This recipe for vegan black bean burgers was originally featured in my book Angelicious Plant-Based. In a sec we are going to look at an excellent, quick way to create a super tasty vegan burger.

The recipe here yields scrumptious patties. They work well as an accompaniment to potato wedges, in a bap, or even with rice or quinoa and salad. 

You will find that after grilling (broiling) or frying these black bean burgers are firm on the outside yet moist on the inside.

If want sauce with them I highly recommend my original tomato & coconut “tomoconut sauce‘ or my tahini sauce recipe. Alternatively, just use good old-fashioned ketchup or barbeque sauce from a bottle.

What holds a vegan black bean burger together?

This recipe doesn’t contain eggs, gums or artificial binders like many vegetarian burgers do.

So what actually holds a vegan burger together and stops it from falling apart?

Without getting scientific, you basically need something moist, and something that absorbs moisture. For example… 

1. 1. Black beans, when mashed act as a binder.
   2. Tomato puree also works to bind the ingredients.
   3. And finally, flour works as a binding agent to absorb excess moisture and help the burger hold.

You also need to press the ingredients together very firmly in order to get your burgers into shape and to hold. 

Which flours are best for binding a vegan black bean burger?

The best flours I have found for binding a burger are oat flour (just grind your oats in a blender to powder) or chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour. I often use rice flour or whatever I have to hand, which works fine.

My favourite flours for binding burgers however are chickpea or lentil, pea or bean flours. Bean or legume flours tend to have stronger binding properties. 

I have not tried regular wheat flour or spelt flour since I only ever use gluten-free flour. It makes sense that they would work well too.

What makes a vegan burger tasty?

I am not trying to replicate a beef burger or a hamburger here. Instead, I am simply trying to make a tasty vegan patty that can be eaten as part of lunch or dinner or in a bun.

For a tasty bean burger, you need different layers of flavours.

Warming spices, something tangy and an earthy flavour are all helpful to dance with the natural nuttiness of the black beans.

Sea salt is a must, as it enhances the other flavours. Ground coriander adds a hint of warming spice to the burger. Fresh parsley brings an earthy green flavour whilst fresh garlic brings a zingy layer of depth. And then, tomato puree, which is also a helpful binder, brings a layer of tanginess to the black bean medley. All simple ingredients, yet an incredibly delicious result.

Let’s make this black bean burger…

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Vegan black bean & mushroom burgers

Yield: 9 veggie patties

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes

A delicious way to make a vegan black bean burger that holds together well. Healthy, simple ingredients including mushrooms, tomato puree and fresh parsley.

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Ingredients

• 500g (1 lb approximately) black beans (cooked not dry)
• 200g (7oz) mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 heaped tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 large handful fresh parsley
• 1 heaped tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons oat flour (chickpea flour, spelt flour, rice flour, or any flour will work)

Instructions

1. Chop your mushroom into tiny pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sautee the mushrooms for a couple of minutes. Put the the lid and and leave on the side, so that the mushrooms can steam for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Crush and finely chop your garlic.
4. Add the black beans, chopped garlic and tomato puree into a mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher. Aleternatively pulsate a few times with a hand blender. You want to have some bits of beans in there with a nice mix of a squidgey pate-like consistency.
5. Chop your parsley as small as you can.
6. Mix the sauteed mushrooms, parsley, ground coriander, sea salt and flour in with the rest of the mixture. I start off by using a spoon and then tend to start squiching it with my hands to make sure that everything is evenly combined and squidged.
7. Form into black bean patty shapes. Press and squash firmly until they are about half an inch thick.
8. Put onto a grill tray (called a broiler if you are in the USA) and grill for 8 minutes on each side. Alternatively you can grill these on a barbeque or fry them.
9. When tanned on both sides they are ready to serve.
10. These black bean burgers will keep for a few days in the fridge. They will also freeze (put parchment paper between layers though to stop them sticking.
11. Enjoy!

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How to cook black beans from scratch?

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This black bean burger recipe is from my cookbook here…