This chipotle black bean burger recipe comes together in under 30 minutes! Make it once, and it'll have a permanent place in your regular rotation.
This black bean burger recipe is going to be your new best friend. The hearty patties are charred on the outside, tender in the middle, and packed with bold, smoky flavor. But that’s not all. They’re also easy to make! You won’t need to haul out the food processor or dirty 3 pans to whip them up. Nope – this black bean burger recipe comes together in one bowl in under 30 minutes, cooking time included.
Lately, Jack and I have been cooking the burgers outside on the grill, but they come out just as well in a cast-iron skillet on the stove. Make them for a laid-back summer cookout or for a quick weeknight dinner at any time of year. They’re the newest addition to our regular recipe rotation, and once you try them, they’ll have a permanent spot in yours, too.
Black Bean Burger Recipe Ingredients
Another great thing about this recipe? It uses basic ingredients! You likely have all of them on hand already:
- Black beans, of course! Use canned, or cook your own.
- Onion – I grate the onion on the large holes of a box grater before mashing it with the other ingredients. When you grate it, the onion will release a lot of liquid. That’s normal! Add the moist onion pulp to the black bean mixture, leaving excess liquid behind on your work surface.
- Garlic – Along with the onion, it gives this black bean burger recipe sharp depth of flavor.
- Canned chipotles and adobo sauce – They add smoky flavor and a little heat.
- Balsamic vinegar and tamari – They make the patties tangy and savory.
- Panko bread crumbs – They give the burgers their hearty texture.
- An egg – To bind everything together!
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Combine the black beans, onion, garlic, chipotles and adobo sauce, cumin, balsamic, tamari, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Use a large fork or potato masher to mash the mixture until it starts to hold together but still has visible chunks of black beans. Fold in the egg, followed by the panko bread crumbs.
Form the mixture into 6 patties, about a heaping 1/3 cup each. Then, cook! You can use a cast-iron skillet or an outdoor grill for this step. Either way, the patties should be well-charred, crisp on the outside, and tender in the middle. Enjoy!
Best Black Bean Burger Recipe Tips
- If the black bean mixture is too wet to handle, pop it in the fridge. It firms up nicely after chilling for just 20 minutes!
- Or mash it more. The mashed black beans play an important role in making these patties firm and cohesive. If your mixture won’t hold together, continue to mash the beans until you’re able to form patties.
- Can’t flip them? Keep cooking. If you’re grilling your patties, make sure to cook them for a full 8 minutes on the first side. If they’re sticking to the grill, keep cooking! Chances are, they’ll be easy to flip in a minute or two, once the first side is nice and charred. I also recommend brushing the patties with olive oil before putting them on the grill to prevent sticking.
- Charred burgers are better burgers. This black bean burger recipe comes out best when the patties have a really nice char. If you’re cooking them on the grill, look for distinct grill marks and crisp edges. If you cook them in a skillet, each side should be crisp and blackened. For the best results, make sure your skillet is hot when you add the patties, and cook them for 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Get ahead. This is a great recipe to make in advance! If you want to cook the burgers right before you eat, mash together the beans and seasonings, fold in the egg and panko, and form the burger patties. Then, transfer the patties to a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate them for up to a day before cooking. Otherwise, cook the patties in advance and reheat them before serving. Store the cooked patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Black Bean Burger Serving Suggestions
Once you’ve cooked your patties, it’s time to eat! I love to serve this homemade black bean burger with chipotle sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion or pickled red onion, and dill pickles for crunch. Use your favorite burger buns, or make homemade hamburger buns to take your black bean burger over the top.
Round out the meal with mixed grilled vegetables or grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, or a summer salad. Any of these 37 Best Summer Salads would be great, but I especially love these salad recipes with this black bean burger:
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Watermelon Salad with Feta
And of course, you can’t go wrong with fries! My air fryer French fries or sweet potato fries would both be delicious with this chipotle black bean burger. Grilled potatoes would be a great choice too.
More Favorite Veggie Burger and Sandwich Recipes
If you love these homemade black bean burgers, try one of these veggie burger or sandwich recipes next:
- Best Veggie Burger
- Quinoa Burger
- Falafel Burgers
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Crispy Cauliflower Po’ Boy Sandwich
- Caprese Sandwich
Best Black Bean Burger
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup grated yellow onion*, (about 1/2 medium)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo, diced, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg**
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
- Cooking spray, if grilling
- Hamburger buns and desired fixings, for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the beans, onion, garlic, chipotles, adobo sauce, tamari, balsamic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash until the mixture holds together but still has some visible chunks of black beans. Add the egg and use a spatula to fold until combined. Then, fold in the panko.
- Use your hands to form the mixture into 6 patties. The mixture should be cohesive and a little wet. If it’s too wet to handle, chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up or mash your beans a little bit more.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Brush with a little oil and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, until charred on both sides, turning the heat down as necessary. The exact timing will depend on the heat of your stove and cookware.
- Alternatively, preheat an outdoor grill to 400°F. Lightly brush the patties with olive oil, spray the grill grates, and grill for 8 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the second side.
- Serve with hamburger buns and desired fixings.
These were so delicious, thank you for suggesting the pickled onions, the sweet and sour of pickled red onions made these burgers AMAZING!! So good. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Cal, I’m so glad you loved them with the pickled onions!
Delicious ! But mine were very delicate and didn’t hold together very well. Still, will make again because the flavour was fantastic.
Hi Kim, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! You could try mashing the beans a bit more in the future to help the burgers hold together.
Can these patties be air fried?
Hi Kadie, we haven’t tried air frying them, but I think it would work well. Maybe for 20 minutes at 370°F, flipping halfway? They’re ready when they’re browned on the outside and fairly firm in the middle.
I just made these and they’re great! I cooked them on a George Foreman grill (6 min.). I wasn’t sure it would work but it was perfect with a bit of avocado oil to prevent sticking. Thank you for another great recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Making these for the second time. THEY ARE AWESOME. I use almond flour instead of panko, and coconut aminos instead of tamari. I also add in a can of diced green chilies. SO GOOD. Thank YOU!
Hi Aimee, I’m so glad you loved them!
Just made these. They’re great! Thank you. I ended up using a food processor, which worked really well. In that case, I wonder if it’s still necessary to grate the onion? If not, perhaps 1/2 cup diced?
Hi Ian, correct, if you use a food processor you don’t necessarily have to grate the onion.
Hi! I love this recipe ! I have made it twice this week already. I like that it doesn’t need a food processor. The texture was great. They didn’t fall apart when I cooked them and they didn’t stick to the pan. I used avocado oil spray to keep them from sticking. The adobo peppers give it just a little spiciness. Maybe only use 1 pepper or use smoked paprika if making for children. The only change I made was to make 8 patties instead of 6. I liked them smaller. Will send this to my daughters.
Hi Lisa, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! Can you tell me about the nutritional values in this recipe? Thank you!!!!
Hi Shawna, unfortunately we don’t calculate nutrition facts for our recipes. I recommend using an online nutrition calculator to get an estimate!
I plugged it into chronometer.
1 patty (of 6):
182 cal, 10g protein, 32.7 carbs, fiber 9.6, 1.5g of fat (not counting oil for pan/grill).
I miss bean burgers! When my husband was a vegetarian, I used to throw beans and everything else into my trusty food processor and make burgers. They were so good! I should start making them again! Thanks!
Hi Mimi, I hope you love the recipe!
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I am going to make it for a vegetarian book club and was wondering if I could pre-mix the ingredients the night before?
Hi Elizabeth – yes, you can make the patties the night before and store them covered in the fridge;.
Can you suggest a substitute for the chipotles in adobo that may be too spicy for my granddaughters? Or would just omitting them be okay since there will be flavors contributed with the cumin, balsamic and tamari?
Hi Susan, I would use 1/4 cup tomato paste in place of the chipotles and adobo. This way the ratios of the wet ingredients will stay the same, but they won’t be at all spicy,
What is the nutritional value of these burgers. I’m especially interested in fat, sodium, and protein
Hi Carol, we don’t calculate nutrition facts but you can plug in the ingredients to a site like my fitness pal.
bummer. it’s really hard to do a recipe like this on fitness pal. never can match the macros that I add up. maybe you know a secret.
Love this recipe!!! I’ve made black bean burgers before and they’re dry with no taste. The adobo peppers give an incredible taste. This is now my go to black bean burger recipe
Made recipe as stated…AWESOME! I suggest if you don’t like any heat just scrape the seeds out of the peppers…because they are legit in this recipe. The recipe itself is NOT spicey…my hot that I can handle is Frank’s Red Hot….this is not even half that hot. I threw out my other bean burger recipes…this one is the keeper!
I’m so glad you loved the burgers!
Very tasty, but for me, too much of the bread crumbs. BF loved it, though, and ate two burgers. And he’s a meat and potatoes guy, so thanks.
So glad you both enjoyed the burgers!
As a stubborn meat eater, I’ve never had a bean burger of any kind. Tried this because I want to eat less meat and was blown away by how much I liked it. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Tried these tonight. Here are my changes I had to make – I did not have chipotles so I used about 2 tsp of tomato paste and 1/2 jalapeno. At the store, my husband picked up a can of regular black beans and a can black bean soup that had peppers and onions in it. They did not have the heat but the flavor of these is fantastic! I would definitely use the soup again! A keeper of a quick dinner? Thank you for sharing!
Delicious! Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the family loved them.
I’m so happy to hear that!
I have the same question as Jennifer. Should we freeze before cooking or after? My guess would be before, but I’m wondering if anyone has tried??
Hi Kelly, you can do it either way! Cook the burgers ahead of time, then freeze them and reheat in the oven or microwave. Or freeze the patties uncooked, then allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking them according to the recipe.
I am going to make this recipe with the intention of freezing the burgers. Do you recommend freezing them without grilling or grilling them first and then freezing after they have cooled?
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Jennifer, You can do it either way! If you freeze the uncooked patties, let them thaw overnight in the fridge before you cook them.