Black Bean Burger

Black Bean Burgers are nutritious, flavorful, and simple to make! Sandwich these amazing black bean patties with your favorite hamburger bun and load them high with veggie toppings and the best burger sauce around!

This Black Bean Burger Recipe is easy to whip together, stores well, makes for great meal prep and can be frozen and reheated. I’m also sharing my absolute favorite burger sauce that pairs perfectly with the patties. Load your burger with all your favorite veggie additions and you’ll be craving these all year long!

Try some of our other vegetarian burgers next like this Veggie Burger or Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger.

Black Bean Burgers

While I’m not a vegetarian by any stretch of the word, (I blame this crockpot roast, crockpot chili, and shepherd’s pie…) I am obsessed with veggies. I love taking regular meals and packing them with veggies or trying to replace at least some animal proteins with veggies or plant-based proteins. So I thought it was about time I created a powerful but meat-free Black Bean Burger.

And as good as regular burgers are, you can’t beat the feeling of knowing you’re eating a burger that’s packed with good ingredients and great fuel for your body. A TASTY AND NUTRITIOUS burger? Yes, please! We’re reviving lunchtime with these burgers and I hope you get a chance to try them!

Black bean burgers are incredibly nutritious and packed with good ingredients. They can be frozen and reheated. They can be enjoyed in a myriad of ways and with plenty of topping variations. And today we’re going to talk about all of those things. But let’s start with ingredients.

What’s in a Black Bean Burger?

• Veggies: onion, red pepper, mushrooms, and garlic are the veggies employed in this burger. Not only are we adding nutrition, but these veggies also add flavor! The mushrooms add a really nice meaty texture and flavor.
• Black beans: I mean, it is a Black Bean Burger–you have to include black beans!
• Flavor additions: a myriad of seasonings and ketchup really amp up the flavor.
• Binder: Last but not least, we make sure these burgers won’t be falling apart by adding in an egg.

QUICK TIP

If you’d rather use homemade black beans, keep in mind that a can holds 15 ounces, which is about 1-1/2 cups.

How do you make black bean burgers stick together? 

As mentioned above, we use an egg to bind these burgers together. The ketchup also helps hold everything together. It’s important to compress the patties pressing the ingredients firmly together. And, popping the patties in the freezer helps the patties firm up and ingredients to stick together.

Now that we’ve discussed ingredients, let’s talk about health benefits for a minute.

Are Black Bean Burgers good for you?

Yes! Black Bean Burgers are an incredibly nutritious and well-rounded alternative to your typical beef burger. Below are a few of the health benefits associated with some of the ingredients in this recipe.

• Black beans are an affordable option for plant-based protein and are a good source of fiber (7.5g per ½ cup serving) and protein (8g per ½ cup serving). Black beans are also a good source of magnesium (60mg per ½ cup serving), which is associated with improved blood pressure and protection for your bones!
• Mushrooms are low in calories but offer a lot of important nutrients. In fact, mushrooms are one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D (16 IU per 85g).

So, what exactly goes on a black bean burger? All of your favorite burger toppings! I do have a few recommendations (and variation ideas) below!

What toppings do you put on a black bean burger?

• Start with a bun: Hands down, brioche buns are my favorite for Black Bean Burgers. If you’re looking to reduce carbs, try them in a lettuce wrap or on a low-carb tortilla.
• Load up on veggies: If you like veggies on a beef burger, you’ll likely love them with a Black Bean Burger. My favorites: bread-and-butter pickles, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Other ideas: avocado or guacamole, bacon, jalapeño slices.
• Cheese please: My favorite on this burger is pepper jack cheese, but any cheese will work. You can even leave off cheese just fine (after-all, there is some already integrated into the patty!).
• Secret sauce: No Black Bean Burger is complete without the sauce (I’m obsessed). It’s basically a mash-up of all good burger sauce toppings: mayo, ketchup, pickle, onion, and paprika. While you don’t have to make this sauce, you’ll probably want some kind of sauce and this one is so quick to whip together. In fact, a lot of the ingredients overlap from the patties. Other saucy ideas: BBQ sauce, Sriracha, mayo, mustard, ketchup, seasoned butter, etc.

More amazing vegetarian meals

• Vegetarian Gyros with roasted chickpeas
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito Bowls with the best sauce!
• Healthy Tacos black bean and corn
• Bruschetta Pasta with fresh basil
• Pesto Couscous Bowls with roasted sweet potatoes

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Black Bean Burger

5 from 5 votes

- Review this recipe

Black Bean Burgers are nutritious, flavorful, and simple to make! Sandwich these amazing black bean patties with your favorite hamburger bun and load them high with veggie toppings and the best burger sauce around!

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Black Bean Burger

5 from 5 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Black Bean Burgers are nutritious, flavorful, and simple to make! Sandwich these amazing black bean patties with your favorite hamburger bun and load them high with veggie toppings and the best burger sauce around!

Course Dinner, Main Course, Sandwich, Vegetarian

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword black bean burger

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes

Chilling Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 11 minutes

Servings 9 -10 burgers

Calories 288kcal

Author Chelsea

Cost $10.21

Ingredients

Black Bean Burgers

• ▢ 1/2 cup dry-roasted cashews (or walnuts)
• ▢ 1/2 cup grated yellow or red onion (Note 1)
• ▢ 1/2 cup diced red pepper
• ▢ 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (Crimini or Baby Bella)
• ▢ 2 cans (15.25 oz. EACH) black beans, drained & rinsed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ▢ 2-1/2 teaspoons EACH: chili powder, cumin, paprika
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon each: garlic powder, fine sea salt, pepper
• ▢ 1/4 cup ketchup
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1-1/4 cups Panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1 cup grated cheese (Note 2)
• ▢ 3/4 cup cooked brown (or white) rice (Note 3)
• ▢ For serving: Burger buns (we love brioche best!), softened butter, green leaf lettuce, ripe (soft) avocado or guacamole, tomato, red onion (Note 4)
• ▢ For serving: BEST Burger Sauce (Note 5)

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• PREP: Grate an onion on the large holes of a cheese grater. Dice a bell pepper and mushrooms (the food processor will break down further, but helps if they're diced first).
  
• FOOD PROCESSOR: Add 1/2 cup cashews to a large (12-cup) food processor and pulse 10 times or until coarsely chopped (no smaller). Add in red onion, red pepper, mushrooms, black beans, 1 tbsp. garlic, 2-1/2 tsp each of chili powder, paprika, and cumin, 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pulse 5 times. Scrape down the sides, stirring ingredients, and pulse another 5 times. Scrape sides and pulse 5 more times. Ingredients should be well incorporated. Add in 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, and 1 egg. Pulse to combine, stirring in between, about 10 pulses. Add in 1-1/4 cup Panko, and 1 cup cheese. Pulse to combine, stirring in between about 10 more pulses. Finally, add cooked 3/4 cup rice. Pulse 3 times, scrape edges and stir and pulse 3 more times (we're only pulsing to incorporate the rice--we don't want to break it down or you'll get gummy burgers!). (Trouble-shooting: crumbly patties? Pulse longer. Overly wet? Add some more Panko!)
  
• FORM PATTIES: Pack a 1/2-cup measuring cup with the mixture and plop onto a parchment-paper or foil-lined sheet pan. Repeat to get 9-10 mounds of the mixture. (Divide any remaining mixture from food processor among the mounds to evenly disperse.) Lightly spritz your hands with cooking oil spray and then shape each mound into a patty by pressing it down on the sheet pan and shaping it with your hands. Each patty should be about 3/4-inch thick and about 4 inches wide (or slightly wider than the width of the buns). Place shaped patties in the freezer for 25-30 minutes or until firm enough to gently pick up off the tray with a metal spatula.
  
• COOK ON STOVETOP: Heat a drizzle of oil (about 2 tbsp) over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add 3 patties straight from the freezer to the pan and cook until browned, golden, and crispy about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip then cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes or until deeply golden. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Cook the next batch following the same method. Don't crowd the pan with too many burgers at a time.
  
• SAUCE: Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir until combined and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to personal preference.
• ASSEMBLE: Toast buns (Note 6). Place the bottom of the bun on a plate and add mayo or burger sauce. Layer with lettuce, veggie patty, avocado, tomato, and onion. Add mayo or burger sauce to the top bun. Sandwich together and enjoy promptly.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Onion: I like to grab 1 large onion and cut it in half; half for thinly slicing to top the burger with and the other 1/2 to grate for the patties. Grate 1/2 of the onion on the large holes of a cheese grater. Gently pack in measuring cup to get 1/2 cup.

Note 2: Cheese: We like Monterey Jack, Pepper-Jack, or Sharp Cheddar best. Grate on large holes of a cheese grater and loosely pack to get 1 cup.

Note 3: Rice: Any cooked and leftover grain will work. To keep things as easy as possible, I use this already cooked rice and microwave it for 1 minute. (One container is the perfect amount here!)

Note 4: Toppings: We love a good ripe avocado on these burgers. Can't find a ripe avocado? We love having these perfectly ripe avocado minis on hand. Grab the pack that lists "Hass avocados" only in the ingredients instead of getting the guacamole blends. If you'd like to add cheese to your burgers, add a slice of cheese as soon as you flip the patty. Cover the pan with a lid to help the cheese melt. Once the cheese is nicely melted, the patty should be cooked.

Note 5: BEST burger sauce: This sauce uses ingredients from the patties so it's easy to whip together! Combine: 1/2 cup good quality full-fat mayonnaise (109g), 2 tablespoons ketchup, (40g) 1 tablespoon finely grated onion (12g), 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish (15g), 1 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until combined and smooth.

Note 6: Toast the buns: This adds tons of flavor and keeps the buns from getting soggy too quickly. Spread softened butter generously on the insides of the bun. Place them (butter side facing down) on a large pan or grill over medium heat. Toast buns about 30 seconds to a minute or until golden brown. Remove from heat (subsequent batches will be quicker as the pan continues to get hotter!)

Nutrition facts are for the patty only; the bun and toppings will greatly vary.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.2g | Protein: 12.9g | Fat: 9.2g | Cholesterol: 31.7mg | Sodium: 581.8mg | Fiber: 7.4g | Sugar: 3.9g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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