I’ve been crafting this Black Bean Veggie Burger for months now and it’s basically going to change the veggie burger game forever.
Get ready for the best veggie burger ever – a Black Bean Veggie Burger loaded with quinoa, black beans, zucchini, onions and a few secret ingredients like pulverized tortilla chips and tons of spices! I can promise you that it won’t disappoint!
My mom used to make veggie burgers in bulk and then store them in the freezer so we could whip them out at a moments notice and eat. We’ve been all over the place for work a lot so I’m taking a page from her playbook and keeping these Black Bean Veggie Burgers stocked in the freezer so if I don’t have time to whip something up for dinner, I still know I’m getting a crazy delicious meal without having to think about anything. And while they are perfect for meal prep – they are also fantastic for BBQ’s and summer parties. If you’re a vegetarian but heading to a meat lovers house for a party, bring a few of these and throw them on the grill. Problem solved. They put any of those store bought veggie burgers to shame and you can jazz them up with any kinds of toppings. I went for a Mediterranean theme here with roasted red peppers, feta and red onions… but you could also do salsa and avocado and melted Pepper Jack cheese! Or go the traditional route and just pile on the ketchup or mustard.
Black Bean Veggie Burger
Ingredients
For the Black Bean Veggie Burger
- 2 cans 15-ounces Black Beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup pulvarized tortilla chips
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/3 cup shredded zucchini squeezing to remove excess liquid after shredding
- 1/4 cup shredded yellow onion
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
For the Burgers
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Brioche Buns
- Sliced Roasted Red Peppers
- Lettuce
- Crumbled Feta
- Sliced Red Onions
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the rinsed and drained black beans, quinoa, tortilla chips, green onions, zucchini, onion, egg, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin and chile powder. Pulse for about 30 seconds until uniform in consistency. Turn the contents of the food processor into a bowl. Divide the mixture into 6 even segments and form into 6 patties.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add 3 of the patties and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side until fully cooked. Remove from the skillet and repeat the process with the remaining olive oil and patties.
- Once all the veggie burgers are cooked, assemble with butter brioche buns and assorted toppings. Serve immediately.
These look delicious! Such a perfect meal for Meatless Monday!
I LOVE a good veggie burger. And the idea of crushed chips in here is one I’m very very into! Can’t wait to try it out!
YUM! I love veggie burgers! the spices are wonderful.
My dream burger!
Gaby, this looks amazing! What would you recommend as a substitution for the egg for the vegan in our family? Thanks.
I haven’t tested it for vegan so I’m not able to say with 100% certainty but I’d just leave the egg out and it will still work
Perhaps flaxseed egg replacer?
We use vegan mayo as substitute and it works great.
Veggie burgers for the win! Love the tortilla chip addition.
girl, we are on the same page today! craving the veg burger! Shall we have dinner date? 😉
Crushed tortilla chips is a genius move! Gotta make these before summer’s gone 🙂
Made these tonight and they came out a little soft, when I flipped them they would break up a little. What did I do wrong? 🙂 the taste, however, is still delicious!
next time I’d pat them together really well, and really make sure to get all the moisture out of the zucchini. and then make sure they have a really crispy sear on one side before flipping and flip gently 🙂
I always refrigerate mine before frying it seems to help keep them together a little better.
Yes please. Love veggie burgers!!
Any suggestions for replacing the quinoa……….super allergic to quinoa!
could you use rice?
This sounds delicious! I’m a vegetarian living on a remote island and would love to make it… buuut no zucchini here Do you have suggestions of what I might be able to use instead?
Off the top of my head, local alternatives might be carrot, pumpkin, potato, taro, cucumber, celery…?
carrot!! 100%
do you cook then freeze?
you can do it either way!! but I prefer to cook then freeze
these are amazing!!! who needs meat?? I made 6 to freeze and am already planning to make them again! I used 1/2 teaspoon chile powder and they are super spicy and delicious:)
love it!! xoxo
I love the tortilla ship substitute for bread crumbs or other. Genius!
Love this idea so I can bring my own delicious burgers to summer bbq’s (no more cheese bun sandwiches!). If I cook the burgers and then freeze them, how long should I throw them on the grill for?
remove them from freezer, let thaw for an hour, and then grill for usual time
Plain tortilla chips? Or the flavoured kind?
I prefer plain tortilla chips – but either work!
These look great! Question: how many patties will I get out of the indicated ingrediants?
Thanks for your reply and greetings from Germany!
Anne
anne.powers@gmx.de
4-6 depending on how big you form the patties! xx
I tried this recipe and the taste is great, but I can’t get them to stay together. Any tips?
are you squeezing out all the liquid in the zucchini really well? If so, and it’s still too wet, I’d add some more tortilla chips to bind it together!
These are the best black beans burgers! The spice level and texture were perfect. The whole batch has disappeared! Thank you!
Can you make these ahead? Meaning make one day ahead and not cook? I am cooking for a sick friend and she needs protein. Love your cookbook!
yes absolutely!!
Could I sub white beans for the zucchini? Genius idea with the crushed tortilla chips!
yes!!
What can be used in place of tortilla chips if I don’t want to use processed ingredients?
Homemade bread crumbs!!
These will be perfect for dinner and to bring for lunch to work! Yum!!
These look delectable! WTG! Do you think a bean tortilla chip would work for someone who avoids corn?
totally
I love this recipe and use it all the time. I’ve even used it to make meatball sized patties and had them with a tomato sauce and spaghetti – delicious. Thanks Gaby! A total winner.
This was the best flavor black bean burger I’ve ever had! The corn tortilla chips are so much flavor, wow! The only problem I had was that they fell apart and crumbled very easily. Other than that, they were great!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. A recipe very interesting to try. I will tell mom to try this recipe. I’ll wait for your next recipe
My husband and I loved this recipe. I froze the extras, since there are just two of us, and cooked them a few weeks later. It worked perfectly.
Hey! These sound absolutely amazing and seem freezable! Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get zucchini recently. Any ideas on alternatives? Bonus points something that might be in my pantry
carrot?
These look great but I don’t have quinoa or a food processor. Can I substitute brown rice for the quinoa? What kind of flour did you use? Thanks!
regular flour and yes brown rice works!
Hey Gaby! Could you replace the spices in this with your blacken spice mix (from your salmon recipe) and top with bleu cheese for black and blue burgers? Or is there a better way to incorporate the blacken spices?
yes!!! yum
Delicious! I chilled mine for an our so they set up a little more. Perfect amount of spice.
Hi! I made these burgers and they were absolutely DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly.
The only thing i’m curious about is the consistency of the burger in the photo you show versus the look of my burger consistency. In your picture it looks as though you can see the grains of quinoa, the zucchini and onions. When I used the food processor everything blended together into a brownish mush….still delicious….just not very photogenic. lol Did you use the food processor and blend everything, like your recipe states?
Another winner, Gaby! A hit with the whole family, including a hubby who didn’t think he liked veggie burgers. Topped them with caramelized onions. Delish.
We loved these topped with avocado. It was so good and we have extras in the freezer. Gaby is a legend in our house! 🙂 Thank you!
Made these with Dave’s killer bread buns, fresh garden tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts. Served with Gaby’s sumac fries with garlic feta labneh. Great vegetarian dinner!
Looks and sounds amazing! Could these be baked in the oven instead?
haven’t tested it but I dont see why not!
This is one of my family’s favorite recipes! They freeze beautifully and are the first black bean burgers that I have made that actually stay together! Love them!!
Hi! Making these this week. One question – would you freeze before or after cooking? Only 2 of us in the house and love the idea of having some on hand. Thanks!
I’d freeze before and then thaw and cook when you’re ready to eat