Made with cooked quinoa, black beans for texture, and quick cook oats to hold everything together, Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers are packed with protein and hold their shape well.
This blog serves so many functions for me - first and foremost it connects me with all of you amazing readers and home cooks! And particularly now, in these times where most of us are at home, I’m so incredibly grateful for the technology that connects us.
But this blog also serves as my own recipe box. These pages hold all of the recipes that I regularly make for my family. All of our favorites live here. These Veggie Burgers are a total reinvention of an old favorite recipe of mine. The older recipe had a longer list of ingredients and involved pre-cooking onions in a skillet, making them not something I wanted to tackle on a regular basis. At the end of the day, this version is not only easier, but we like it even more!
These burgers have a mild, savory flavor and a tender texture that holds up well to cooking in a skillet. Best of all - they hold up to any type of toppings you can dream of. We like it classic with ketchup, lettuce, and onions or as shown here with arugula and a very heavy dose of Avocado Crema.
With the weather getting warmer, I can't wait to try these on the grill. And hopefully before too long we'll have some lettuce from our garden (and in a few more months tomatoes too)! All three girls have been a huge help in the garden this year. Although June likes digging the seeds up a bit more than she likes planting them.
Veggie Burger Ingredients
- Black Beans - You’ll mash these beans to give the burgers a soft texture and savory flavor. Canned black beans work well, but you can also easily start with dried beans. (I'm an Instant Pot fan when it comes to cooking beans from dried, but you can cook them on the stovetop, in the IP, or even in the oven - here's a great tutorial.)
- Cooked Quinoa - Quinoa comes in a variety of colors. I used red quinoa for the burgers show in these photos and love the darker look of the burger patties. Any type of quinoa works great here. Just follow the instructions on the package to cook the quinoa. You’ll need 1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa (which is made from ¾ cups dry quinoa).
- Tomato Paste - Tomato paste gives these burgers a great savory “umami” flavor and helps them to retain moisture as they cook.
- Egg - One egg in the mix acts as a binder for the burger patties.
- Quick Cook Oats - Be sure to get Quick Cook Oats for the right texture in these burgers. Do not use Rolled Oats or Instant Oats. The quick cook oats will be barely noticeable in the finished burgers but they absorb moisture and help to hold everything together.
- Garlic, Chopped Cilantro Leaves, Salt and Pepper - You’ll need all of these for flavor.
Freeze This Meal
One of the best things about Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers is that they are super freezer friendly. We keep a batch in the freezer for nights when we want a healthier, plant-based twist on burger night.
To freeze the burger patties, line a sheet pan with parchment or wax paper. Place the formed (but uncooked) burger patties on the sheet pan and freeze until solid, 4 to 5 hours. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
To cook from frozen: Defrost the burger patties in the fridge on a flat surface for about 24 hours. Cook according to the directions in the recipe.
Print the recipe below for a label to attach to the bag so that reheating instructions are right at your fingertips.
More Flavorful Burger Recipes
- Tex Mex Burgers with Guacamole - Tex Mex Burgers with Guacamole are a fun, flavorful twist on classic burgers. Seasoned with a blend of spices and topped with guacamole and cheese, these Southwestern-inspired burgers are absolutely packed with flavor.
- Banh Mi Burgers with Sriracha Lime Mayo - Banh Mi Burgers take all the savory, crunchy, sweet and sour magic of those Vietnamese sandwiches and transform them into the perfect main dish for next weekend’s cookout.
- Salmon Burgers for Two - These burgers have a great, light texture, and topped with mashed avocado, sliced cucumbers, and cilantro, they are irresistible.
Favorite Tools
- OXO Flexible Spatula - This flexible spatula makes it easy to get under the burgers and flip them in one smooth move.
- Lodge Cast Iron Skillet - I love making these burgers in a cast iron skillet for nice browning and crisp edges. They'll cook well on a grill pan or nonstick pan too.
Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
For the Burger Patties:
- 1 14oz can Black Beans
- 1 ½ cups Cooked Quinoa (see note)
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup Quick Cook Oats (see note)
- 3 tablespoon Cilantro Leaves, finely chopped
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
For Serving (optional):
- 4 Hamburger Buns
- Lettuce
- Thinly Sliced Tomatoes
- Avocados or Avocado Crema
- Thinly Sliced Red Onion
Instructions
- Drain and rinse beans. Transfer to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher, dough cutter, or with the back of a sturdy spoon. (You want about half the beans to be in pieces and half the beans to be smooth and creamy.)
- Add quinoa, tomato paste, garlic, egg, oats, chopped cilantro, salt, and black pepper. Stir everything together to combine.
- Divide the mixture into 4 portions. Use your hands to form 4 burger patties that are about ½-inch thickness. (If you aren’t cooking the burger patties right away, see the instructions below to freeze.)
- Sear the burger patties over direct heat on a grill or heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a large skillet and sear on both sides. The patties are done when they are golden brown on the outside and hot all the way through to the center.
- Serve with any of your favorite burger toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
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Katie
Hi, looks like a great recipe as I’m trying to get as much freezer food prepped as possible before our little one arrives! I can’t have quick oats (glycemic index) but I can have rolled or steel cut. Do you know of any adaptation where I might cook them to be able to use them similarly or is there another substitute you’d recommend? Thank you!
Jess Smith
Hi Katie - you can just pulse regular rolled oats in a food processor until they're broken up into pieces that are roughly 1/3 the size of the rolled oats (obviously there will be smaller and larger pieces, but that's what I look for) and use those in the recipe in place of the quick cook ones. Just be sure to measure them after you grind them up. Congrats on the new little one!
Dennis
Hi Jess,
My 3/4 cup of quinoa yielded significantly more than 1 1/2 cups cooked. I measured the 1 1/2 cups and discarded the rest. The results were more crumbly than I expected. Did I do something wrong? I added an extra egg to the remaining mixture but I'd rather do it your way. Thanks!
Dennis
Jess Smith
Hi Dennis - I'm so sorry to hear that. You were right to discard the extra quinoa as any more than 1 1/2 cups can definitely make them too crumbly, but I'm not sure what might have happened otherwise. If the mixture is too dry to easily form patties, you might try adding a bit of extra water just to get it sticky enough that it will stay together. I recently made a video of the burgers, so you might check that out and see if the texture of your patty mixture looks similar to mine - https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChCa-NZlo97/. Otherwise, I would just try adding water until the mixture comes together. It won't change the flavor, but will help them come together. I hope that helps!