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, serve on homemade ciabatta rolls and 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, corn salsa + cheddar cheese, or even chunky guacamole. For a summertime favorite, use the toppings from my caprese pesto chicken burgers. 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
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
- 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!
Print
The 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 BBQ 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Kid approved!!! Sooo good!
I make these all the time and they are a fan favorite, even hard core carnivores like them. I play around with the wet ingredients and like a little sriracha in the mix. They freeze well if we actually have any leftover.
Amazing! Absolutely declicious. Firm and tasty. I am vegan and following the binders (Panko crumbs, mashed sweet potato) were the perfect binders. I did need to raise the oven temp to 425 and to leave burgers in for 15 minutes longer. That could be due to my oven. This is the best Black Bean Burger recipie that I have tried.
Amazing (not mushy) burgers. Will definitely try this again. Thanks
Want to make this, but wondering if it’s plain bread crumbs or seasoned?
We typically use plain bread crumbs, but feel free to use seasoned if you prefer. The taste of the burgers will, of course, be a bit different if using seasoned breadcrumbs.
my go to recipe for these burgers. We love yam fries and salad with this and habanero mayo.
I’m sorry! I meant to say a substitution for the eggs in this recipe is
3 TABLESPOONS of liquid from the canned beans PER EGG in the recipe.
(That would be 6 TBSP. if using 2 whole eggs.) Some vegan recipes call for chickpea “liquid” (aka, “aquafaba”). I’ve found that the cooking liquid from just about any kind of beans works just as well as a sub for eggs, whether as baking leavening or as a “binder” ingredient.
Thank you for this very tasty recipe! I really like it!
This is a very good recipe! I am not vegan/vegetarian, but another egg substitution suggestion here: 3 TABLESPOONS of the liquid from the canned beans is a good “binder” substitution for 2 eggs. I have used this substitution in baking recipes several times, and it works well. It might add a little extra sodium to the bean burgers, but this can be adjusted for in the other ingredients.
I had never had a black bean burger before trying this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly. They turned out delicious and my family is already asking me to make them again.
Do you think using just egg whites would work to bind it together instead of the whole egg?
Hi Priti, we strongly recommend a whole egg—the yolk is key to binding the ingredients together.
Excellent recipe. I added some jalapeños to it to spice things up and liquid smoke. Definitely make these again. Great tip precooking the beans a bit.
Hi! This recipe looks delicious. However, I’m not a huge fan of feta so I was wondering if substituting mozzarella cheese would be okay. Do you think it would make a huge difference in texture/flavor?
Hi Leah, you can simply omit the feta or use another cheese that you enjoy. Mozzarella works great here!
I have been searching for an easy black bean burger recipe. I made your burgers today. The burgers are great, really love all of the ingredients and the taste. Great recipe easy to make!
Very tasty and easy to put together. Thank you once again for sharing your talents.
Holy moly what a great recipe! However I forgot to half the recipe for 1 can black beans. It came out awesome! Super moist & flavorful! Made 5 patties but should have made 4. Keeper recipe & I have lunches for work. 1 patty over fresh spinach & added cheese & avocado.
First time making black bean burgers. They were excellent. (Always purchased frozen). This recipe is a keeper. I entered the ingredients in the WW app and one burger has a 4 point value. It was very satisfying. Thanks
Best Black Bean burgers I have ever had! I will make them over & over – Thank You!
I did not think I liked black bean burgers based on frozen ones I’ve purchased and even restaurant ones I’ve ordered, so I decided to try making my own at home. This recipe proved me wrong. I am one for using what I already have that is similar to the recipe ingredients. I didn’t have bell peppers so I cut up jalapenos (less than the recipe called for). I also didn’t have feta cheese so I used a Mexican cheese blend. Even with these substitutions, this was the best black bean burger I have ever eaten. I think baking the black beans in the oven prevented the whole patty from having a mushy texture, which previously turned me off from eating veggie burgers. I also used a leftover (air) fried green tomato slice that put the black bean burger over the top. This is what I consider a repeat recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Can I cook this in my airfryer?
We haven’t tested it but can’t see why not!
This is the best burger recipe I’ve ever come across. I used flax egg instead of the sweet potato and it worked just fine. I’ll definitely be making this more often.
I don’t often leave reviews, but I had to. These. Are. Amazing!! I made some full size burgers and some sliders because I had slider buns to use up. I didn’t have any Worcestershire, so I splashed some coconut aminos in instead. I’m so glad I tried this recipe. Thank you so much!
I have just baked these..it made 7 of them
These black bean burgers were super good … more so because I added frozen cooked corn…our area restaurant makes theirs with corn. Holds together better
I uses cheddar hand shredded cheese
Thank you so much..I enjoyed my meal..
I am going to do the chocolate cake
How much sour cream do you add ?
I have both Sour Cream and Buttermilk
I do not have the coffee ..and cannot partake because of caffeine in it
Can I leave it out? Is their a substitute for this ?
Hi Estelle, we’re so glad you enjoyed the burgers! You can find our chocolate cake recipe here.
Good recipe but where is nutrition content ?
Hi Inara, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Great recipe and great tasting black bean burgers. They paired well with a cucumber salad.
These were really great! Drying the black beans and blotting the veggies gave a really satisfying texture. I have made these twice. First time the exact recipe. Second time I added diced mushrooms to the sautéed mix, left out the mexican spices and added more smoked paprika and the barbecue sauce. They both had excellent flavor!
What are the total calories?
Hi Joan, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This recipe was delicious! My family is vegan so we traded out the eggs for 2TB ground flax + 3TB warm water (flax “eggs”) and no feta. We had vegan worcestershire sauce, which really added to the flavors. I don’t have a food processor so just mashed and mixed by hand.
Thanks so much! Foe ant new vegans, Trader Joes and Violife have really food vegan feta offerings. Amy’s Vegan Worsterchire is also really good and can be found online/Amazon!
Truly the best black bean burger recipe out there! I’m a vegetarian and have tried many recipes, but my whole family (non-vegetarians) love these too!
Hello I am trying this recipe now..
I added some corn as a restaurant black bean had corn in it ..I like your recipes..I receive your e mails …always seeking some different eats.. thank you
Sally, Sally, Sally (and team!!) OH MY GOSH!! So, as I was making these I thought, “I HOPE THESE ARE WORTH THE EFFORT!” (I had to do everything by hand – no food processor, nothing. But who cares!?! These are SO good. I made only a few changes based on other reviews and what I had on hand: reduced cumin to 1 tsp, didn’t use chili powder, used flax meal in place of bread crumbs, and then added 1 small chipotle pepper to the onion/pepper/garlic mixture. I shaped them and then let them sit in the fridge, covered, for a few hours; baked for about 18 minutes, turning at 10 minutes. Served on lightly dressed arugula (needed to be used) with cheddar cheese shredded into it. Put a spoonful of salsa on top and dinner was DELICIOUS! THANK YOU!! I told my husband, “Sally is my GO-TO for all recipes now.” I have not made a single one that disappoints! This is going into the rotation!