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Vegan black bean burger topped with guacamole and red onion in a burger bun.
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4.93 from 55 votes

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!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 4
Calories: 434kcal

Ingredients

For Serving (Optional):

  • Hamburger Buns
  • Lettuce
  • Pickles
  • Sliced Tomato
  • Guacamole
  • Sliced Red Onion

Instructions

  • Add the walnuts to a food processor and process until crumbly. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside.
  • Add the 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 a food processor along with the black beans, smoked paprika, coriander powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, tomato paste, salt and black pepper. Process until smooth. Then transfer to the mixing bowl with the crushed walnuts.
  • Add the flour to the mixing bowl and mix in. If the mix still seems very wet when you touch it, then add in a little more flour. The first time I made these I didn't need extra flour but the second time I needed an extra 2 Tablespoons as I hadn't drained my black beans as well as I had the first time.
  • 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 into a ball and then flattening by placing a square of parchment paper over the top and pressing down with the base of a glass. Or you can form into burger patties 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 the 2 tablespoons olive oil to a frying pan and heat until hot. Add in all four burgers if your pan is big enough, otherwise do them in two batches. Fry for 5 minutes on one side and then flip. Brush the tops and sides of the burgers with some 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.

Video

Notes

  1. This recipe uses 1 full 15 ounce (425g) can of black beans, drained and rinsed. If you want to use cooked black beans (not canned) then the amount to use would be 1 and ½ cups. 
  2. You'll need extra flour to flour a baking tray and form the burgers into patties. You may also need to add more to the mix itself, this will depend on how well you have drained the black beans, ideally the black beans should be very well drained and not 'wet' at all when they go into the food processor. But if your mix is too wet add a couple more tablespoons of flour.
  3. These burgers are nice and firm on the outside, but soft on the inside. If you want them to be firmer all through, you could divide the burger mix into 6 burgers instead of 4. That way they will be thinner and will be crispier all through when fried.
  4. Nutrition information is for a burger patty only, excluding any of the things you would serve it with.
  5. Prep time does not include the 30 minutes spent chilling in the freezer.
  6. This recipe was first published in October 2018.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Burger | Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.4g | Protein: 11.2g | Fat: 27.1g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 623mg | Fiber: 9.4g | Sugar: 6g