Vegan Black Bean Burgers

The best vegan black bean burgers, thick and hearty, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Firm enough for the grill!

We just love a good vegan burger. And these vegan black bean burgers are seriously good.

The recipe is loosely based on our vegan chickpea burgers but using black beans instead of chickpeas (of course) and adding in some walnuts for texture and extra spices to complement the black beans.

We wanted the burgers to be nice and firm so that they hold up well when frying or on the grill, and these fit the bill!

Another firm and grillable burger option is our vegan burger, made with vital wheat gluten for a very delicious texture! And if you love black beans then check out our vegan black bean soup and our vegan black bean brownies!

How To Make Vegan Black Bean Burgers

You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

• Add walnuts to a food processor and process until crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside.
• Add chopped onion, crushed garlic and olive oil to a frying pan and sauté until the onions are softened.
• Add the cooked onions and garlic to the food processor along with black beans, smoked paprika, coriander powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, tomato paste, salt and black pepper and process until smooth. Then transfer to the mixing bowl with the crushed walnuts.
• Add some flour and mix in. If the mix still seems very wet when you touch it, then add in a little more flour. 
• Flour a baking tray and then divide the batter into four equal sections. Add more flour if needed to the outside of the patties for easier handling and then form them into burger patties. You can do this by rolling the patty into a ball and then flattening it by placing a square of parchment paper over the top and pressing down with the base of a glass. Or you can form them into burgers by patting them down into a round cutter to make a flat burger patty shape.
• When all your burger patties are formed on the baking tray place the baking tray into the freezer for 30 minutes so the burgers can firm up.
• Add olive oil to a frying pan and heat until hot. Fry your burgers for 5 minutes on one side and then flip. Brush the tops and sides of the burgers with vegan barbecue sauce. Fry for 5 minutes on the other side and then remove from the pan.
• Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce, pickles, sliced tomato, guacamole and sliced red onion.

Pro Recipe Tips

Let the burgers firm up for 30 minutes in the freezer before frying. You’ll find that your burgers are a bit soft initially to be able to go straight into the pan. Putting them into the freezer first allows them to hold their shape very well when frying. 

Brush vegan barbecue sauce onto the burgers. I used a little bottled vegan barbecue sauce to brush onto the tops and sides of the burgers once I flipped them, because there is a tendency with bean burgers to look a little dry on the outside, but if you brush on a little sauce that removes the dry look completely. A vegan barbecue sauce or any similar bottled sauce should work great.

Be flexible with how much flour you use. The one ingredient you need to be a little flexible with in these is the all purpose flour. The first time I made these burgers I used a half cup of all purpose flour and it was perfect. The second time I made them the batter was still too wet after adding a half cup of flour so I added another 2 tablespoons.

The difference is in how well you drain your black beans, the first time I drained them really well but just didn’t do it as well the second time. If that happens to you then add more flour. It’s okay for the mix to be a little wet, you form the burger patties on a flour dusted surface but it should not be very wet.

Drain your black beans super well, but even then, be prepared to add more flour if needed.

For a thinner/crispier burger make 6 patties instead of 4. These burgers are nice and thick and super flavorful. They do stay quite soft in the middle though, so if you would prefer a crispier burger, then it would be a good idea to make them a little thinner, so you would aim to get 6 burgers from the batch instead of 4. That way you’ll get an even firmer, crispier burger once they’ve been fried or grilled.

Don’t flip them too much when frying. It’s ideal if you only flip them once. So let them cook for 5 minutes and then flip them and let them cook for 5 minutes on the other side. If you flip them too much, that will increase the chances of them breaking up. 

Make Them Gluten-Free

If you want to make these burgers gluten-free then I would try a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour. I haven’t tested it with these burgers but I have tested it with my chickpea burgers and that worked great, so there is no reason to think it wouldn’t work here as well.

How to Serve Them

These burgers would be awesome served with some baked potato fries on the side or some vegan coleslaw. We topped them with some guacamole (which was great!) but some vegan thousand island or vegan aioli would also be delicious on top of these burgers.

Storing and Freezing

Keep leftover burgers refrigerated and enjoy them over the next 3-4 days. They’re very good cold (and firm up even more) but can also be reheated in the frying pan or on the grill.

They are definitely freezer friendly too and you can freeze them either cooked or uncooked. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat or you can reheat/cook them from frozen. Just cook them for a few minutes longer so that they are heated all the way through. 

More Black Bean Recipes

1. Vegan Chili
2. Vegan Quesadillas
3. Vegan Nachos
4. Vegan Burrito
5. Vegan Tacos
6. Vegan Black Bean Brownies

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