Spicy (or not) Black Bean Burgers. This Southwestern-style black bean burger is everything to love! It has an amazing texture and the flavor is a 10/10. Step aside all you other mushy flavorless vegetarian burgers! Try these, and I promise you will want them on your meal plan rotation!
I have tried making black bean burgers several times, all the times previous have been utter failures. They were mushy and the flavor was just off. I don't particularly care for any of the store-bought burgers either. To remedy this situation with a little testing and I finally came up with a spicy (or not) black bean burger that is really perfect! I am ready to share everything I learned in testing.
Secrets To The Perfect Black Bean Burger
Here are a few things to know about making the perfect burger:
- You want to remove as much liquid from ingredients beforehand before forming and baking the burger. My least favorite black bean burgers are MUSHY!
- To do this, bake your beans for a bit. You don't want them completely dry, but you do want a majority of the moisture taken out.
- I also saute the veggies used in the burgers. This removes moisture from the veggies as well.
- Then don't add too much flour to the mix. You don't want it mushy, but you also don't want it dry!
The Process
I generally cook my black beans in my pressure cooker and make big batches at a time. If you are doing them with a pressure cooker, it is so simple and quick to cook them this way. Once they are finished, or if you buy them canned, drain and rinse.
Then, pat them dry. I laid mine on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. They don't need to be perfectly dry, just get some of the moisture off. Then I moved them off the pan, by bundling the paper towel and scooping them up. Line the sheet pan with parchment and bake for at least 15-25 minutes.
Add-Ins For Spicy (or not) Black Bean Burgers
While the beans are baking, start sauteing your veggies. This removes excess moisture and should always be done anytime you are making burgers, meatloaf, etc.
Putting It All Together
You can use breadcrumbs as a binder, but I wanted a gluten-free version with oat flour. It worked perfectly. I ground my oat groats in my grain mill, but you can always buy the oat flour.
I made ours a southwestern-style burger, so I used a blend of cumin, cayenne, chili powder, and black pepper.
The Cotija was so good in here too. You could also use a Monterrey or even a cheddar if you prefer.
The finished beans. You will want to make sure they are pretty dry, but not totally dry.
Allow cooling slightly then add to the food processor. Don't pulse too much, you still want chunks in your burgers.
Forming The Spicy (or not) Black Bean Burgers
I baked mine, so they were scooped back onto the same sheet I baked my beans on. No need to waste parchment or dirty another pan. Flatten and form. It should be a little sticky, but not super wet. If you need to, wet your hands to do this.
Although you can make these ahead of time and freeze, they really are so much better fresh.
Serving Your Spicy (or not) Black Bean Burgers
Topping your burger is such a personal thing, I hardly dare make recommendations... I will say I kept mine simple with lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. This would have been delicious with avocados, a corn salsa, or something else amazing like that.
Drinks To Go With Your Burger
- The Best Classic Lemonade, one of my favorite drinks with burgers!
- If you like lemonade, how about this awesome Blueberry Lemonade?
- Do you know what is really fun? These Blueberry Lemon Floats!!
- If you like floats, what about these Cherry Vanilla Floats?
- Virgin Sangria is also a fun drink with burgers!
Black bean burgers
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked black beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper this is optional. If you prefer a milder burger, add less, or cut this out all together.
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup oat flour if you prefer, use bread crumbs here
- ½ cup grated cotija if you prefer, use a grated Monterrey, Monterrey jack or even cheddar.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drain and rinse the black beans. Pat dry. Don't stress about getting them completely dry, just fairly dry. Spread the beans on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes until the beans are split and dried out. While they are drying out, start your veggies. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat. Add onions, peppers and whatever other veggies you are using. Saute about 5 minutes and add the minced garlic. Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes. By now, you beans should be just about done. Pull them from oven, then turn oven up to 375 degrees, if you are baking. If not, check other instructions below. Allow the veggies and beans to cool a few minutes before moving on. Next, add the veggies to a food processor. Pulse once or twice, just to break them up a little more. To them add the flour and pulse once or twice. This will help to continue to cool down the veggies. Add remaining ingredients and pulse several times until it is mixed up. Be careful not to overmix. You still want chunks of beans, so don't mix too much.Next, I used a scoop to get the same sized burger. So scoop, then flatten slightly on baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, then flip the burgers and bake for 5 minutes on the other side. Serve burgers as desired. The possibilities are endless here!If you prefer other cooking options here are 2 I like:Cooking in skillet or electric griddle. Heat pan or griddle over medium high heat. Coat lightly with oil of choice. Once the pan is good and hot, add burgers. Cook for about 3 minutes per side.Cooking on the grill is little more tricky.Form your burgers and freeze for about 5 minutes while grill is heating. Heat grill on high. Grease grates and add burgers. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Serve immediately. Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!
It really is. Otherwise you end up with a burger that is bland and mushy!!
Instead of the southwest style I shared, you can just do a generic flavoring. For this, I would use panko as the binder, instead of oat flour. Then for seasoning simply use garlic powder, salt, and pepper. You can also do a Mediterranean burger with feta, minced garlic, oregano, and green olives. So good! Or how about a BBQ burger. Spice it with BBQ sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper.
Yes, you can! Just be careful, they are pretty delicate.
You can use other beans. White beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans come to mind.
Yes. I prefer the taste of fresh, but you can also freeze them. Make sure and store them in an airtight container. They will hold well for about 30 days. You can reheat in the microwave or in the oven if you want something a little crispier.