Homemade Bean Burgers
The easiest burgers you’ll ever make!
For one burger, combine 1/3 cup beans and 1 tbsp whole wheat flour. The starchier the beans, the better. Big beans like pinto work well, and dry beans like garbanzo do not. Add as many or as few seasonings as you like. I like some Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, but feel free to add cumin, red curry powder, dill, hot sauce, BBQ sauce and more to taste. Feel free to also add chopped peppers, mushrooms or corn!
Mash everything together with a fork. This is HARD work. Just keep mashing. If you need to, add a half tsp of water until you get this:
Remove any jewelry
And form a patty like so:
Heat a flat skillet to medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Plop down burger. Do not touch for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, put bun in oven (Not that kind of bun you silly people!)
While burger cooks, make salad in its bowl!
And return jewelry to fingers
After 3-5 minutes, when you can shake burger loose in pan, flip. It should be lightly browned.
Give it another 3-4 minutes and plot onto dressed bun.
Yum!
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
A suggestion to make mushing the beans MUCH less work: Cover with wax paper or saran wrap and roll with a rolling pin!
Laura,
Great idea!
Kath
I must try this!! Do you think baking the burgers might work too?
I’ve been inspired by you to make my own veggie burgers…. it’s been hit or miss with how well it sticks, thanks for the measurements and explanation on why some beans work better than others. (Which beans are pictured here? Black beans?) Looking forward to seeing how adding some flour makes a difference too!
Oh and I use a potato masher to mash my beans it goes pretty quickly!
Jen,
I don’t see why not, but you might not get the browning effect.
Alison,
Mine have been hit or miss too – depending on the beans! These were azuki and were medium. I had the best luck with pinto and the worst with garbanzo.
Kath
Wow, that seriously looks so good and so easy! Thanks so much for this tutorial! Does this recipe make one serving?
Heather,
Yes, 1 serving. I said above “for one burger.” You can double, triple, etc. easily.
K
I made black bean burgers last night and added a little leftover brown rice and some cornmeal instead of whole wheat flour – very yummy!
Thanks for posting! I know what to make for dinner now!
They look so yummy! I can’t wait to try them!
Thanks! I am not skilled at making burgers or patties. I think my problem is the “do not touch for 3-4 minutes” part. I’m an impatient flipper.
I’ve been obsessed with burgers lately. I think I’ll have to make one of these soon!
Note to self: Do not try on grill.
Tried these today – used black beans & leftover veggies – easy & fabulous! Thanks Kath!
Have you ever tried making them in advance & freezing them?
Elizabeth,
I haven’t tried freezing them. Let us know if you do.
K
I’ve made and frozen these before, and they were great. I froze them after cooking and cooling and reheated them just like the first time I cooked them.
Thanks for the advice Carrie!
How many calories is it per burger itself (minus bread and fixings)?
Nairi
I haven’t done the math because the ingredients vary. Just add up the calories of the ingredients and you’ll be able to figure it out. Probably around 100.
Kath
do canned beans work, I’ve been wanting a black bean burger!!
Nadine ,
Of course!
K
Wow just got done making this and it’s amazing!
Interesting recipe. Haven’t eaten bean burgers before but would like to try. I usually eat beans in soup and I love red kidney beans due to their good source of protein and fiber. Bean burgers would make a good lunch meal. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the post. I’m going to make these tonight and give you a little shout out on my blog.
Made these for dinner tonight with cajun-esque spices and cornmeal thrown in along with the flour. They turned out excellent, and the cornmeal in them added a nice crispy crust on the burgers when cooked.
Fantastic! Made these tonight and they were delicious! Great recipe!
Delish:) Had this few days back with pinto beans yum yum,,Worchestire sauce makes it so good.
I love that this recipe is for 1 burger! Makes it so much easier to cook for myself… especially as my bf won’t eat bean burgers. Can’t wait to try it!
I use nutritiondata.com to plug in recipes and get a nutritional analysis. If you’re using ingredients they don’t have in the database you have to plug those in too, but if you want really specific analysis this is a decent tool.
I have gluten-free friends so would use something other than wheat flour to bind.
@BarbChamberlain
I tried your recipe tonight. I think I may have made them too thick though. Are they supposed to have a gooey interior? Kind of like refried bean texture? Maybe I over mixed? The outside was nice and brown and crunchy and they were very good!
You might have had it on the thick side – a thinner burger would cook throughout better. Hope it was still tasty!
Mine came out like the previous poster (crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside) and I LOVED them! I’ll make these again and again. Thanks!
My blend: kidney beans, Worcestershire, cayenne, garlic, salt, pepper, corn, shredded red pepper. YUM!
I have had luck making patties with garbanzo beans by putting the beans in the blender with a bit of water then turning out the mixture into a bowl to mix by hand with rolled oats. these patties definitely have to be pan fried, not baked, but turn out really yummy! chick patties!
Easy, simple, healthy, inexpensive, quick, delicious- what could be better? Thanks!
It takes longer to actually make them this way, but if you mix in some cooked lentils it adds some good flavor and protein as well. When I make them I typically form patties and freeze them for lunches during the week.
I tried this tonight and used the “pulse” setting on my food processor — works great!
If you have a bowl with a flat bottom, another easy way to smash the beans is with a potato masher. I use this method for making guacamole too!
These are a great base for a burger!! I can’t wait to try making them. Thanks!
Kath, do you think it could work without any flour and just the beans?
The flour adds stick, but it might still work
Thanks! These were absolutely delicious. They held together perfect and browned up nicely. Quick to make too. I used 1 can of drained pinto beans and added some sauteed jalepeno, onion, carrot, and corn and also threw in 1/4 cup of leftover brown/wild rice blend. ~Leslie
These are awesome and I LOVE that they are vegan. I have seen so many recipes where they have you adding egg. I am totally sold here, though. Thanks Kath!
I made these tonight for the first time. They tasted fantastic and were so easy!
I used black beans an added bread crumbs, roasted garlic, black pepper, and salsa verde. Instead of baking, I cooked mine on a grill pan – about five minutes per side. Once cooked, I topped it with queso fresco, roasted poblano peppers and some lime juice.
Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
Hi Kath!
I started reading your blog not too long ago. You have fantastic recipes! I made your bean burgers tonight and they are awesome. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Lindsey
I was skeptical, but they were really good! I liked them with pickles and pickled peppers!
Let me just say this simple recipe has changed me whole diet up! Thanks so much for sharing!
hey would kidney beans work for this recipe????
Yup!
I have made these 3 times now…I used red kidney beans, and black beans…added garlic, salt, pepper, all season, hamburger grillmate, and worsetershire sauce! I LOVE them!
Beans….it’s what’s for dinner! Yum, Kath….can’t wait to try your version of the bean burger. Garbanzo’s do work well in a falafal ..made that before with great success!
You know it’s good when the husband says,” you can make these again…soon” and the 16-yr-old boy said, ” they’re good” *much surprise*…thanks, Kath!
Definately the easiest bean burgers ever! I started out with the same base (16 oz can black beans w/ Tbs whole wheat flour & mashed the heck out of it) and then added some organic Trader Joe’s corn, a handful of fresh cilantro and some cumin & garlic powder! Grilled in a little extra virgin olive oil…so delicious. Thanks!
Thanks for this recipe, Kath! This will be great for a dinner I am making for a vegetarian friend. It was easy and delicious.
Yummmmo looking!! I just wanted to ask – if adding chopped mushrooms, should they be precooked or will raw work as well?
I would cook them first to get rid of water
Just searched for “homemade black bean burgers” and found your website. I’m going to try this recipe tonight! But mostly I was excited that you live in C’ville–I was born and raised there and have made a new home for myself elsewhere, but my family is still there and I visit often. If you ever need to mix up your workouts, my mom owns Studio 206 just off the downtown mall…just a little plug.
Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Oh how fun!! I went to a fun dance class there this winter
Hi Kath. I’m a new reader and I just wanted to tell you that I made these burgers today. I can’t believe how easy they are to make! I added peas to the bean mix and they really were delicious. Even my meat-loving, veggie-hating husband loved them! So thats a real testament, in my opinion!
Look forward to meeting you at HLS 2011!
Awesome!! So glad!
I tried this black bean burger an it was good, a little different to what I used to eat(greasy burgers) but I really liked this,however I just had it with one if zuzana’s tuna pasta salad recipe.Next time I’m goin all out an makin it like.Im gonna try the oatmeal bars this evening.
Make these for dinner and they were wonderful. I didn’t drain my black beans very well so they were a tad more mushy. I cooked in a nice hot cast iron with olive oil and they got a nice crust on the outside. Seasoned with lots of curry! Yum!!
I use this recipe a lot! It works really well if you spray the inside of a peanut butter jar lid with cooking spray and pack the bean mixture inside to create a uniform burger.
I just made this gorgeous piece of not-meat and fell in love. I added 1/4 c of butternut squash and seasoned with garlic, pepper, thyme, and oregano. Topped with tomato and avocado, I swear I just ate a little piece of heaven. I’m a believer that a person’s food is his or her own choice, but someone choosing red meat over this is seriously missing out!
Yum! I just made these and they came out perfectly
I mashed 1 tin of kidney beans up with 6tbsp wholewheat flour, a bit of garlic, salt pepper and about 1/2 cup of leftover cooked quinoa. Absolutely delicious, and i’ve frozen the extra portions in burger shape ready to be used whenever! Next time I would probably add some finely chopped onion.
Thanks so much for the super easy recipe!
Excellent step by step. I came across a recipe like this in Vegetarian Magazine, but I was turned off as they said a food processor was needed. I’m looking forward to discovering more recipes like this on your page. Thanks for your work!
sooo much healthier than store bought!!! We added more vegetables too. Thanks Kath!
This is SO easy! I always say I want to make a black bean burger but always forget. Now that I’ve stumbled on here I think I must try this out. It looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing- Thursdays
I cannot wait to try this. Thank you for sharing
What kind of cheese is that in the picture?! Looks sooo good
Looks like swiss!
Hello,
Great recipe, I will be giving it a try, I have also written a recipe for lentil burgers that you might like, take a look when you can: http://www.divinenutrition.co.uk/2011/quick-and-easy-spicy-lentil-burger-recipe/
These look delish! I might try adding quinoa to mine.
Just found you this afternoon (thanks to Mama Laughlin), and I cooked these for dinner – they were super quick and easy but incredibly tasty…can’t wait to try more of your recipes – Thanks
welcome!
Wow!
This certainly is an instance where
K.I.S.S. (keep it simple silly) principal
holds true. For ages I have been trying burger recipes with eggs or bread crumbs or …
This was so fast and easy and best of all – IT WORKS!!!!
I used some left over adzuki beans with some left over homemade salsa. I sprinkled in some cumin and oregano, then added just a few tablespoons of frozen corn. Delicious results were accomplished. Thank you!
Not only does it sound tasty but it looks tasty too. I will be trying these this weekend with my family, can’t wait.
I’ve been low on funds, and have a bunch of cooked beans leftover in my fridge. I honestly never had a bean burger before, and it was surprisingly very good! I will definitely keep this in mind for future meals!