Hearty, wholesome and absolutely delicious. This Best Black Bean Burger Recipe uses good-for-you ingredients for an absolutely flavor packed veggie burger that will actually leave you satisfied! You can grill or pan fry these veggie patties, pair with toasty buns and top them off with fresh guacamole and salsa!
You’ll love more meatless meals like this Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, Gnocchi in Tomato Cream Sauce, and Chickpea Curry!
Why This Recipe Works
So Delicious: I have had my fair share of store bought and restaurant black bean burgers, and I have never liked any of them as much as I love this one. I often think that homemade is just better, if you know how to do it! I packed it with lots of flavorful ingredients like chipotle peppers, fresh cilantro and bold spices like cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. These black bean burgers are savory, spicy and super delicious with some guacamole and your favorite salsa on top.
Wholesome & Good for You: Don’t get me wrong, I love a good classic burger as much as the next person. But sometimes I want something that is healthy and yummy! And this best black bean burger recipe does not disappoint. These veggies burgers are low in fat, high in protein and fiber, and bursting with flavor!
Ingredients
- Black Beans: Black beans are the base of these veggie burgers and are packed with protein and fiber!
- Scallions: Scallions are added for extra flavor and blend seamlessly into the mixture.
- Fresh Cilantro: Fresh cilantro adds an herbal depth of flavor.
- Chipotle Pepper: I used one chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce. These peppers are slightly spicy and smoky for a southwest style flavor!
- Spices: Cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt will spice these black bean burgers up perfectly.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: The bread crumbs keep the burgers moist and add some structure!
- Eggs: Eggs bind these patties together and also add moisture.
- Worcestershire Sauce: For an umami packed burger, Worcestershire sauce does the trick!
- Fixings: You can eat these burgers on their own or pair them with toasted burger buns and some guacamole and salsa!
Here’s How to Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat & Prep: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet, or two regular sized pans with baking parchment and spread out the black beans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until dry and split. Don’t be tempted to skip this step or you’ll be left with mushy burgers! (photos 1-2)
- Blitz: In a food processor, blitz together half the beans, the scallions, cilantro, and chipotle pepper until combined. (photos 3-4)
- Combine with Remaining Ingredients: Transfer to a large bowl along with the rest of the black beans, the spices, salt, breadcrumbs, eggs and Worcestershire sauce. Bring everything together into a sticky mixture with your hands. (photos 5-6)
- Shape: Wash your hands and while they’re still wet, shape the burgers into 4 patties. (photo 7)
- Cook: Grill over a medium heat of cook in an oiled frying pan or cast iron skillet for 5 minutes on each side until golden and heated through. Serve on toasted buts with guacamole and salsa and enjoy! (photo 8)
Expert Tips
- Avoid mushy veggie burgers! The best way to avoid mushy veggie burger is to dry out the beans so that there isn’t too much moisture them. I found that the best way to do so was baking them on a baking sheet until they are slightly split and dry!
- Prefer them vegan? If you need a fully plant-based burger, replace the eggs with 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato and replace the Worcestershire sauce with A1 steak sauce (which is surprisingly vegan!).
- No food processor? No problem! You can also smash the mixture with a fork or a potato masher. They might be chunkier, but they will still be delicious!
- Serve these best black bean burgers with simple guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips or sweet potato fries!
Frequently Asked Questions
If the black bean patties aren’t sticking together as well as you would like, then mash the mixture a little bit more with a fork. You want enough black beans to be mashed that the mixture is sticky and holds its shape, but you also want bites of whole black beans in there as well.
Definitely! You have a few options. You can make the black bean burger mixture, form it into patties, place them on a baking sheet covered in plastic wrap. Refrigerate them for up to 1 day until you are ready to cook and serve. Or, you can definitely make the black bean burgers including cooking them, and then place them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat whenever you are ready to serve! You can also freeze black bean burgers for up to 2 months and thaw prior to reheating and serving.
More Burger Recipes to Try
- Garlic Pesto Turkey Burgers
- Chipotle BBQ Burger
- Greek Burger with Tzatziki Sauce
- Tex Mex Turkey Burgers
- Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Best Black Bean Burger Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz cans black beans - rinsed and drained
- 6 scallions
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 chipotle pepper - from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs - beaten
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- toasted buns - for serving
- guacamole - for serving
- jarred red salsa - for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet, or two regular sized pans with baking parchment and spread out the black beans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until dry and split. Don’t be tempted to skip this step or you’ll be left with mushy burgers!
- In a food processor, blitz together half the beans, cilantro, the scallions, and chipotle pepper until combined.
- Transfer to a large bowl along with the rest of the black beans, the spices, salt, breadcrumbs, eggs, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring everything together into a sticky mixture with your hands.
- Wash your hands and while they’re still wet shape the burgers into 4 patties.
- Grill over a medium heat or cook in an oiled frying pan or cast iron skillet for 5 minutes on each side until golden and heated through. Serve in toasted buns with guacamole and salsa.
Video
Notes
- To make these burgers vegan, swap the eggs for 1/3 cup of mashed sweet potato, and use A1 Steak Sauce – which is actually plant based – in place of the Worcestershire sauce.
- The burgers can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated.
- Nutrition information includes just the black bean burger patty.
You mention coriander in the instructions for the best bean burgers recipe. However, it is not listed in the ingredients. Can you please list how much coriander?
Thanks
It was a typo, cilantro not coriander. Sorry for the confusion! Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
We’ve made these about 5 times. Oh they are good!! We make them exactly as the recipe is written (except we make 6 patties). my husband says they’re better than restaurant burgers. They taste so FRESH and the flavor combos are perfect!
Yessss! Super excited to hear that you and your husband love this recipe so much! It’s a summertime favorite over here 🙂
I usually love black bean burgers and veggie burgers, but these were extremely bland. The only flavor was in the toppings. Big disappointment. Won’t make again.
Thanks for your feedback, Julie! Sorry to hear that you weren’t completely satisfied with this recipe.
Made these last night and was very disappointed. They did not stay together at all. Thankfully I had morning star burgers in the freezer.
Curious about where the cup of breadcrumbs fits in… is that missing from the directions?
Hi Sam – sorry for any confusion, the breadcrumbs go straight into the black bean mixture! I’ll take a look and update the directions!
Great burger recipe !! 🙂
Looks like a healthy, but filling burger. The black beans are very healthz, and go well together with the pineapple.
These look so good! I’ve always wanted to venture into non-meat burger territory and this might be the recipe that makes it happen! Nice post!
Kathi
P.s. Overalls? How bout some M C Hammer pants? Now that’s fashion!
Oh. My. Gosh. These look amazing! I love the addition of the pineapple… Definitely need to try this out soon!
These *do* sound like a yummy meal, but I just have to say that emphasizing that meat-lovers will love them is pretty much saying that meat-lovers won’t miss actually having meat… That’s never true. I appreciate meatless meals, but I will 100% of the time prefer to eat meat than something else masquerading as meat.
BUT! This black bean burger isn’t a masquerade – sounds like something delicious without even bringing meat into the conversation.
Hi Bethany, I don’t really think the purpose of black bean burgers is to impersonate meat, I think they are an entirely different type of food. I like tofu but not because it’s supposed to replace meat, I just like it as a separate kind of food. I never said that a meat-lover wouldn’t enjoy a meat burger more than a bean burger, I simply was sharing the message that these burgers aren’t just for vegetarians, you can still enjoy them even if you are a meat-eater. If I’m in the mood for ice cream, I’m definitely getting ice cream, not frozen yogurt. If someone is in the mood for a beef burger, they should definitely get a beef burger! But if they’re in the mood to switch things up, this bean burger is a great place to start. 🙂
Oh the 90s! Mighty Ducks is such a classic. I remember watching that a milliion times. And overalls? oh yea, we had every color (the shame…) These burgers look amazing! I love different kinds of burgers, especially since this is packed with protein without all of the fat of real burgers.
Ooooh these look wonderful! I love a good black bean recipe but I’ve never had a teriyaki one before! This is a must try, such an easy way to liven up a black bean burger 🙂
WOW, those burgers look spool good! I will be giving these a try. Thanks