For the past couple of years, I have been on a quest to create the perfect vegan black bean burger.
After many different attempts, I believe that I may have accomplished my goal with this vegan black bean burger with quinoa and beets.
Burgers made with animal protein have lots of sticky saturated fats which helps them bind together. One of the problems I have had in the past with my vegan black bean burger was it would fall apart because there was no fat binding it together.
Now with the discovery of aquafaba liquid, I have been able to create the perfect vegan burger.
If you are not familiar with aquafaba, it is that liquid hiding in your can of chickpeas. Not only can aquafaba replace an egg in a recipe, but also be used to make a meringue or whipped cream.
So not only does this vegan black bean burger bind together, it is nutritious, packed with flavor, and easy to prepare.
While the beets, quinoa, and black beans give it a great texture and a sweet and smoky flavor.
Therefore I have feeling this is going to be one of your favorite vegan burgers too.
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Vegan Black Bean Burger with Beets and Quinoa
- 1½ cup cooked quinoa
- 1¼ cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 8 ounces cooked beets, chopped fine*
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour (or any flour)
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons of aquafaba liquid*
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- 6 gluten-free buns
- Spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
- Lettuce
- Red onion, sliced
- Preheat the oven to 400
- In a large mixing bowl, add the black beans and beats and use a potato masher to mix them together. Stir in the quinoa, shallot, garlic, vinegar, lime, flour, flaxseed, salt, pepper, cilantro and aquafaba and combine well. You could also use a food processor but keep it a little chunky.
- Use your hands to divide the mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a patty.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined in parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until the the tops are firm.
- *Roasted Beets - Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until fork-tender, 50-60 minutes. Unwrap and cool enough, remove peels.
- *Aquafaba liquid is the liquid in a can of chickpeas. You could also use 1 flax egg.
I have no doubt that this burger is delish but I’ve been vegan for 20 years and even I would not take the time, trouble and expense to create what should be a simple thing from 19 ingredients. This is why many people resist becoming vegan-they think it’s too hard, too much work. Recipes like this make that point hard argue.
Hi Shanna – I agree – too many ingredients scares people off from a vegan diet but there are people who like to be adventurous and try some things that may be a little more labor intensive and comes with big rewards. As you know, this kind of recipe is unusual for even me but it does taste delicious. Thanks for commenting and for being part of our healthy community. Have a wonderful day!
I agree that the ingredient list looks a little long, but every ingredient required is already in my kitchen; they are staples for plant-based cooking. (OK, I would have to substitute onions for the shallots, but I’m sure they would still be really good.)
This is such a simple recipe. And I agree – these are kitchen staples. The only thing I don’t have right now is the beets. The beets can be cooked a couple of days in advance when the oven is already being used to cook something else. I have cooked quinoa in my freezer. The only thing I’d have to do is throw everything in the food processor. Pretty easy. And then there’ll be enough patties to store some in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal or lunch.
Thanks for your feedback Emma and for being part of our healthy community!
I made this recipe and it was super simple! It looks like a long list of ingredients but they are all very basic ingredients that you likely already have, minus the beets. I made a double batch and froze them! Then you have quick and easy dinners on hand.
Thanks for sharing Mariah!
My feeling about recipes like this is that the ingredients are all staples and it’s worth putting in the time to make a big batch in order to wrap and freeze enough for many future meals. I do this a lot – on a day when I have time, do some more intensive cooking and then I’m able to pull a frozen item from the freezer and have a quick and easy supper on busy nights.
Hi Patsy and thanks for stopping by! Great idea and thanks for sharing. I am always encouraging people to batch cook so they don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing recipes…and thanks for being part of our healthy community!
I’m trying to lose weight and need to count calories. I wish everyone would put the calorie count on the recipe. Also not so much with this recipe but many authors put ingredients as: like one small onion….small is relative, compared to what? Weight is a much better way to measure stuff even flour, as the humidity effects the measurement. Just sayin…Thanks, I like your sight.
Hi Robin – I apologize for not having the calorie amount. I am a one woman show for this website and podcast so everyday I run out of time. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for being part of our healthy community.
Hi Nancy, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Sounds so yummy and easy enough. I tried a recipe for “black bean meatballs” and although the flavour was ok it was not a recipe I would use again. (It wasn’t one of yours😉). I have enjoyed any of yours so far
Thank you Lynda for the kind words and for taking the time to share. Nancy
Hello Nancy… I loved your mushroom gravy and when I saw this recipe I knew it was going to be good. I generally have all of these ingredients but after reading it I put beets on my shopping list. Finally, this morning I made them… WOW… they are a winner, winner black bean dinner! I loved the flavours so much! I started cooking the quinoa, then threw my beets in to boil, by the time I organized the rest of the ingredients those 2 items were done and I threw it all into my food processor and voila, finished so from start to pre-bake it was about 20 minutes… I was impressed with how easy it was to put together. I did use onions instead of shallots, still so good. I’ll be making it again. Thank you Nancy… and I will be looking forward to making your other recipes.
Hi Sherry – Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to post. I appreciate it very much and I appreciate you being part of our healthy community! Keep spreading the compassion.
Nancy
Hi Nancy, made these today they are delicious, another winner! I honestly didn’t think the ingredient list was excessive or expensive, the majority of the things are pantry staples. Keep on doing what your doing, it’s amazing! 🙂
Hi Marj – thank you so much for your very kind words and for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it and love hearing your feedback.
Nancy
Well I can’t wait to try this! I have so many issues as a Coeliac non meat eater,finding vegan tasty food full of goodness. Beets are fab but not everyone’s cup of tea so you could put sweet potato in there instead! Thanks for this-I will cook up this feast at the weekend-J
Good idea about the sweet potato Julia – Thanks for stopping by and for being part of our healthy community. Hope you enjoy.