These vegetarian-friendly black bean burgers combine fresh cooked black beans, onions, garlic, chipotle peppers, and warm and earthy spices into the most delectable burgers. Trust me when I tell you that you won’t miss the meat.
They are always a huge hit with the family. Every time we have them, we declare how much we love them and how much more flavorful they are than beef patties. I love to serve them with air fryer potato wedges, corn salad, or avocado salad.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Black beans: Either freshly cooked or canned.
- Chipotle peppers and adobo sauce: Chipotle peppers are packed in small cans with adobo sauce. They can be found in the Hispanic food section of most grocery stores.
- Spices: I use ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If you want to increase the heat, add a few pinches of cayenne or a little more chipotle pepper.
- Soy sauce: low sodium is best
How to Make Black Bean Burgers
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
If cooking dried beans, rinse the beans and sort through them, removing any pebbles. Add the beans to a large pot, cover them with cold water, and soak overnight. Drain the water from the pot and cover the beans with fresh water to 2-3 inches above the beans. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans and then mash them with a potato masher.
Heat a little olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft. Then, reduce the heat to low and add the minced garlic. Cook for one minute while stirring. Add the cooked onions and garlic to the bowl with the beans. Add the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, paprika, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, mayonnaise, eggs, and breadcrumbs to the bowl. Stir with a spoon to combine.
Using your hands, form the mixture into six patties and brush them with olive oil. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side.
Preparation Tips
- Warm beans are significantly easier to smash.
- Store chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months. For more extended storage, flash-freeze them with a little adobo sauce on top of them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Once fully frozen, move them to freezer zipper bags and freeze for up to 6 months. I use them in my crock pot chicken tacos and Texas chili.
- If you’re grilling the burgers, preheat the grill to 400 degrees. Brush them generously with olive oil and spray the grill grates. Grill the first side for 6-7 minutes before flipping, then grill for another 3-4 minutes.
- Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop or baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for 5-7 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
You can top the burgers with pickled red onions, tomatoes, comeback sauce, pickled jalapenos, or guacamole. I like to serve these with sweet potato fries, cucumber tomato salad, or creamy pea salad.
More Bean Recipes
Black Bean Burger
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked black beans rinsed and drained
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Put the beans in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Remember, warm beans are easier to smash than cold ones.
- Heat a 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft. Reduce the heat to low and add the minced garlic. Cook for one minute while stirring.
- Add the cooked onions and garlic to the bowl with the beans. Add the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, salt, black pepper, paprika, soy sauce, mayonnaise, eggs, and breadcrumbs to the bowl. Stir with a spoon to combine.
- Using your hands, form the mixture into six patties and brush them with olive oil. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side. For best results, serve promptly.
Notes
- Warm beans are significantly easier to smash.
- Store chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months. For more extended storage, flash-freeze them with a little adobo sauce on top of them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Once fully frozen, move them to freezer zipper bags and freeze for up to 6 months.
- If grilling the burgers, preheat the grill to 400 degrees. Brush them generously with olive oil and spray the grill grates. Grill 6-7 minutes on the first side before flipping, then grill for another 3-4 minutes.
- Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop or baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for 5-7 minutes.
Michelle
Wow, this burger was incredible! I piled on a bunch of veggies after too, crispy lettuce and slices of tomato and onion, and it was amazing! I will make it again and again!
Marilyn
I am a vegetarian and I enjoy veggie burgers but these black bean burgers are even more delicious. Thanks for the great recipe, Beth!
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Marilyn!
Ebony
I made this recipe for dinner today and it was a huge hit! I can’t believe beans turned out this good! I can’t wait to make this again!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Ebony! So glad that you liked it!