Taking less than 30 minutes, these easy beet & black bean burgers are made with simple ingredients. Perfect when you want a tasty burger, but a healthier one! Naturally gluten free too.
I love burgers.
I don't make them often at home, but when I'm in a restaurant or getting takeout they're usually my go-to order.
There's nothing better than a delicious burger stuffed with all the fixings and served with crispy french fries.
That said, I often get frustrated that a lot of restaurant burgers and vegan burger brands from the grocery store are made from processed ingredients like soy and vital wheat gluten.
Delicious as these are, I love a whole foods recipe so I thought I'd set about making my own smoky black bean beet burgers from natural, wholesome ingredients. I think they're the best vegan burgers and a real crowd favorite!
Try serving these delicious patties in buns with lettuce and tomato, plus any of the following burger toppings: homemade vegan mozzarella, sauerkraut and alfalfa sprouts. Add a portion of fries or poutine and you're good to go!
Why these are my favorite veggie burgers
So satisfying without the junk - You still get that gratifying hearty bite from these burger patties, but without needing to rely on super processed ingredients to get it!
Easy recipe - Just mash beans and mix everything in a bowl, shape into burgers and cook. No food processor needed!
Gluten free - It's not easy to find a gluten free vegan burger recipe that holds together well and this one does. Hooray!
Main ingredients
Ground flaxseed - Acts as a binding agent for the burgers. Make sure to leave flaxseed and water to thicken for 5-10 minutes, so it goes gloopy and becomes a 'flax egg' (which will help the burgers stick together).
If you don't have ground flaxseed, ground chia seeds also work.
(Minimalist Baker has a great video on how to make a flax egg if you're looking for a more in-depth tutorial.)
Black beans - Provide protein and a great base for these beetroot burgers. Completely mash them or leave a few whole for more texture.
Onion - As these patties are only fried for a short amount of time, chop the onion as finely as possible to avoid getting large uncooked chunks of it in them.
Fresh beets or beetroot - Provides a hearty flavour and deep colour which goes really well with black beans. You don't need to cook it - just grate raw beets into the mixture!
Sweetcorn - Frozen sweetcorn is fine, and is the easiest option. It provides some light sweetness and colour to balance the burgers out.
Flour - Regular all purpose flour works well, but many gluten free flours also work. I personally use brown rice flour, but all purpose gluten free would also be great, as well as oat flour.
I don't recommend using coconut or almond flour as they will give the burgers a strange taste/texture.
Thyme - I love the taste of fresh thyme in these burgers, but it's not essential. Sub dried thyme, or use another herb (like oregano) if preferred.
Spices - Smoked paprika (for smoky flavor) and coriander are delicious in this recipe, but feel free to use your own favourite spices. Chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder also work beautifully.
How to make
In a small bowl, mix ground flaxseed with 2 tablespoons of water until well combined and thick. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl mash black beans with a potato masher until broken down.
Add flaxseed, onion, garlic, raw beetroot, sweetcorn, coriander, thyme, paprika, flour and soy sauce to bowl, and mix well to combine. (If mixture feels too wet, add a little more flour.) Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Divide burger mixture into 4 balls, and shape into patties about ¾-inch thick with your hands.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil (I use avocado oil or olive oil) in a large skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Add burgers and pan fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. (If pan is small, cook burgers in two batches.)
Serve immediately on your favorite buns with vegan mayo, red onion, lettuce leaves and tomato slices. Enjoy!
Check out my step-by-step instructions on how to make these black bean burgers.
What to serve these burgers with
Expert Tips
These homemade black bean burgers with beet are pretty easy to make and you can't go very wrong, but here are my top tips:
Dice onion finely - Because we don't fry it separately before cooking the burgers, unless you love the taste of raw onion I recommend dicing it finely so it cooks more quickly in the burgers.
Add more flour - If your mixture feels too wet, add a little bit more flour to ensure you get a firmer burger (which will hold its shape when cooking more easily).
Storage
Storage - These burgers can be cooked and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days, but for optimum taste and texture, I recommend eating immediately.
You can also freeze them, uncooked, for up to 1 month.
FAQs
This is a common issue! Your burgers are likely falling apart because either: you've made them too big (stick to making the recommended size as per instructions, smaller burgers will hold together better), the mixture is too wet and you need to use more flour to firm your patties up, or because you've skipped using a binder like ground flaxseed or chia.
It's fairly integral to the flavour, but you could try swapping in the equivalent amount of grated carrot if you're not a fan of beets.
More summer dinners
Easy Beet & Black Bean Burgers (Vegan)
Ingredients
For the burgers
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1½ cups black beans, drained and rinsed (1 400ml can)
- ½ medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 small beet/beetroot, grated (about 1 heaped cup)
- ½ cup frozen sweetcorn
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ cup flour (gluten free if needed - I use brown rice flour)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- Avocado or grapeseed oil for frying
To Serve (all optional)
- 4 burger buns (gluten-free if required)
- Vegan mayonnaise
- 3-4 Lettuce leaves, shredded
- 1-2 tomatoes, sliced
- Microgreens or alfalfa sprouts
- Slices of your favourite cheese or vegan mozzarella
Instructions
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mash black beans with potato masher until broken down.
- Add flaxseed, onion, garlic, beet, sweetcorn, coriander, thyme, paprika, flour and soy sauce to bowl, and mix well to combine. (If mixture feels too wet, add a little more flour.) Season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Divide black bean mixture into 4 balls, and shape into burger patties about ¾-inch thick.
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Fry burgers for 4-5 minutes each side until browned. (If pan isn't big enough, cook burgers in two batches.)
- Serve immediately on burger buns with vegan mayo, lettuce leaves, tomato slices and any other favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional information per serving
If you’ve tried this black bean burger recipe, please leave a comment or tip for others below.
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Duas Info
Thanks
Elizabeth
You're welcome!
Stephanie
Made these tonight & they were fantastic. I think these were the easiest burgers I've ever made. They didn't explode when you took a bite. They kept their shape so well!! Flavour was so on point and such a beautiful colour. Topped with tomato, veganaise, mustard & lettuce. Will definitely make again. Thank you!!!
Elizabeth
You're making me hungry! Thanks so much for your lovely comment Stephanie, I so appreciate it. So glad the burgers held together for you and yes, I'm a fan of their flavour too - and the colour! 🙂
Sue
Is it raw beetroot or cooked please?
Also do these freeze?
Thank you 🙂
Elizabeth
Hi Sue, it's raw! (Tho I'm sure cooked would work too). And yes, these burgers do freeze - I recommend freezing them uncooked, and cooking from frozen. 🙂
Vel
Excellent. Flax egg worked perfect. Used chickpea flour.
Elizabeth
So happy to hear that Vel. I adore this recipe, so glad you liked it too. 🙂
Yvonne
Hello Elizabeth
These burgers are very delicious. So much better than my original go to recipe. I left out the corn as I find it too sweet for my palate, and forgot to add the garlic.
I had purchased beetroot and after cooking it found it to be quite bland tasting. They were the pink and cream variety. I mashed them up, and added to the rest of the ingredients. This worked out very well.
This will be my go to recipe now. I have now subscribed to your site.
Thank you.
Elizabeth
I'm so happy to hear that and thanks so much for subscribing Yvonne! It's my favourite burger recipe too - so versatile! 🙂
Anne murdock Murdock
Omg..I was skeptical..bu5 these are phenomenal!
I used kidney beans cos I was out of black beans but still super delicious!
Can I freeze uncooked burger or cooked ones?
I am super happy with recipe.
Thank u
Elizabeth
Thank you so much Anne! SO happy you loved them. Great to hear kidney beans work great too. Yes, you can freeze them but I'd recommend freezing them uncooked, as they get a bit dry if cooked then frozen then re-heated. 🙂
Jenna
I absolutely love this recipe! I don't like beets but I love this 🙂 I didn't make any other changes (used almond flour) other than to air fry without using oil. I'm so glad I stumbled across your recipe.
Elizabeth
I'm so glad you loved it Jenna! Great to know that they work well in an air fryer, and that almond flour works too (as I'd wondered about that). 🙂
Barbara M
Thank you for this recipe! It's now a favorite in my home and is on rotation. Super flavorful!! I like to make a double batch and freeze some for later. I used chickpea flour and subbed sun-dried tomatoes for the corn and they came out great.
Elizabeth
I love this! Great subs - I need to try sundried tomatoes myself. So happy to hear it's now a regular recipe for you (it's one of my favourites too). Happy new year. 🙂