I’m not bashful about my favorite vegetarian burger recipe but I think it’s important to keep a few extra recipes in my back pocket for those times I don’t have all the ingredients on hand. These have been my favorite black bean burgers through the years. I use an extra step of baking the black bean burgers before frying or grilling which helps create a crisp outside (and a burger that grills a bit easier than others). If you have trouble grilling burgers, I recommend picking up a grill pan. It’s easier to grill the burger but still gives you that good grilled taste.
This easy and filling black bean burger is the perfect vegetable burger to make ahead, freeze, and grill up whenever you need a quick meal.
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup diced red pepper
- 3 tablespoons minced jalapeño
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 3/4 cup black beans or 1, 15 oz can- drained and rinsed
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg white
- In a food processor, pulse garlic until minced. Add in the carrot, onion, red pepper, and jalapeño. Pulse a few more times until everything is in fine pieces. Add in the oats and pulse until the mixture is combined and the oats are broken down.
- Add in the black beans, spices, and egg white. Pulse a few more times until the mixture comes together but there are still small pieces of black beans. Let rest for 20 minutes.
- Heat oven to 375˚ and line a sheet tray with parchment. Wet hands and divide patties into 4 balls. Press into 1/2" thick patties and place on the sheet tray. Back for 14 minutes, carefully flipping halfway through.
- Finish the burgers by searing for 3 to 4 minutes in a pan with a bit of oil or on a grill that has been oiled well.
Tips & Tricks: Don't puree the beans- there should still be small pieces of black bean visible. A few people have made this and ended up with a loose dough- make sure you drain the beans well.
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: oats, black beans, cumin
Nutrition: see the information.
Black Bean Burgers
variations
This is a solid base of a burger that is good as written above but can easily be upped in the flavor department. These black bean burgers also work really well for quite a few different toppings. This particular version I used chipotle mayo, pickled onions, and avocado but I also love this burger with a sweet corn relish or grilled zucchini.
Herbs: If you have them, fresh herbs are a nice addition. Cilantro, parsley, or basil work best depending on the flavors you want your burger to have. Add 1/4 cup or so of fresh herbs to the mixture before the final pulse.
Vegetables: If you want to swap around the carrots and peppers I recommend using sweet corn, beets, or roots vegetables (like parsnips or turnips). You can also grill/roast the vegetables ahead of time to add an extra layer of flavor.
Seeds: I like a bit of crunch in my burgers and if you’re with me, trying adding 1/2 cup of nuts or seeds like sunflower, pepitas, or pecans.
Explore Black Beans
Black beans are one of the legumes we always have on hand. It’s my go-to taco and quesadilla filling as well as the perfect topping for grain bowls. I usually cook up a big batch on the weekend then freeze to use for a couple of weeks, thawing as I need beans.
Black Bean and Guac Burrito
Black Bean Taquitos
Black Bean Bowl with Freekeh
See all Black Bean Recipes >
Recipe first published on June 10th, 2010. Last updated on June 28th, 2016. Looking for the old version of the recipe? Find it here.
I love black bean burgers…this is an awesome recipe that i would love to try. Whenever i make them at home they always tend to be very mushy but we eat them anyway. The key is to put them in the fridge….thanks 4 the tip!!!!!
Wow, great job here. Awesome picture too! You should really consider submitting this to Recipe4Living’s Juiciest Burger Contest! It looks delicious!
I just tried these,turned out very runny. Is the can of beans supposed to be drained before using? Flavor pretty good, but extremely runny.
Hi Frugal Females
Yes the black beans are supposed to be drained and rices before adding to the other ingredients.
I hope you make them again, they were delicious!
Thanks so much for sharing this YUM recipe Ella!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
*oops, I meant “and rinsed”!!
Super runny. Impossible to make patties, even if you rinse and drain the beans. I added twice the oats to try to thicken it. Still running as all hell. Thumbs down.
Loving this recipe! I would add ALL of the variations, to be honest. Especially the herbs!
Any thoughts on using Canellini beans instead? Thanks!
Unfortunately I had the same problem as others before, the mixture was not thick enough, I couldn’t form patties. I heaped it in the pan with a tablespoon, but it was very difficult to turn them, then.
The taste was very good, but the texture was a total failure. I stored the mixture in the fridge for few days and it leaked a lot of water everyday. In the end it was still way to runny :(.
Hi Lena, So sorry to hear that- I actually *just* updated this recipe a month or so ago and tested it again. There’s hardly any liquid in the recipe (just the egg white), so I’m really not sure where the problem is coming from. What kind of beans did you use? Homemade or from the can?