Chipotle Black Bean Burger | Make your next burger night meat-free! But make it full of flavor with this veggie chipotle black bean burger. These veggie burgers are packed with flavor and healthy ingredients like black beans, bell pepper, and oats. Whiz them up in a food processor and bake for an easy meatless Monday dinner idea.
Recently, I've been switching up my diet to include less meat and something that has really helped me out is Veggie Burgers. I have eaten so. many. veggie. burgers. I love them as a burger, or on the side of some brown rice in a grain bowl, stuffed into a pita, even chopped up on a salad.
And at some point this summer, I bought some veggie patties at the store that I was really looking forward to but was ultimately disappointed. So I made my own. And these chipotle black bean burgers are not disappointing in the slightest.
The amount of oats, oat flour, or all-purpose flour you will need, will depend on how big your green pepper and onion are, how much moisture they have in them, and how large your egg is (if using an egg).
The most important part of making them is letting the mix sit for 20 minutes. Don't touch! Don't be like me and start making them anyway (like I did in the video because I was in a rush).
You can watch the video below and see the difference in the first portion I lay on the baking sheet and then the next one. The first one is too soft and wet still. So let it sit and rest. It'll be easier to scoop and form and they won't flatten out as much.
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Ingredients
About the ingredients for this recipe.
See the recipe card below for exact amounts.
- Black Beans - I've used both canned and home cooked black beans (pressure cooker!) for this recipe, they both work.
- An onion, garlic, and a green bell pepper - I used a sweet onion - you could use white, yellow or red onion. You can use red, yellow, or orange bell pepper if you prefer the sweeter ones.
- Corn - I use frozen corn. I let it sit to thaw, or cover it in boiled water for a few minutes, or sometimes microwave it to thaw it. Either works. You can use canned or fresh corn. Sometimes I use peas. I used a mix for the video for this recipe.
- Chipotle paste, ground cumin, chili powder - All of these items give these homemade veggie patties great flavor. The spices are pretty common. The chipotle paste is a puree of smoked and dried chipotle peppers. It's delicious and gives some heat and smokiness.
- Egg - this helps hold the burger patties together. To make this a vegan burger, use an egg replacer product or try a flax egg or ground flax seeds.
- Oats - Oats are one of my top ten favorite ingredients. They are healthy and versatile! In this recipe they help give the patties structure and also help keep you feeling full.
Equipment
I use my Ninja Food Processor for this recipe. You can use a food processor or a knife and cutting board to prep the ingredients and then a fork or potato masher to mash the black beans and mix everything together.
Instructions
You can use a food processor or mix these burgers by hand. I'll give instructions for both methods.
How to make veggie burgers using a Food Processor:
Cut the core, stem, and seeds out of the green pepper, and slice the onion in half. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic into the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a few times to chop.
Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse again until everything is mixed together. Blend until you get the texture you like.
If you like more texture in your patties, you can hold back about a cup or so of the black beans and some of the corn while pulsing everything else together. Stir them in after to maintain larger pieces.
Add more oats or flour if your mixture seems very wet still.
How to Make Veggie Burgers without a food processor
You'll need a knife and cutting board for this method as well as a fork or potato masher.
Start by dicing the bell pepper and onion. Mince the garlic.
Add the black beans to a large mixing bowl and mix them to your preferred texture, using either a fork or a potato masher.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with the black beans. Mix everything together. Add more oats or some all-purpose flour if your mixture seems very wet still.
Make sure to let the veggie patty mixture sit for 20 minutes or so before you start cooking. This gives the oats time to soak up moisture. You'll notice the difference.
How to cook veggie burgers
The mixture makes a dozen ½ cup portions.
You can either pan-fry these patties or bake them in the oven. Pan-frying yields a crispier outside but I find the inside is softer and squishier when eating them. Baking the veggie patties doesn't yield as crispy of an outside coating, but it does help the burger stick together and stay together better without crumbling. The choice is yours!
To bake the veggie burgers
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper.
Drop a ½ cup portion of the mix onto a baking sheet. Shape it with a spoon into a burger patty shape. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, using two baking pans if you need to. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes. If they stick when you try to flip, bake another 5 minutes and try again.
To pan fry veggie burgers
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil to help the burgers crisp. Scoop out a ½ cup portion of the mixture into the frying pan. Shape it with a spoon into a burger patty shape. Do the same with 2-3 more portions, depending on how big your frying pan is.
Fry the patties for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and browned well on the outside.
Tip: If you want to grill these burgers, bake them or pan-fry them first. And then let them cool. Then grill them on a bbq for a minute or two per side or until hot and marked with grill lines. This is obviously just for presentation and grill flavor. This is not for cooking them. Do not try to cook them straight on the grill without precooking them first. It will not work. The mix is too soft.
To serve the Veggie Burgers
Serve the patty on a soft bun, topping with all of your favorite burger toppings. Try my popular quick Brioche Bun recipe - they are the best homemade buns! I like these burgers with mayo, tomato, lettuce, and red onion. You could add cheese, pickles, slaw, avocado, mustard - the options are many!
Try making a sandwich instead with two pieces of toasted rye bread. You can see this in the video above.
Substitutions
✔ This burger is vegetarian and gluten-free if using oat flour instead of all-purpose flour (make sure your oats are certified gluten-free)
> To make this burger vegan, omit the egg and use an egg replacement product or a flax egg.
Variations
✔ For super spicy black bean burgers, add chopped pickled jalapenos in the burger mix or top the burger with pickled jalapenos, spicy mayo, or a slice of spicy cheese. Use a creamy sauce (like ranch) to balance out the heat.
✔ Take it over the top and use two patties for a double burger. Add cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and mayo. Or try a single patty with shoestring fries, oregano, feta cheese, and a fried egg on top.
✔ Make it a little more kid-friendly by using less chipotle paste or skipping it and using your child's favorite vegetables.
✔ Limit the carbs with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun.
> To make this burger vegan, omit the egg and use an egg replacement product or a flax egg.
Storage
Store uncooked burger patties in the fridge for a day or so before cooking.
Store cooked patties in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container for 3-4 days.
To reheat, warm in a skillet over medium heat or in the oven at 350°F (180°C) until warm.
Recipe Tips
EXPERT TIP: Try my Brioche Buns recipe - they are great for veggie burgers and you can see them in the photos in this post.
More Veggie Burger Recipes
What to serve with this recipe
- Lemon Potatoes
- Mexican Inspired Chopped Salad
- Mexican Street Corn - Inspired Recipe
Recipe
Chipotle Black Bean Burger
Ingredients
- 2 14 oz cans black beans drained
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- ½ large onion
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons chipotle paste
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cups oats
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour or oat flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- Brioche Buns for serving
- tomato, mayo, lettuce, red onion optional, for topping
Instructions
- Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped. (To make the burgers by hand, chop these ingredients with a knife instead).
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until blended. (To make the burgers by hand, you can mash the beans with a fork or potato masher, and then add everything else. Mix with a large spoon or spatula).Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes to allow the oats and flour to soak up the moisture from the pepper, onion, egg and beans.
- To Bake the burgers: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) Drop mixture by ½ cup portions onto a lined baking sheet. Shape each portion into a burger patty shape using a spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Leave room between the patties so they bake and don't steam.
- To Pan-Fry the burgers: Drop mixture by ½ cup portions into an oiled skillet over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked through and crispy outside.
- Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, mayo, and red onion.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
Recipes FAQs
These black bean burgers will need to be baked or pan-fried first, cooled, and will then be ready to grill.
Save this image to your Veggie Burger board on Pinterest.
Jenny says
Excellent recipe! It comes together very quickly with a food processor, and the oats are a great addition to firm up the uncooked burger. Very tasty! I made 9 good sized burgers which my family really enjoyed!
Jacqueline Piper says
I'm happy your family enjoyed these 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Jacqueline