These Best Gluten-free Vegan Black Bean Burgers are the best you’ll try! They are packed with amazing depth of flavor, no bland burgers here! They are also a hearty, chewy texture and are baked, not friend, as well as oil-free!
GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN BLACK BEAN BURGERS
Finally, a gluten-free vegan black bean burger that doesn’t fall apart, has a nice chew to it and doesn’t all squish out from the inside when you take a bite! Do you all know what I’m talking about?? I can’t stand it when I bite into a bean burger and the whole thing turns to mush in my hands and squeezes out from the buns.
Well, my lovely readers, these bean burgers not only hold together, they are so flippin healthy, they are basically fat-free. Did I mention they taste incredible too?? Great salsa flavor with a bit of a kick, but totally kid-friendly. So many black bean burgers are BLAND and lacking serious flavor. But these are loaded with flavor. In fact, it’s a bit hard not to eat it all before baking it!
These baked black bean burgers are nut-free, gluten-free and oil-free!
Do you know what is even cooler about these burgers? They make a great crumbled taco “meat” too! I crumble up the burgers and serve them in tortilla wraps with lots of my Mexican Tahini Sauce and it is to die for!
SECRET INGREDIENTS
These are awesome because of 2 special ingredients you wouldn’t typically expect in a bean burger recipe….cornmeal and mashed potatoes. There is NO standard flour, breadcrumbs or oats in these babies. There isn’t even your usual flax for binding. These are the 2 magic ingredients that help bind the burgers, keep the inside moist and give them a nice chew. The potatoes cook and form a nice thin crust on the outside.
The cornmeal idea is based on my super popular Barbecue Lentil Loaf recipe, where for the first time, instead of using oats or regular flour like most other recipes out there, I used cornmeal instead. This gave the lentil loaf amazing firm, “meaty” texture and made them hold together so well. With such success on that loaf, I knew a bean burger could work the same. Well, cornmeal on it’s own did NOT work…it made them too dry and completely too fragile in the burgers. So, I decided to add potatoes. I used potatoes as the base of my Gluten-free Potato Pizza Crust and it works brilliantly. It works as a binder and is firm and chewy.
Layer on your toppings of choice. We added lettuce, onions, tomatoes and my Mexican tahini, but salsa on top is equally as mind-blowing…maybe even better?!
BOOM. Bean burgers with awesome ingredients and awesome texture and flavor. Top them with my Mexican Tahini Sauce and you’re in business.
CAN YOU FREEZE THESE BLACK BEAN BURGERS?
Yes! To freeze, cook them as instructed and let them completely cool. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then foil as well. I don’t know how long these will store in the freezer, as I’ve only done it about a couple of weeks. To reheat, cook them 10-15 minutes at 300°F in the oven.
If you make these Baked Vegan Black Bean Burgers, I’d love hearing about it!
Disclaimer: These are BEAN burgers, they are made from beans, salsa and veggies and will taste like a bean burger. They are not meant to resemble meat in any way, shape or form. So, please don’t expect a bean burger to resemble meat. This is not that kind of recipe.
MORE VEGAN BURGERS AND SANDWICHES
- Cajun Red Beans and Rice Burgers
- Smoky Barbecue Sweet Potato Chickpea Burger
- Smashed Caesar Chickpea Sandwich
- Curry Chickpea Sandwiches
*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Best Vegan Black Bean Burgers (Baked)
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup (150g) red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 cup (220g) mashed potatoes (skin removed)
- two 15 oz cans no-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup (180g) mild or medium heat chunky salsa (I use the Sprouts Medium Salsa, it's nice & chunky)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1/4 cup medium grind coarse cornmeal (SEE NOTES at bottom!)
- For serving Mexican Tahini Sauce is amazing on the burgers
NOTE
- Weigh your measurements if possible so the texture/moisture level turns out correctly with these burgers, as it's easy to pack too much potato or not enough and it affect the texture.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400°F. Place the chopped bell peppers on a pan lined with parchment paper. Roast for 10 minutes, they will finish cooking later in the burgers. Lower the heat to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the salsa, chili powder, cumin, salt and oregano. Stir until well mixed. Set aside.
- Cook the potatoes either in the microwave (whole with the skins on so they keep their moisture) wrapped in a wet paper towel until soft and tender. I don't recommend boiling them because excess moisture will get into the burgers. Peel and mash them completely and measure 1 full cup packed tightly and then leveled off.
- Pat dry the drained beans with a paper towel. REMOVE 1 cup of the black beans and add them to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining beans to a food processor. Add the potatoes potatoes to the processor. Add the reserved salsa mixture. Pulse until it all comes together in a sticky, thick mashed/chunky paste.. It should only take a few pulses. Don't over process.
- Add the beans/potato mixture to the reserved bowl of extra beans. Add the roasted bell pepper as well. Add the cornmeal.
- Mix all of it together until everything is combined well and the batter is very thick.
- The mixture should be holding together well and not too wet. You should be able to form patties, but if for some reason your mixture seems too wet (can be depending on salsa used), then place the batter into the fridge 15 minutes.
- Form 6 large even patties using a heaping 1/2 cup scoop. I like to form balls and then flatten them on the pan. Flatten each patty to about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake for 25 minutes (375°F). Carefully flip them. They will still be tender at this point, so flip gently. At 25 minutes, they should have formed a thin crispy bottom making it fairly easy to flip them. If the bottoms are not coming up fairly easy and still sticking to the paper, cook 3-5 more minutes and then flip. Cook 10 more minutes on the 2nd side.
- Cool 5-10 minutes before eating, as they will firm up even more. Assemble burgers with desired toppings. I served them with my awesome Mexican Tahini as the dressing. These are even better the next day as they get even more of a chewy "meaty" texture.
Notes
Definitely the best veggie burger I’ve ever had! I wasn’t prepared for the explosion of flavors. So good!
Yay! Best feedback, thank you so much Tom for the awesome review!
I’m wondering what kind of GF/Vegan bun you recommend? Unfortunately, I have not found a GF/Vegan bun that I like.
This recipe looks great! 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Terri! I have never found one either. These in the photo are not gluten-free. I wish I could be of more help on the gf buns but gluten-free options out there are just not tasty…so I just stick with wheat. I have tested some versions here at home but they are not a “winner” yet, so I’ll keep at it.
Hi Nina! It is a bean burger, it’s not supposed to taste like beef or turkey. Nowhere on the recipe does it claim to taste like meat, that is why they are called bean burgers, so naturally it’s going to taste like beans. I’ve eaten black bean burgers my whole life and love them. But, if you are interested in a burger tasting like meat (not sure if you are vegan or not) then you will need to try a brand called Beyond Meat that DOES claim to taste similar to ground beef. Also, these burgers are not dry at all, so it sounds to me like you used the wrong kind of cornmeal…if you used a regular cornmeal, then it absolutely will soak up all the moisture and make them dry. Hopefully this helps and clears things up!
Love that this recipe is so simple! I’m looking forward to making it for my daughter who LOVES veggie burgers AND…….your chocolate ice cream recipe…..I am making for ME! I look forward to trying lots and lots of your recipes. Thx for sharing 🙂
I’m so happy you loved this recipe and the ice cream, thank you so much Susan!
Love love love this recipe with the Mexican tahini sauce!!! I make them a lot easier than the recipe. I don’t use a food processor, I just use my hands to mash up and works well. Using the food processor never worked well for me and was hard to get off the blade. Also, I lengthen the time in the oven to 35/15 minutes then are nice and firm. Thanks so much for all of your awesome recipes!!!
So happy you loved these! Always works perfectly for me in my food processor but perhaps it’s a different size or brand. Regardless, glad you love them!
That’s sounds divine. I don’t like stuff over processed. I’m going to make them by hand also. And I always cook until crisp. Thank you for your comment.
These turned out amazing! I have eaten many veggie burgers at expensive restaurants..and this is truly the BEST!!! On the bottom of the burger I put a slice of tomato and a leaf of lettuce; on the top I put tahini sauce, sliced leek, feta, and some bruschetta. So SO good! Only thing I will do different next time is get an actual food processor(my ninja struggled), and get bigger buns haha! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Thank you SO very much Sarah for a review that really made my day! Such a huge compliment, thank you for sharing and rating the recipe! Isn’t that tahini sauce just so good!? So glad these were such a hit!
Potatoes…. can’t wait to try this recipe.
Recipe says “Serves 1 burger”??
It yields 6 burgers or 4 large ones. The directions also state how many burgers it will yield depending on the size you want, hope that helps!
Winner! We’re only a month into our low-fat vegan adventure and I love that I found your burger so soon! I’m going to try Italian seasonings and make “meat” balls for a spaghetti dish. We’ve used left over patties and crumbled them into burritos and it’s great! I can see this mix being my go-to hearty meat texture while just playing with the seasonings to coordinate with the dish. No guilt in these burgers! Thank you!
So wonderful to hear Debi! So glad you loved them! I use these same burgers as crumbled “meat” as well! It works great in tacos and also over fresh salads! 🙂
After I left this comment I found your recipe for “meatballs”. As of today, would you prefer those with couscous or this recipe with Italian seasonings?
Hi Debi! The couscous balls hold together very well for balls since I created them specifically to be balls, so these burgers wouldn’t quite hold as well together as balls. Especially since the “meatballs” hold together even well when cutting with a fork. They are so delicious with all the pasta and spaghetti sauce!
Wow, these look delicious! Definitely going to have to make these for lunch sometime this week!
Brandi– thank you for another great recipe!!!
BTW– any chance you have nutrition information for your recipes?
Thank you! Hope you and your family have a merry Christmas and blessings abundant in the year to come!
Hi Kristin! I do include nutritional info on most recipes when I have the time, but sometimes I just don’t. You can however use the site caloriecount.com and plug in the ingredients using their “Recipe Analyzer” Tool if you are curious on any recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi Brandi! I made these burgers recently and the end result was extremely mushy. Believe it or not, I cooked them an extra hour wondering what would happen. They were still mushy. This has happened with another veggie burger recipe I have tried as well so at this point, I am thinking the cause is something I am doing wrong. Have you ever heard of this? Do you have any suggestions as to why my veggies burgers turn out mushy?
Hi Nicole! Oh wow, that is very strange. These aren’t mushy at all and I’ve never heard that from all the feedback from readers, they’ve all loved these burgers. You can even see in the photos how sturdy and chewy they are. And if you are having that issue with other recipes as well, then I would ask if you are changing the recipes in any way? Are you following the steps closely and did you use cornmeal? Cooking for a whole extra hour and still being mushy sounds like the measurements were way off.
Thank you for your feedback and suggestions! I try to follow all recipes I use very closely. The only thing I can think of is that I used two 14 oz cans of beans instead of two 15 oz cans. Also, I may have overpacked the potatoes. I did use cornmeal. Do you think those two things could effect the end result?
If you overpacked the potatoes, then yes, just lightly pack them and level off and just double check all the ingredients when measuring carefully. Make sure you are draining the beans, too!
Hi – how well do these hold together while cooking? Do you think they would do well on the grill? Maybe over foil? Thanks!
Hi Gretchen! I haven’t tried them on the grill, but on foil I think they’d probably do well! As long as you follow the blending steps closely and make sure it’s processed well with the potato, these hold really well together! Let me know how they turn out! Enjoy!
I made the burgers and the sauce tonight. Very delicious!
So happy to hear that Kaye, thank you so much for letting me know!
Yum!!! these are so delicious!
I love step 2: “You may have a bit extra, so just eat it.”
Hahahaha my thoughts exactly
Haha!! Thank you so much Samantha! I’m so happy you loved them! Lol, yes, I tend to get a bit goofy in my directions ?
Just finished eating my first burger. It was wonderful! Flavorful, moist, delicious. So glad to find another GF burger to add to my menu list. And the Mexican tahini sauce was great. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Whitney! I truly appreciate it and I’m so glad these were a hit!
I made this a couple days ago and I’m eating them with my salads. They are very good! And I love that they hold up pretty good! Definitely recommended!
Yay! So happy to hear that Silvana, thank you so much for letting me know!
These burgers are the best I’ve ever made or tasted at any vegan restaurant! The texture is perfect! I made a triple batch tonight to put in the freezer. I only had about 3/4 c salsa (for my triple batch) so I added a can of mild Rotel tomatoes (drained and put in the food processor). Perfect. I also mixed the bean mash and potato “glue” by hand after processing individually. Sticky, messy, and totally worth it. I was licking my fingers.
Wow, thank you so much Lauren for such incredible feedback! I’m so happy to hear these are the best burgers you’ve ever had! That really makes me happy to hear, thank you!
Hi Brandi.
Are these freezable, either before or after cooking? I am cooking for one and won’t be able to polish these off in one sitting!
thanks!
Hi Jackie! I would definitely cook them first and then tightly seal them in plastic wrap and then in another container and then just reheat them on low in the oven and that should work just fine 🙂 Let me know what you think of them!
At 44 grams of carbs (and I don’t know if that is counting the bun) these are really high in carbs.
Hi Laura. I do not follow a low carb way of eating. This recipe contains all good ingredients and I always encourage people to focus on the nutrients of the ingredients, the quality of the food, not the carbs or protein count. Butter is low carbs but it’s clearly not a healthy food. I eat a 100% vegan diet, everything is carbs and plenty of protein, but it is whole foods. I’m no longer consuming unhealthy foods like meats/cheeses and oils and everything in this recipe are healthy ingredients, not the same thing as eating carbs in the form of fried donuts or pastries or things of that nature. Both my husband and I’s health drastically improved this way, so that’s what I focus on. The only reason I provide the nutrition is for my reader’s purpose. 🙂
Made these over 4th of July. I used Jap sweet potatoes cuz well we love them and this was amazing. We just ate the last one today. I need to remember to quadruple you’re recipes cuz they are that good. Love the mix of mashed and whole beans, the flavors and the texture was great. Thanks Brandi.
Thank you so much Estee for the kind words and awesome feedback! I am so glad you loved these so much and the sweet potatoes sound sooo good!!
Let me start off by saying OMG!!! Best burger I have EVER made! Seriously, I used to not like following recipes, they seemed too long or complicated so I just loved letting my creativity lose and come up with stuff with whatever I had laying around. But, after making Brandi’s delicious recipe, I am now hungry for more! I can’t wait to try another one of Brandi’s awesome recipes. For this burger, if you’re having any doubts about making it, don’t. Trust me on this, you won’t regret making it 😀
Wow Sophie! Thank you so much for leaving such wonderful feedback, you made my day! I’m so happy to hear you loved these so much! They are definitely our favorite burgers here as well, thanks again for such kind words! I love hearing from my readers, so thank you 🙂
These are amazing! Seriously!
Awesome, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much!!