Black Bean Burger

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Black Bean Burgers are nutritious and tasty, easy to make. Serve these delicious patties on your preferred burger buns with veggie toppins and a great sauce!

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

Plate with a black bean burger.

Why We’re OBSESSED With Black Bean Burgers

  1. Nutritious: High in plant-based protein and fiber, these Black Bean Burgers are a great alternative to traditional meat burgers.
  2. Tasty and Customizable: Rich in flavor, they can be easily tailored with various toppings and sauces to suit different tastes.
  3. Eco-Friendly: Choosing these burgers supports environmental sustainability, as plant-based diets have a lower carbon footprint than meat-based diets.

Cashews, black beans, onion, mushroom, pepper, garlic, and seasonings being added to a food processor.

Ingredients

  • 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.

Ketchup, egg, Worcestershire, Panko, and cheese being added to the food processor.

How To Make Black Bean Burgers

  1. Preparation: Grate onion, dice bell pepper and mushrooms.
  2. Food Processor: Pulse cashews, add onion, pepper, mushrooms, black beans, garlic, seasonings, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Mix in Panko, cheese, and rice.
  3. Form Patties: Shape mixture into patties and freeze for 25-30 minutes.
  4. Cook: Fry patties in oil over medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side.
  5. Assemble: Serve on toasted buns with sauce, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and onion.
Brown rice being added and then the patties being rolled out and shaped.

Serving Suggestions For Black Bean Burgers

  • Bun Choices: Opt for brioche buns, or for a low-carb option, use lettuce wraps or low-carb tortillas in these black bean burgers.
  • Veggie Toppings: Add favorites like pickles, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Consider avocado, bacon, or jalapeño slices for variety.
  • Cheese: Pepper jack cheese is great, but any cheese works. You can also skip it, as the patty already contains cheese.
  • Sauce: The special burger sauce is a blend of mayo, ketchup, pickle, onion, and paprika. Alternatively, try BBQ sauce, Sriracha, mayo, mustard, ketchup, or seasoned butter.
  • Serve alongside: ColeslawPotato WedgesCorn SaladPotato SaladBaked Beans, or Pasta Salad.

Black Bean Burger being flipped and cooked through.

STORAGE

Storage: Freezing and Reheating

  • Freeze: Place cooked/cooled or uncooked patties with parchment paper between them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Thaw uncooked patties: Thaw black bean burgers patties in the fridge overnight and cook as per recipe, or cook directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes extra per side.

Black bean burger on a plate.

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Black Bean Burger

5 from 5 votes
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!
Black bean burger on a plate.
Print Recipe

Black Bean Burger

Black bean burger on a plate.
5 from 5 votes
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
Chelsea Lords
Calories 288kcal
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)

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).
    Cashews, black beans, onion, mushroom, pepper, garlic, and seasonings being added to a food processor.
  • 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!)
    Ketchup, egg, Worcestershire, Panko, and cheese being added to the food processor for these Black Bean Burgers.
  • 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.
    Brown rice being added and then the patties being rolled out and shaped.
  • 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.
    Black Bean Burger being flipped and cooked through.
  • 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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Recipe Rating




11 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    love that this is made from scratch since I’ve never really trusted or even liked other vegetable burgers, but I trust the ingredients here so much better, thank you

  2. 5 stars
    This look so pretty! I mean how on earth did you get is so perfect! Way to go you! I have to try this. YUM!

  3. 5 stars
    I made these burgers today and they were amazing! As we quarantine and change our way of living, it includes the way we eat. Thank you for this Healthy alternative! I’m not a mushroom person at all, and I started to leave them out. However, I wanted to try the recipe exactly to the T. I was not disappointed, at all! The sauce is the cherry on top! Another great one Chelsea! Thank you!????

    1. I hope you love them! Honestly the nuts are pretty important to structure (and flavor); I’m not sure what to replace with (I haven’t tested it without them), but maybe more Panko?

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