I'm just going to say it...these vegan black bean burgers are the business. I've eaten and cooked a serious amount of veggie burgers, but this one is the Boss!
If you are looking for an easy vegan burger that even your meat-loving friends will love, you've found it. Start now and we can get dinner on the table in 25-minutes. Try these burgers with my vegan coleslaw perched on vegan brioche buns. Drool.
This recipe was first published on 6 February 2020 and republished on 11 December 2023 with additional how-to images, a revised recipe and tips.
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Why This Recipe Works
Reader Review. These were delicious! Wonderful flavor, easy to make using canned beans and lentils, and the whole family loved them. We will be making them again and again. Thank you, Amanda 😀 !! (Tanya) ★★★★★
Let me list all the reasons to love these burgers.
If you feel like a veggie-style vegan burger, you could try my Crispy Quinoa Cauliflower Burger recipe, my Vegan Portobello Mushroom Burger with Wasabi Sprouts or my Vegan Kimchi Crispy Mushroom Burgers.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Black beans. This is a black bean burger so it makes sense to use black beans, right? Use well-drained canned beans or cooked dry beans (don't go breaking your teeth on raw beans).
Brown lentils. Meaty and packed with protein and fibre, you could also use red kidney beans.
Psyllium husk. Used to bind the burger together, psyllium husk also works with a little chickpea flour to create a toothy bite. Combing these two ingredients - even in the small amounts we are using here - makes the burger texturally more meaty.
Chickpea flour. See psyllium husk.
Bread crumbs. You can use white or whole wheat breadcrumbs or use a gluten-free variety if needed
Oats. Rolled oats add texture and help to bind the burger. Don't substitute for quick oats. No-one wants a mushy burger.
BBQ sauce. Use your favourite brand. I love Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar Barbecue sauce. (not a sponsored post).
Spices. The spices are everything. Add more chilli or garlic to suit your tastebuds but whatever you do, don't skip the spices.
Step-by-Step Guide
You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1. Roast the mushrooms for 10-12 minutes.
Step 2. Next, smash the black beans in a bowl just a little.
Step 3. Then, add half the oats to the processor and pulse in to a meal (like almond meal).
Step 4. Next pulse in the mushrooms and onions and add the remaining ingredients to the processor in the order listed in the recipe card below.
The order the ingredients are added is the trick to these burgers. I've tried throwing them in willy-nilly and while the flavour was the same, the texture was off.
After pulsing for a quick minute the mixture will be slightly wet but still have texture (see image below).
Step 5: Now you can go ahead and make them in to palm-sized patties and grill them up straight away or pop them in the fridge to firm up some more. Either works. Grill them on the BBQ or simply in a skillet.
Full-bodied, juicy and so freaking satisfying, these vegan black bean burgers really are the Boss.
Pro Tips to Making Epic Vegan Burgers
FAQs
Yes! The uncooked patties (before grilling) freeze really well. Simply make the patties and line a freezer proof container with baking paper. Place a layer of the uncooked patties on the paper and place another sheet of paper on top. Lay another layer of patties gently down and repeat until you've used all your patties.
Seal the container and write the name of the recipe and the date made on a label and attach. Pop the burgers in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove the patties from the freezer and either leave them on the counter for a few hours or thaw them in the fridge for around 24 hours. Grill when thawed.
You can. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs, switch the soy sauce to tamari and swap the oats to either gluten-free rolled oats or rolled rice flakes.
Keep cooked or uncooked burgers refrigerated in a sealed container and enjoy them over the next 3-4 days.
More Burgers and Sides
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Make This Recipe
Vegan Black Bean Burgers
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
The Spices
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper or more to taste
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
For the Burger
- 2-3 Portobello mushrooms 160 grams
- 170 grams black beans 1 x 420 (15 oz) can, drained
- 1 cup rolled oats divided in to 2 x ½ cups
- ½ red onion peeled and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- 1 tablespoon chickpea flour
- ¼-⅓ cup breadcrumbs panko or plain
- 1 cup cooked lentils drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (356 F) and line an oven tray.
- Place the Portobello mushrooms, whole, on the lined tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Pop in the oven to roast for around 12 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, combine the spice mixture in a small bowl.
- Remove the roasted mushrooms from the oven to cool.
- Add the drained black beans to a large bowl and mash them with a fork to break some of the beans up. This should only take about 10 to 15 seconds. Don't go overboard.
- Next, place a ½ cup of the rolled oats in to a food processor and pulse for around 10 seconds or until the oats resemble a rough meal.
- Roughly chop the cooked mushrooms and add them to the processor. Add the red onion and pulse again two or three times.
- Add the remaining whole oats, the nutritional yeast, the spice mix, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, psyllium husk, chickpea flour, ¼ cup breadcrumbs (add up to ⅓ cup to help bind the burger), cooked lentils and mashed black beans.
- Pulse together until the mixture comes together - you may need to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides and stir the mixture a little. When ready, the mixture will be wet but firm enough to bring together in to a pattie.
- Remove the blade from the processor and line a large tray with greaseproof paper. Take a portion of the burger mixture, enough to fit in to the white of your palm, and shape it in to a patty. Place the finished patty on the lined tray and continue with the remaining mixture. I rinse my hands every so often - the mixture is a little wet and rinsing your hands just makes the process easier.
- The patties are fine to go on the pan now or you can cover them and pop them in the fridge to further firm up.
- To cook the burgers, heat a glug (around 1 tablespoon) of olive oil on a skillet or frypan over medium heat. When hot add 3 or 4 of the burgers to the pan depending on your pan size.
- Cook the burgers on one side for 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is seared well before flipping it over to cook on the other side. Press the burgers gently with a spatula to flatten a little. Turn down the heat to low-medium and cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining burgers.
- Serve on a burger bun with your favourite condiments. I love mustard, fresh lettuce, BBQ sauce and onion.
- The burgers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge in a sealed container or freeze for up to 2 months. If you are stacking the burgers to store, place a sheet of grease-proof paper between each layer so the burgers don't stick together.
Notes
- Add the ingredients to the processor in the order listed to ensure a well texture burger.
- Don't over process vegan burgers - they end up all soft and just...blah. Pulse or chop ingredients just enough that the patty comes together but keeping some texture.
- Taste! The cool thing about vegan burgers is that you can taste the mixture raw without making yourself sick - can't do that will cow mince! Taste to check your flavour balance and seasoning
- Pop your patties in the fridge on a tray for at least 30-minutes to firm up. This will make grilling them easier.
- Lightly brush your vegan burger with a little oil before grilling.Only flip your burgers once or twice or else they may fall apart.
Tanya says
Quick question…
We made these last week…SOOOO GOOOOD , thank you❣️As I was reviewing the recipe to make them again this week, I noticed you mention the breadcrumbs in the blog, but they are not in the ingredients or the instructions below the recipe. I don’t remember using them last week, lol! I just used the gf oats (divided, as you have the recipe written). Are we supposed to use breadcrumbs somewhere? And if so, a panko style (I have to eat gf) or some other type? Thanks Amanda
Amanda says
Tanya, you're fantastic. I had to re-write out this recipe when I changed recipe formats and I must have missed the breadcrumbs! Thank you for spotting it. I have added them in now. Having said that, if you didn't need them - great! They help to bind the burger and give it a little extra texture. 🙂
Tanya says
lol! Thanks Amanda! They held together but had to be handled carefully, so maybe I can add in the breadcrumbs and get something a little sturdier (esp if they were going to be put on a grill). I thoroughly chilled them last week before cooking them on my nonstick electric griddle, and they tasted terrific without the breadcrumbs. I'm getting ready to make them again today for an upcoming camping trip...my family loves them! Thank you, Amanda, xo 🙂
tanya says
These were delicious! Wonderful flavor, easy to make using canned beans and lentils, and the whole family loved them. We will be making them again and again. Thank you, Amanda 😀 !!
Amanda says
That's awesome, Tanya. Thanks for letting me know - that makes me very happy. Welcome back!
tanya says
Thank you for this amazing sounding recipe. Quickie q for you...could I leave out the nutritional yeast or replace it with something else lest the burger be too moist without it? My daughter has Crohn's disease and nutritional yeast must be avoided for those who have Crohn's disease. Thank you, Amanda!
Amanda says
Hi Tanya,
You can totally leave the yeast out. I would add another tablespoon or two of the oats to keep the texture. Or you could swap the yeast for two tablespoons of flour. This will help to bind the patty. Maybe add a touch more salt or a tsp of miso paste to replace the flavour of the nutritional yeast.
I hope that helps, Tanya x
Susan E Fitch says
Would it be possible to use crushed sunflower seeds a yeast replacement?
Amanda says
Hi Susan, I've not tried that before but you could grind the seeds in to a meal at the same time you pulse the oats. That should work. The nutritional yeast adds flavour (umami) so maybe taste the mixture to see if you need to add more salt or spices. 🙂
tanya says
oh my gosh, i never saw your reply...now here it is 15 months later, lol! Thank you!!! I am actually making these now <3 xo!
Bek says
We made these for a vegetarian friend on the weekend.
7/8 people LOVED them, the only one who didn't like them was fussy miss 4 who I didn't eat anything including the bun!!
We are all carnivores with the exception of one vego so for everyone to love them so much was a huge success, our kids even said they would choose them over a beef burger which is a pretty massive statement in our house. We had left overs cold the next day with an avocado and tomato salsa - delicious!!
Amanda says
Yay! That makes me so happy. Thanks for letting me know Bek. I am so glad you guys liked the burgers. x