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This vegan black bean burger recipe is gluten free and easy to make! Made from cooked sweet potatoes, black beans, quinoa, flax seeds and flavorful tex-mex seasonings. 

A black bean burger patty on top of green leaf lettuce and a bun.

I love a good veggie burger, especially when it’s made with some of my favorite ingredients like sweet potatoes, black beans and quinoa!

These vegan black bean burgers are easy to make, super satisfying and require no eggs. To help bind all the ingredients together, all you need are a few tablespoons of ground flax seed and that’s it!

The burgers are seasoned with a flavorful mixture of ground cumin, onion powder, chili powder, garlic and oregano to help balance out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. The result is a subtly sweet and savory black bean burger that will satisfy even the biggest meat lovers.

To make it even better, I served it up with a huge shmear of this easy chipotle sauce and it can’t get any better than that!

How to make vegan black bean burgers

In a small bowl, combine ground flax seed, cumin, salt, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, dried oregano and black pepper. (photo 1)

How to make black bean burgers step by step process.

In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cooked sweet potatoes and 1 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed black beans. (photos 2-3)

How to make black bean burgers step by step process.

Using a fork or potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes and black beans until the consistency is only slightly chunky. Some beans will be completely mashed and some will not. (photos 4-5)

How to make sweet potato black bean burger step by step process.

Add 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, the small bowl of seasonings and mix together until fully combined. (photo 6-8)

How to make vega black bean burger step by step process.

Form the mixture into 8 burger patties using your hands and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Vegan black bean burgers on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a 400ยฐF oven for 20 minutes, carefully flip the patties over and bake for 20 more minutes.

And voila! Time to eat.

Cooked black bean burgers on a baking sheet lined with brown parchment paper.

Tips for making the best vegan black bean burgers

  • Make sure to spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil. I made a batch where I forgot to spray it, and the patties stuck to the paper.
  • Drain as much moisture as possible from the canned black beans. The more moisture in your mixture, the stickier it will be which will make it difficult to form it into burger patties.
  • If the burger mixture is very sticky when forming it into patties, add in 1 or 2 more teaspoons of ground flax seed to help absorb some of that moisture.
Vegan black bean burger in a biroche bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and chipotle mayo.

Ways to serve these black bean burgers

My favorite way of serving these black bean burgers is in between a brioche bun with your typical lettuce/tomato/onion toppings as well as a big shmear of this easy chipotle sauce! It’s a little spicy, super creamy and it makes every burger better.

You could also go the bunless route and serve it on some lettuce or collard greens and top it with some pickled onions for some tangy crunch.

More Vegan Recipes

4.59 from 160 votes

Vegan Black Bean Burgers

This vegan black bean burger recipe is gluten free and easy to make! Made from cooked sweet potatoes, black beans, quinoa, flax seeds and flavorful tex-mex seasonings.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 8 burger patties
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Ingredients 

For serving (optional)

Instructions 

  • Bake the sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400ยฐF. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place halved sweet potatoes cut side down and poke each half with a fork a few times.
    Bake for 30-35 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. While sweet potatoes are baking, make the quinoa.
  • Cook the quinoa: Place quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water for about 1 minute. Drain and transfer to a medium pot. Add in 1 cup of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
    Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is tender and cooked through. Let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
  • Make the seasoning: In a small bowl, add the ground flax seed, ground cumin, coarse kosher salt, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, dried oregano and ground black pepper. Mix together and set aside.
  • Mash it up: In a large bowl, add the black beans and cooked sweet potatoes. Mash until the consistency is only slightly chunky. Some beans will be completely mashed and others will not. This will help create a nice texture.
  • Mix it all together: Add the cooked quinoa and combined spices. Mix it all together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. hands and form into 8 burger patties, about 1/3 cup of mixture each.
  • Make the patties: Using your hands, form the mixture into 8 burger patties, about a heaping 1/3 cup of mixture per patty.
  • Cook the burgers: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil. Place burger patties baking sheet and bake in 400ยฐF oven for 20 minutes. Carefully flip over the patties and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1burger patty | Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 454mg | Potassium: 297mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 9300IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!

This post was originally published in March 2017. It was republished with updated photos and helpful tips and tricks in June 2019.

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137 Comments

  1. Yvonne says:

    3 stars
    Just made these yesterday. They were tasty but texture too soft.
    Possibly too much sweet potato so can you provide a measurement eg 2 cups?

  2. Rachel says:

    Epic! I didnโ€™t have quinoa, subbed with oatmeal.

  3. Dana says:

    Can I use pinto beans instead of black beans?

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats says:

      Hi Dana! Yes, you can use pinto beans.

  4. Stefany says:

    5 stars
    Loved these! I air fryer some onions and put them on top. Ty!!!

  5. Kam says:

    Can you freeze these after they’ve been cooked or make them in advance ?

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats says:

      Hi Kam. Yes, you can!

  6. Blanca says:

    5 stars
    I have made these Hamburgers probably 6 times, I donโ€™t get bored they are so easy to make and DELICIOUS, I loved them thank you so much ๐Ÿ˜Š

  7. Wokmom says:

    5 stars
    Delicious! I keep these in the freezer for days I canโ€™t cook. My husband loves them so much I have to keep one aside so he doesnโ€™t eat them all. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

  8. Mary says:

    5 stars
    These are amazing! Perfect in every way. They hold together beautifully and even crisp up in the oven. The texture wasnโ€™t mushy at all like others Iโ€™ve tried and the flavor is very delicious. This recipe will be my go to for black bean burgers from now on. Thank you

    1. Julie says:

      Hi, can I use another bean instead of black beans since I donโ€™t have any?

  9. Shelby Fox says:

    5 stars
    Made these tonight for dinner. My one and two year old ate them up! So delicious and easy to make.

  10. Heather Bayless says:

    5 stars
    Trying to incorporate more vegetarian recipes into my cooking to hopefully help with my high cholesterol. These were amazingly simple to make and very tasty. My husband even raved about how good they were. We will definitely keep this recipe in our dinner rotation!