The Ultimate Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Since we’re all trying to eat more plant based foods in 2020, I thought I’d bring you a recipe for my delicious vegan black bean burgers!

These black bean burgers are infused with garlic, cumin, chili pwoder and extra veggies like shredded carrots for texture–plus they’re great for freezing, and even pack right around 10g protein per serving! What more could you want?

Ingredients in vegan black bean burgers

The base of these easy vegan black bean burgers is super easy and made with ingredients you likely have on-hand. You’ll need:

• Black beans: the base of this vegan burger recipe is black beans. They’re easy to mix with the other ingredients to form delicious, protein & fiber packed patties.
• Red onion & carrots: I love sneaking some veggies into the patties with a little red onion and carrot. They also add the perfect amount of moisture.
• Garlic: for delicious flavor in the vegan burger patty.
• Olive oil: you’ll cook the onion & carrots in a bit of olive oil to soften them before adding to the patties.
• A flax egg: to keep these black bean burgers vegan we’re using a flax egg instead of a regular egg. A flax egg is just 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tablespoons of water
• Oat flour: we’re using oat flour in this recipe to help bind the burgers together. keep these vegan black bean burgers gluten free by using a gluten free oat flour, and you can easily make your own oat flour at home. See how to here! Breadcrumbs will also work if you don’t have oat flour!
• Cozy spices: these flavors make the burgers extra delicious. You’ll use cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt & pepper.
• Homemade garlic tahini sauce: this sauce is truly addicting on top of the burger and even for dipping fries. It has tahini, garlic, fresh lemon juice, warm water, a pinch of salt.
• Toppings: feel free to mix and match your favorite buns, red onion, avocado, tomato and more!

How to make vegan black bean burgers

1. You’ll first make your vegan flax egg by mixing flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and place in the fridge for 5 minutes.
2. Next, place a large pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Once oil is hot, add in onion, garlic and carrot; saute for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and carrots begin to soften a bit.

3. Transfer your onion, garlic & carrot to a large bowl and stir in the spices: cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

4. Using a food processor or high powered blender, blend black beans until well blended and just a few bean chunks remain.

5. Transfer the smoothed black beans to the bowl with the veggies and then stir in the flax egg and the oat flour until you can form into patties. Taste, adjust seasonings and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Divide the mixture into 4 burger patties. Put them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to help them firm up.
7. While the burgers are in the fridge, make the garlic tahini sauce by mixing together the following in a small bowl: tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.
8. After 30 minutes, place a large skillet pan over medium heat and generously spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the patties and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and heated through.
9. Time to serve! Place on buns with your favorite toppings like tomato, avocado, red onion and the tahini sauce.

Tips for shaping and forming black bean burgers

• Be sure to process the black beans until there are just a few chunks left
• Feel free to add a tablespoon more of oat flour if the mixture feels too “wet”
• Use this vegan black bean burger mix to make 4 patties – I would not recommend making them any larger as they will be hard to flip
• Chill the patties in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to help them firm up

Customize these black bean burgers

I love experimenting with different, fresh toppings to really take these vegan black bean burgers to the next level. Here are more ideas for topping these babies:

How to store vegan black bean burgers

Store these healthy vegan black bean burgers in air tight containers the fridge for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, simply heat the vegan burger patties in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until heated through.

Freezer-friendly black bean burgers

These vegan black bean burgers freeze beautifully! The best part? You can freeze them before or after they’re cooked.

Before cooking: shape your black bean burgers and place them in an airtight, freezer-friendly container or bag. If you’re stacking the burgers I’d recommend putting wax or parchment paper in between the layers so that they don’t stick together. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, you can either let them thaw in the fridge before cooking or cook them directly from frozen – you may just need to cook them a bit longer from frozen.

After cooking: let your vegan burger patties cool completely before placing them in airtight, freezer-friendly containers or bags. As I mentioned above, put wax or parchment paper in between the layers of burgers if you’re stacking them. Freeze them for up to 3 months. To reheat, let them thaw in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop for a couple minutes on each side. You can also reheat these directly from frozen – I recommend doing so on the stovetop.

What to serve with vegan black bean burgers

Not only are these healthy vegan and gluten free black bean burgers delicious with just about any topping, they’re also great for serving with your favorite sides. I love serving these with:

Best Healthy Coleslaw Ever (no mayo!)

Sesame Garlic Grilled Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Curry Dip

The Best Guacamole You’ll Ever Eat

Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado

Vegan Curried Broccoli Chickpea Salad

See how to make the vegan black bean burgers:

I hope you love these ultimate vegan black bean burgers as much as we do! If you make them I’d love for you to leave a rating and comment so I know how how you liked them. You can also tag me on Instagram with #ambitiouskitchen so I can see your creation!

If you like this recipe you might also like:

Vegan Sweet Potato Burgers

New Mexican Green Chile Black Bean Burgers

Vegan Curried Broccoli Chickpea Salad

Vegan Turmeric Pineapple Tofu Kabobs

Tofu Vegan Nachos with Cashew Cheese Sauce