Between homemade, restaurant, and store-bought, these are the best black bean burgers I’ve ever tried. With great reviews from taste testers around the world, I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with this bean burger recipe. They’re big, thick, hearty, and flavorful. The trick is to partially dry out the black beans so the burgers do not taste mushy. Grill or bake the black bean burgers and enjoy on a bun, plain, or on a salad.
A few weeks ago I made a batch of what I believe to be the best black bean burgers ever. Or at least the best black bean burgers I’ve ever had. These were a massive hit with the family. We couldn’t believe the hearty texture, incredible flavor, and overall ease of preparation. I was expecting good, but not this good.
These Black Bean Burgers Are:
- easy
- healthy
- hearty
- satisfying
- big + thick
- compact
- garlicky
- juicy
- spicy
- NOT MUSHY
I feel the need to shout that these black bean burgers are not mushy, one of the common problems with homemade black bean burgers. On the other hand, these black bean burgers are not crumbly either. They hold their shape beautifully!
Quick Video Tutorial
How to Make My Best Black Bean Burgers
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it quickly so you understand each step before you get started
- Partially dry out the black beans. I learned this from Serious Eats. Spread out the canned black beans onto a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. This prevents the black bean burgers from tasting like mush.
- While the black beans are in the oven, sauté some garlic, onion, and pepper together. This will be the flavor base of the entire burger. Make sure you blot the garlic, onion, + pepper when they’re done—you don’t want its moisture in the black bean burger.
- Food processor or fork! Your choice. Whichever you choose, make sure you don’t completely mash the black beans. We want a bulky and satisfying texture. Larger chunks of beans are the best part!
- FLAVOR. A black bean burger would simply be a patty made from beans if we didn’t add some pizazz. The sautéed garlic, onion, + pepper combo is a great start, but a little cumin, worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, feta cheese, and chili pepper turn black beans into the BEST black bean burger.
Now let’s talk about binders.
And not the kind you bring to school. How do the black bean burgers hold their shape?
- Breadcrumbs. I used gluten free bread crumbs to keep the burgers GF, but any bread crumbs are great. You can use crushed crackers, almond flour, or even oat flour instead.
- Ketchup. I love ketchup so the more the merrier, but you only need 2 Tablespoons. Some sort of condiment like this is needed so the burgers hold their shape. Instead of ketchup, try mayo or BBQ sauce. (I used a tangy BBQ sauce in the 2nd batch and the burgers were incredible.)
- 2 eggs. Best burger binder you’ll find.
All of this stuff, plus the baked black beans, goes into 1 big bowl. Lightly mash it all with a fork to combine. It’s too easy.
How to Shape & Cook Black Bean Burgers
Shape the black bean burgers however large or small you want, keeping in mind that the larger they are, the more unevenly they’ll cook. From what I tested, the sweet spot is about 1/3 cup of mixture.
You can bake or grill the burgers—instructions for both included in the printable recipe below. You can also make the burgers ahead of time and freeze, which is what I did for our trip. Stack them between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. You can even bake/grill the frozen burgers if you forget to thaw them.
As one of my favorite Memorial Day recipes, I always make a batch ahead for the grill!
For a light lunch, skip the bun and eat on a salad. For a seriously impressive supper, get creative with the toppings: mashed avocado + caramelized onion, pepper jack cheese + spicy mustard + sweet pickles, herbed goat cheese + roasted red peppers, sriracha + sautéed mushrooms, mozzarella + pesto, corn salsa + cheddar cheese, or even chunky guacamole. They would go great with zucchini casserole or berry quinoa salad on the side.
The last time I made them, I piled the black bean burgers high with BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese, and grilled pineapple. Best thing I’ve eaten all week. And my week included s’mores made with peanut butter cups. SO THAT’S A GOOD BURGER.
More Favorite Dinner Recipes
- Maryland Crab Cakes
- Sausage Stuffed Peppers
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Lemon Thyme Chicken
- Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Zucchini Fritters or Corn Fritters
For even more inspiration here are 15+ summer dinner ideas!
PrintThe Best Black Bean Burgers I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-7 burgers
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Between homemade, restaurant, and store-bought, these are the best black bean burgers I’ve ever tried. These burgers are not vegan or vegetarian. (See recipe note to make adjustments if necessary.) With great reviews from taste testers around the world, I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with this black bean burger recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup (100g) finely chopped bell pepper (1/2 of a pepper)
- 1 cup (130g) finely chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup (60g) bread crumbs or oat flour
- 1/2 cup (70g) feta cheese (skip if vegan)
- 2 large eggs (see note for vegan substitution)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (see note for vegan & vegetarian version)
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup, mayo, or BBQÂ sauce
- pinch salt + pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spread beans evenly onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until slightly dried out.
- Meanwhile, sauté olive oil, chopped pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until peppers and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Gently blot some of the moisture out. Place in a large bowl or in a food processor with the remaining ingredients (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, worcestershire, ketchup, salt, and pepper). Stir or pulse everything together, then add the black beans. Mash with a fork or pulse the mixture, leaving some larger chunks of beans.
- Form into patties, about 1/2 cup (130g) of mixture each, about 3/4-inch thick.
- To bake: Place patties on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) for 10 minutes on each side, 20 minutes total. To grill: Place patties on greased aluminum foil and grill 8 minutes on each side. Heat temperature is personal preference as all grills differ. Generally, black bean burgers should grill on medium-high heat about 350°F (177°C) – 400°F (204°C).
- Serve with your favorite toppings. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cooked or uncooked black bean burgers freeze wonderfully for up to 3 months. Stack between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to your liking or, if uncooked, cook according to instructions. If desired, you can skip thawing and reheat/cook from frozen for an extra couple minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Food Processor
- Vegan & Vegetarian: Worcestershire sauce is not vegan or vegetarian. For vegetarian burgers, leave it out or replace with your favorite vegetarian condiment such as BBQ sauce. For vegan burgers, make the following 3 changes: (1) leave out the Worcestershire sauce or replace with your favorite vegan condiment such as BBQ sauce, (2) leave out the cheese, and (3) replace the eggs with 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato.
Made these this evening with orange bell pepper and A1 for my liquid. The title doesn’t lie… these are the best black bean burgers ever. I baked them instead of grilling, topped with yellow mustard and spicy salad greens. You could definitely use these as a southwest bowl protein or breakfast addition.
Omg! My first attempt at a veggie burger, it was delicious.
Thank you.
Great veggie burgers!!! I didn’t have any feta on hand so subbed in some cheddar and added a little Valentina hot sauce to the wet ingredients- excellent! The texture was great with little crispy sides and flavor was excellent. Looking forward to seeing how they freeze up and recook. Thanks for the great recipe! Will be my go to for veggie burgers.
My absolute favorite veggie burger! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Two suggestions:
Instead of normal bread crumbs use day old dark rye for a meatier flavor
Substitute marmite for Worcestershire sauce to make recipe vegan and very tasty.
So good. My hubby like it very much
Our first attempt at a vegetarian meal, we went foe the vegan version and just wow!!! I would absolutely pay for this in a restaurant it was that good. My husband agreed and he is an avid carnivore.
I don’t typically write reviews, but these are unreal and I couldn’t NOT give them 5 stars. We love these burgers!
Always an amazing recipe! I have a hard time shaping them, so I cut them in squares after putting them in a baking tray. AMAZING RECIPE!!
I deep fried the burgers and they came out crispy and amazing. I didn’t deep fry long enough though I think about 5 min on each side almost I was pretty anxious. I think I’d leave them in a few more minutes next time though my husband says they are amazing I thought a little too mushy inside I didn’t like that. But great recipe I’m gonna keep trying. I used hing or asafetida as a sub for onion and garlic works great!
My college aged daughter and I tried these last summer during pandemic lockdown. We were desperate for a change of pace and absolutely loved them! Now I make them at least once a month–and my daughter does too. Even my two twenty something sons love them and make these burgers because they taste good and are easy. These are fabulous–a few changes I’ve made–an extra tablespoon of worcestershire sauce (so 2T instead of 1T) and an extra couple dollops of ketchup/bbq sauce. I’ve made them with shredded colby jack cheese instead of feta–and that is great too. All in all–a wonderful recipe that has made my whole family black bean burger fanatics! Thank you!
Love these black bean burgers. We added the zest of one lime and it was amazing!!
For anyone on the fence about trying this recipe; Go for it, they turned out great! You barely notice that you’re not biting into a hamburger. I was expecting to have issues with them turning out too moist, or too dry, but they were just right, and easy to form into patties. I followed the recipe exactly (except halving- there’s only 2 of us), and baked. Next time we will grill – and I like the suggestions of adding mushrooms.
My carnivorous husband loved these and so did I! A definite keeper!
I followed the recipe exactly, using mayo, and this was a hit! My 10 year old daughter and her sometimes picky friend each had two. I topped it with more Japanese mayo, young lettuce from the garden and some neglected grape tomatoes I found on the counter. If I wasn’t catering to young taste buds I’d probably add ingredients and toppings with more spice.
O.M.G! I loved this burger so much. I look forward to having it again.
Despite baking them for 20 MINUTES ON EACH SIDE (apparently, I can’t read >_>) they were incredibly tasty and absolutely delicious. My bf gave me a thumbs up and requested we make those again in the future rather than getting meat burger take-aways.
Huge success!
This was so easy using my food processor that I had forgot about! I used rolled oats-I food processed them some while my food processed onions, peppers and garlic was cooking.
I used my own cooked black beans and guestimated what 2 cans would be. I didn’t pat anything dry (either the veggies or drained rinsed beans) and they turned out fine. Maybe the oatmeal soaked excess liquid up? Very easy to shape using the 1/3 cup measure as suggested and a silicone spatula on the parchment paper. The last 2 minutes of baking added a slice of cheddar cheese on top for a cheeseburger. With the guestimating of the beans, I did end up with 8 patties. They were yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Did these as a BYOB (build your own burger, or BYOBBB in this case) date night dinner at home…amazing!! leftover patties served just as well days later. such a hit and will be making these again 🙂
Hi,
Just wondering if I could fry these with a touch of olive oil?
Hi Theresa, we find the centers don’t cook very well when cooked on the stove. You can start them in a skillet then transfer to the oven to finish baking.
As I am gluten intolerant, I’ll use oats instead of breadcrumbs. Do I need to use rolled oats or can I use steel cut? as I think it will add a nice chewy texture. Maybe I’d need to soak them (like overnight oats) so they soften?
Hi Rachel, We haven’t tested it, but other readers have reported using oats (whole or ground) in place of the breadcrumbs. Rolled oats would probably be your best bet, but let us know what you try!
Omg these were great! Not as perfect as ma used to make, but the spices really added a nice flavor!
These were amazing!! I followed the recipe exactly and grilled them on the bbq and they were SOO good. My boyfriend and I both loved them. Perfect for a meatless dinner. We served ours topped with jalapeño havarti cheese, lettuce and homemade guacamole and shoestring rosemary fries on the side! 10/10 would recommend.
Good flavor but a little dry.
Best ever!!! I make this all the time!
Absolutely love this recipe – whole family is happy when I make these
Seriously, your recipes are always great and foolproof & I always choose your version, when I search for a particular meal recipe. You are the best!
These burgers have a really great “meaty” texture! I followed the directions exactly and served with a spicy red pepper cilantro aioli. So good. I think in the future, I might bump up the spice a bit and increase the feta. That was a surprising ingredient that I was worried about, but actually ended up being my favorite part.
These really are the best black bean burgers ever! I made them again yesterday and my husband and son were ok black bean burgers. Well after dinner they were like those were amazing! Today at lunch my husband again commented on how good the burgers were (he loves beef burgers and said these were just as good!) I made them a little bigger so I only got 5 from the recipe. I added oatmeal instead of bread crumbs I added a little extra oatmeal because I did not drain the onions and peppers. I really liked the oatmeal better than the breadcrumbs I did make the burgers ahead and put them in the fridge for about 2 hours before I baked them. Thank you for the awesome recipe I am trying to cut bake on meat and this makes it worth it!
I was wondering if I could add teriyaki sauce could be added and then I could top it with grilled pineapple to make my favorite burger/
Hi Nancy, we’re so happy you and your family enjoy these black bean burgers so much! We haven’t tested adding teriyaki sauce to this recipe, but you could try replacing the Worcestershire sauce with an equal amount of teriyaki sauce. If you try anything, let us know how it goes!
Teriyaki and grilled pineapple sounds amazing!!
I never thought bean burgers can be this good! My boyfriend hated the idea of trying the bean burger but once he did – he absolutely loved it!
I made these today and I was blown away at how they are! I have never had a veggie or bean burger before but I have been trying to eat less meat and have been warming up to black beans lately, so figured I’d give it a whirl. Totally worth it! Thank you for sharing!
I diced up a 1/2 cup of mushrooms and sautéed them with the onions and peppers. It was perfect! My 10 year old ate his entire burger and did not notice it was not a beef patty?? I really enjoyed my burger!! 😉