size 1 small burger patty (3.5 ounces) / calories 180 / total fat 5.1g / Saturated Fatty Acids 0.7g / cholesterol 0mg / sodium 243.8 mg / carbohydrate 25.3g / fiber 8g / total sugar 1.8g / protein 8.3g
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