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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.
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)
In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cooked sweet potatoes and 1 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed black beans. (photos 2-3)
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)
Add 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, the small bowl of seasonings and mix together until fully combined. (photo 6-8)
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.
Bake in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes, carefully flip the patties over and bake for 20 more minutes.
And voila! Time to eat.
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.
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
Vegan Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray or olive oil
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa (about 1 1/2 cups cooked)
- 3 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
For serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bake the sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400°F. 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 400°F oven for 20 minutes. Carefully flip over the patties and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in March 2017. It was republished with updated photos and helpful tips and tricks in June 2019.
Made this the other night for the entire family. 10/10 AMAZING!
So delicious and moist
Thank you so much!
These are absolutely amazing!! I have already cooked all of them, can I put them in the fridge and reheat them tomorrow for dinner? How long can I keep already cooked burgers for?
Was very good I enjoyed this recipe!
These were absolute mush…not sure what I did wring. So much so that after the first 20 minutes I couldn’t even flip it because my spatula just squished the party into a ball. Bummer !
These are the BEST THINGS IVE EVER EATEN!!!
Yes! Thanks, Whitney! 🙂
Just had it for dinner tonight and even though I accidentally used like triple the amount of Quinoa it was delicious.. Thank you so much
You’re so welcome! 🙂 Haha, and accidents happen all the time!
Just tried these! They were great, but a little soft and didn’t hold together. Suggestions for helping them “stick”?
Hi Amy! I’m not quite sure, but I’m going to be retesting the recipe very soon. When I do, I’ll make sure to update the page if I change anything.
LOVE this recipe! It’s so flavor and a great way to have a meatless meal that doesn’t compromise taste! Thank you for this!!!!
Hi if I don’t have quinoa can I use oatmeal or any other whole grains?
Hi Bill, I’ve never made them with a different grain but I think it’s worth a shot! If you try it, let me know how it turns out. I’d love to know.
Oatmeal, ground up in a food processor works great.
This was awesome, Isabel, and am making them again (and again, lol). It’s just me eating them (husband not too keen on these) and froze the leftovers and they lasted 10 days in the freezer. They’re great for grab and go or to enjoy with a full meal. One of my favorite ways to have it is with an egg on top. BTW, the chili lime sauce is perfect with these parties!!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Thank you so much for your comment, Maria! 🙂 So happy you like them.