Black Bean and Beet Burger Recipe and Video
If you’re new here, I am OBSESSED with veggie burgers. I have two posted on this website — a black bean and brown rice burger with smoky red pepper sauce and a chickpea burger. Both are hearty, flavorful and delicious. This black bean and beet burger might just be my favorite. If you don’t like beets (and I know you’re out there,) I’m not sure if this will change your mind since you can definitely see the beets, but the burger tastes like more of the spices in the mix than anything else. Check out my YouTube video here on how to roast beets.
These are great for Meatless Mondays and so perfect for back-to-school since you can make a batch and freeze them for an easy weeknight dinner. I have pulled them straight from the freezer and cooked them frozen, just like you could with a store-bought one. I love to eat a veggie burger on a bed of greens with a sauce or spread of some sort, cooked onions and avocado. Of course the kids and my husband love eating them as a true burger on a bun with or without cheese. My favorite buns are any of the sprouted Food For Life Baking ones, toasted. The family is really into the “Million Dollar Buns” by Dave’s Killer Bread. I wrote about Dave’s Killer Bread in one of my Friday Favorites. Some of the varieties contain canola oil which I avoid like the plague (refined, pro-inflammatory, usually GMO, blech) and the buns contain canola oil so they’re a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of food.
Although I include all types of whole foods on this site, including animal products, I do think we should be eating a mostly plant-based, anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic diet. These burgers fit the bill and still keep all the burger lovers in my house very happy, too.
- 8 ounces beets, steamed or roasted, and peeled (1 large or 2 small)
- 3 cups black beans, or 2 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup cooked, cold brown rice
- ¼ cup dried figs, diced small
- ¼ cup oat flour
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons brown mustard
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Unrefined coconut oil for cooking patties
- Sprouted grain hamburger buns, for serving (optional)
- Accompaniments: grilled onions, avocado, tomato, cheese, sprouts
- Quarter the beets and pulse along with 2 cups of the black beans in a food processor until roughly chopped.
- Add beet-bean mixture to a large bowl, along with the next 13 ingredients (remaining black beans, brown rice, dried figs, oat flour, red onion, garlic, smoked paprika, brown mustard, ground cumin, ground coriander, thyme leaves, salt, pepper). Stir to combine, mashing the mixture together with a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Using a half cup measure, form six patties. Cover them with parchment paper or plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet or on a griddle pan, heat an ⅛ inch of oil. Add the burgers and cook over medium heat, turning once, until browned and heated through, about 6 minutes. Serve with desired accompaniments.
26 Comments
Dave’s Killer bread contains *wheat gluten* as an added ingredient. It’s just a super processed product dressed up as a health food. So why stress the gluten free oats? Oats don’t naturally contain gluten, but there is cross contamination, maybe.
Dave’s does have great marketing and labeling, and of course the bread tastes great.
As written, all the flavor of cardboard–tasteless without oil or fat. Increase the amounts of herbs and spices substantially and cook them in EVO to extract their flavors before adding to the rest of the ingredients AND/OR add a lot of oil or fat during frying.
Sorry these didn’t have enough fat or oil to your liking. Recipes are just guidelines and you should feel free to adjust as suits you. That said, I taught these burgers in about 20 classes and they got rave reviews every time!
I’ve always loved Houston’s black bean veggie burger! Can I used canned beets?
Sure!
I had exactly the same issue: tasted great but mushy. I thought I thoroughly drained the beans, but I will apply a paper towel next time to be sure they are dry. I really can not imagine I over processed, but will watch that too if I try this recipe again.
I tried some other veggie burgers off the web but didn’t like. Made your today and was very good. Could not find dried figs so used dried prunes.I can’t have oil so I cooked them in my air frier.They turned out great.Thanks
Thank you, Charles. Love your adaptations! I’m glad you gave them a try.
This site really has all the information and facts I wanted concerning this subject and
didn’t know who to ask.
Thanks Pamela! These were great! However, I feel I did something wrong. Though the flavor was terrific, the consistency was mushy. Maybe I pulseded the beets and beans too much. Anyway, what do you suggest to firm them up? More flour maybe? I still have 5 to cook.
Hmmmm…..whne you rinsed the beans, did you drain them well so they weren’t soaking wet? Maybe it was overprocessed; maybe something was mismeasured. I can’t say from where I’m sitting. You can add some breadcrumbs and refrigerate them a bit. If they were overprocessed, you can’t really add texture back in though. I’m sure they’ll be good enough to eat!
I had exactly the same issue: tasted great but mushy. I thought I thoroughly drained the beans, but I will apply a paper towel next time to be sure they are dry. I really can not imagine I over processed, but will watch that too if I try this recipe again.
Hi Pam
We doubled your recipe for black bean and beet burgers.I have to complement your as they were delicious! We all loved them! Thank you!
Hilary
hilaryarwnstein@gmail.com
Terrific!!
Just made these for the first time. These are the bomb. I loved them. Thank you.
That’s great! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi Pamela, I cook for my elderly Dad who has become vegan so I’m always looking for new ideas. I have seen black bean and beet burgers being sold in the supermarket, so decided to look up the recipe on line to make them myself. Came across your recipe and they really turned out wonderful. I changed the dried figs and put in some chopped prunes instead and it really turned out nice. I
I want to give your recipe 5 stars, but am having problems when I click on them. It only seems to go as far as 2 stars, but it deserves more than that. Just so that you know.
Oh, so glad these worked well for you. Your dad is lucky to have such a wonderful daughter who understands the value of nutritious food. Thank you!
Hi Pamela,
Can these be frozen uncooked like your chick pea burgers? Or should I cook all and then freeze?
Thanks!
Yes! I prefer to freeze them uncooked.
Made these last night! They were amazing and my husband who loves a good hamburger was very impressed! Thank you for all of these healthy and easy recipes! I am new to cooking and your videos are so very helpful ! Any tips for how to store them as left overs?
My favorite veggie burgers! Just put them in a container in the fridge and reheat in a toaster oven or a regular oven to warm through.
Your videos are fantastic. They take all of the guesswork out of the process and for those of us who are visual, make preparing your great recipes so much easier. Keep the videos coming! My family loves the veggie burgers!
Thank you, Susan. That is so very nice of you to say! 🙂
Hi Pamela! My husband and I do not eat brown rice or oats. Can we sub the brown rice with wild rice and the oat flour with coconut flour? If not, do you recommend another substitution? Thanks!
Hi Holly! You could probably sub well-cooked wild rice for the brown rice and 1/4 of the amount of oat flour with coconut flour or tapioca starch. But full-disclosure — since I haven’t tried it, I have no idea if it would work. I am assuming you don’t eat grains, but if you do, cooked barley would also work well in place of the rice.