Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers piled high with all your favorite toppings and a spicy Sriracha mayo! These easy peasy burgers are vegetarian with gluten-free and vegan options. Woot!
It’s been far too long since I last posted a veggie burger recipe.
In fact, it’s been almost a YEAR!
How did this happen?! Where did the last year go?! More importantly, am I losing my mind?! I must be to have forgotten how much I adore whipping up crazy new veggie burger combos for y’all.
Forgive me? I have something AWESOME up my sleeve today!
I gave my go-to Butternut Black Bean Burgers a bit of a facelift and created what just may be my “meatiest” veggie burgers yet! These uber flavorful Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers are spiked with garlic and onion and topped with yellow mustard and Sriracha mayo for the ultimate veggie burger experience. I’m really digging the texture from the fresh veggies, fluffy quinoa, and oats.
Pile on your favorite toppings and get ready to swoon!
freezing these veggie burgers for later?
Lightly pan fry via recipe instructions above. Searing the patties helps keep them togehter when defrosting and reheating! Let them cool, then freeze spaced on a plate. Once they’re good and frozen, transfer them to a baggie or airtight container. To reheat, bake frozen patties until hot in the center and crispy on the outside. (usually 350-375 F for about 20-25 minutes – oven times and temps may vary a smidge) Enjoy!
veggie burger tips and tricks
Thinner patties will yield more delicious crunch, as you’ll be able to sear more of the top and bottom, plus the middle will cook through much easier. Sometimes I leave them a little thicker for a softer center but I’ll admit, crispy veggie burgers are my favorite!
Turning your rolled oats into oat flour in a food processor helps create the magic that helps keep these burgers together. No food processor? No problem! You can use them whole if needed! The burgers may crumble easier than if you used a food processor but they should still hold together enough to be flipped and taste delicious!
Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers
I hope you love these Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers as much as we do!
Gluten Free Veggie Burgers
To make this recipe 100% gluten-free (the burger itself is as long as you use GF certified oats) you can use a grain-free bun, wrap it in lettuce, and/or crumble these tasty buffalo burgers over a baked sweet potato. You can even serve it over a leafy green salad with your favorite dressing and toppings. YUM!
Vegan Burgers
Make sure you use the flax egg option in the recipe and swap the conventional mayo for veganaise or your favorite alternative (like hummus is super tasty or guacamole) and you’re gloriously good to go.
Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers
Ingredients
- ¼ cup quinoa
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 cups black beans (cooked) or 15 ounce can
- 2 TBSP minced red onion
- 1 TBSP chopped green onion
- ¼ cup minced jalapeño, seeds and stem removed (approx. 1 large or two small peppers)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (approx. 1/2 tsp)
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
- ¾ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (optional)
- 1 large egg or 1 flax egg
- 2 TBSP avocado oil (or favorite healthy oil)
DRESS ‘EM UP
- 4 burger buns
- romaine or leaf lettuce
- sliced red onion optional
- fresh micro greens or sprouts optional
- mayo mixed with Sriracha chili sauce
- yellow mustard
- Craving cheese? Pepper Jack slices are awesome with this tasty veggie burger!
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan to high heat, add your quinoa and water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 12-13 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed. Once done, fluff and set aside. While the quinoa cooks, prep your veggies!
- Drain and rinse your black beans and finely chop or mince your veggies.
- In a large bowl, fork mash your black beans until almost paste-like, leaving a few chunks and some whole black beans for texture.
- Process oats in a food processor until they resemble an oat flour. This step is optional (you can totally use whole oats) but the burgers hold together way better with oat flour.
- Add quinoa, oat flour, red onion, green onion, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, salt, garlic powder, oregano, cayenne pepper to the black beans.
- Add your egg or flax egg and mix with a fork or your hands.
- Divide mixture into four portions and roll into balls.
- To shape your burgers, cup each ball in your hands and squeeze tightly, rotating as you gently, but firmly, press it into a disc using your thumb. I like mine on the thiner side so middles cook all the way through, but not so thin that they won’t hold their shape.
- To help the burgers set, cover and refrigerate as you prep your buns and toppings. This will give them a little while to set. You can even leave them overnight and cook them up the following day. I often make one after 15-30 minutes of chill time and cook up the rest the following day.
- For the Sriracha mayo, combine mayonnaise with as much chili sauce as your heart desires. Yum!
READY TO EAT?
- Pour a tablespoon or two of oil in a skillet and heat to medium-high, so the burgers sizzle when you add them to the pan!
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until you’re left with a golden crust. and a warm center. Repeat for each burger, or cook two at once if you have a big enough pan! I’d skip crowding all four together just because they’re a pain to flip when all up in eachother’s business.
- A tip for perfectly shaped veggie burgers: While sizzling away in the skillet, I nudge the burgers with the backside of my spatula to gently help form the sides into a perfect disc. Works like a charm!
- Slather your buns with Sriracha mayo and yellow mustard, pile them high with lettuce, and top each burger patty with any and all of your favorite burger toppings. You can even lightly toast the buns on the pan after you cook your veggie burgers!
Notes
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try these Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers let me know!
You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS #PEASANDCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations! I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Big thanks to my husband for reprising his role as my veggie burger hand model. I’m hopelessly terrible at juggling a camera and burger at the same time and the toddler always runs off with the top bun.
Questions & Reviews
I love this recipe. I love the burgers for the adults, and I make little black bean quinoa meatballs for my three year-old. Dip them in ketchup, dip them in barbecue sauce delicious and fun for a toddler. I use the original recipe and make 16 small rounds instead of four patties. I pop them in my air fryer 375° roast for 10 minutes
Ohmygosh Catie, such a brilliant idea to turn them into little meatballs! I’m for sure trying this – thank you!
We purchase a similar product from Costco in their frozen section and my husband and I both agree, this is far superior! Absolutely delicious! I have come to trust all your recipes. We are always trying something new of yours (well, new to us!).
Followed recipe. Even quadrupled the spices since most recipes are very stingy on this. They held up well, crisped up well in the pan, but were just bland. And yes, dried spices used are relatively new. I see all the great reviews so not sure what happened here. 🙁
We love these burgers, they are the best veggie burgers we have tried! I make a double batch every couple of months so that we can freeze the ones we don’t eat and have an easy meal another day. We vary the toppings, but we usually use our favorite condiments plus cheese and a few of those canned fried onions – delish!
Ahh yay! Thank you Laura! I’m beyond honored that they’ve been a repeat in your kitchen. I’ll have to try them with fried onions next time – yum!
I thought this recipe was so good. it’s hard to find a good veggie burger. Wondering if you tried
it with sautéed onions and red peppers added in the recipe?
Hi Robyn! I do this in some of my other veggie burger recipes and love it! If it makes the mixture too wet and sticky you can help bind it with a little more grains (oats work best for this but extra quinoa or even some added panko breadcrumbs for crunch can be tasty!)
Sadly, my hubby and son think these burgers are the bee’s knees. So I have to keep making them, using precious time in the kitchen instead of on social media. The horror! Thankfully I can make bulk batches because they keep really well in the freezer. I even bring the frozen ones camping; they keep things cool in the cooler, and by the time we are ready to fry them they are thawed..
I sub in powdered spices as much as I can, so garlic powder and onion powder are used when I make ’em. Super easy and still delicious.
Looking forward to making these.
Is it possible to make a batch and freeze it.
Then cook when needed?
I would rather not fry. Freeze and reheat
Thanks
Hi Angie! I pan fry them in very little oil to help them stay together when reheating from frozen. I’ve had a few readers say they froze right away and then baked just fine. I think they just crumble a little easier because there isn’t a good sear on them but the flavors should still be amazing!
Looks amazing! Would love to try these – I keep experimenting with black bean veggie burgers, and they always seem to come out too moist in the middle. I am wondering if you, or anyone else, has had success with these with subbing a different flour for the oats (we are grain free) – I am wondering if quinoa flour or chickpea flour might work? Thanks in advance!
Hi Stacy! I’d have to test it out at home to know for sure how it works texturally (I don’t like my burgers too moist in the middle either) but I bet experimenting with using chickpea flour or even almond flour could work great. My entire kitchen is in storage right now but if you get a chance to play around keep me posted! xoxo
Jenn, one more question. Under the recipe notes it states that after taking the burgers out of the freezer to reheat them at 400F for 18 – 20 minutes. Further down in the blog under Freezing these Veggie Burgers for Later it states to bake the frozen patties (usually 350 – 375 F for 20 – 25 minutes).
Which one is the better way to bake the burgers when taking them out of the freezer?
Just Curious:
Under the ingredients dried oregano is listed as “1/4 dried oregano”
Should I assume that it’s supposed to be 1/4 tsp?
Planning to buy all the ingredients needed to make these this weekend. My mouth is watering already!
Oh gosh yes – fixing the tsp right now. Thank you Carolyn! I’m so excited for you to try the veggie burgers!
I rarely comment, but many of the ideas presented in this recipe worked really well. I didn’t make this exact recipe, but I used the idea of oat flower, jalapeño peppers and green onions to spruce up my veggie patty recipe. They were not mushy or crumbly so thank you so much
So yummy, I sent the link to my mom (vegetarian) and sister (vegan).
Thank you Sara! So glad you enjoyed the black bean burgers! xo
Yummy! A little dry, however. I’m not sure how to fix this other than smothering the patties with mustard. Do take care as they fall apart if you’re too hasty. Probably my favorite black bean quinoa burger recipe I’ve tried yet, though!
You have this as vegan , eggs are in it so it not vegan.
Hi Kelly! I have it listed with both vegetarian and vegan instructions so it’s a matter of choosing the flax egg option or the egg option. The flax egg option is for a vegan burger. These burgers can be made both ways.
These were great!! I assembled them on Monday (super easy if you have leftover cooked quinoa), put the patties in the fridge, and cooked them up for dinner Tuesday evening. Even my meat eating husband really liked them!
I’ve made quinoa black bean burgers before but they were nowhere near as good as the ones I made with this recipe. The only change I made was I added a teaspoon of chilli powder. Great recipe, I will be making it again!
Not sure how to append my last comment, so I am adding this reply. Forgot to mention a second addition was I added an extra egg white.
Love the added chili powder and egg white and I’m so stoked you loved the veggie burgers, Don! Thanks so much!
I usually don’t leave reviews om food blogs, but when I do, it’s because the recipe is absolutely exceptional. So delicious! I baked them 10 minutes before frying them, and they did not fall apart! They didn’t even fall apart when eating. 10/10
Hello. Can I use oat flower instead of grinded oats? And if so, how much should I use? Thanks! These look great.
Hey Amanda! I haven’t seen oat flour in stores to try it but I’m sure you could! I’d say about anywhere from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Maybe start with 1/3 and see how they hold together to form the patties? If the mixture is super wet then add any extra as needed. xoxo
The recipe lists quinoa (uncooked) 1/4c
What if I’m starting with cooked quinoa? How much should I use for the recipe?
Hi Barbie! Quinoa typically triples it’s size once cooked so aim for 3/4 cup cooked and you’re good to go!
Why not instant oats?
Many tend to have thickener + filler ingredients in them for some reason.
Can the black bean burgers be cooked on the grill?
Hi Heyward! Another reader mentioned she made them into 8 slider-sized patties (instead of 4) and that they held up great on the grill! I haven’t had a chance to grill them myself (I usually pan-fry mine) so I’d just keep an eye on them. Also making certain swaps can keep the burgers from staying together. I’d test it with one and if it doesn’t seem to be working out, you can always cook them on a skillet instead. Hope this helps! xoxo
One of the best black bean burger recipes I’ve found online! They consistently stay together when I cook them, which was issue I have with other recipes. Tastes great & my fiancé loves them. Instead of grinding oats in food processor I used oat flour which worked well too, and added dash of hot sauce to spice them up. Super easy!
Ok, I almost never order a veggie burger and have never made them. But I’m sold. These look and sound fantastic. Could you freeze them before you cook them?
Thanks Beth! Ok so I always pan-fry mine very lightly to sear them before cooling and freezing – this helps them stay together and you can reheat on a skillet or by baking!
Such fantastic flavors in these veggie burgers!
We love the flavors here! Thanks Robin! xo
What a great vegetarian option! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Krissy!
I’m wondering what the nutritional analysis is for these burgers?
Hi Brian! I am working on finding a good recipe card that lets me calculate it with accuracy (man this is hard to find!) — According to MyFitnessPal.com, the patties themselves are 313 calories each (using the egg option instead of a flax egg) with 12 grams of fat, 13 grams fiber, 6 grams sugar and 13 grams protein. This will be a little less fat/cal if you use a flax egg and if you’d like, you can stretch the mixture to make 5-6 smaller/thinner veggie burgers. Hope this helps! xoxo
I only have question. What was the 1/3c. Of water for? I never saw where to put it in the recipe.
Hey Lisa! It’s in step 1 of the directions for cooking the quinoa so it’s all nice and fluffy.
This recipe is my favorite! I make a double batch to freeze and eat for lunches. Do yourself a favor and make this for yourself!
Thank you Shannon! So super thrilled to hear you enjoyed them. xoxo
Do you have nutritional information on these when prepared as directed?
These are amazing.
Hi Traci! According to MyFitnessPal, for the patties themselves they are 313 calories each (using the egg option instead of a flax egg) with 12 grams of fat, 13 grams fiber, 6 grams sugar and 13 grams protein. This will be a little less fat/cal if you use a flax egg and if you’d like, you can stretch the mixture to make 5-6 smaller/thinner veggie burgers. Hope this helps! x0
Hi,
Fabulous. I loved the recipe and so did my husband. I ended up doubling it and adding a bit more salt, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce to taste. I also didn’t have enough black beans so I used 1 can of black and one can of great northern beans. Turned out awesome!! The recipe made 6.5 very fat 1/2 cup burgers. I baked for 10 min then pan fried the outside. Thanks for making vegan life a little easier!
Cheers,
Erin
These were delicious! I made 8 sliders instead of 4 regular sized burgers and they held their shape beautifully on the grill. I served them on King’s Hawaiian rolls. I’m excited to try some of your other veggie burgers–my step-daughter and daughter-in-law don’t eat meat and I’m always looking for something fun and yummy to make when they come over.
So super stoked to hear it Licia! Thank you! Totally let me know which others you try next 🙂
Love these! Thanks so much. We’ve been making them once a week! Any idea how they freeze??
Thank you Tessa – so glad y’all have been loving them! They freeze like a dream! I usually lightly pan fry them, let them cool, then freeze spaced on a plate. Once they’re good and frozen I transfer them to a baggie. To reheat I bake until hot in the center and crispy on the outside. (usually 350-375 F for about 20-25 minutes)
Just mixed these up. The mixture seems too wet. I drained the beans for a while but perhaps they needed longer to drain? I added 1/4 cup extra quinoa hoping that helps. They are in the fridge now hopefully firming up.
Eek! Yeah it would have to be wet beans as the culprit since all the other ingredients are raw/dry and the quinoa should be dry and fluffy. They should look like the 5th photo in the post (the patties formed and placed on a baking sheet) and be a bit sticky, but not wet. Let me know how it goes after the fridge and the extra quinoa!
This is my new favorite veggie burger, Just the right amount of “bite”!
Ahhhh hooray! Thank you Becky! 🙂
The quinoa black bean burgers were awesome! The recipe was easy to follow and the extra cooking tips really helped! Thanks for the creation!
Wow, just wow! Those burgers look so delicious, and totally healthy to boot. This is such a perfect summer food, definitely gonna making this soon 🙂
So super stoked for you to try them Anita, thank you!
I love a good veggie burger! This looks so yummy!
Thanks Deanna! 🙂
These burgers look awesome! So many times veggie burgers are like cardboard, but these look like something I could really sink my teeth into! Pinning!
No cardboard here, they’re so spot-on that they’re a hit with vegetarians and carnivores alike!
Oh these look so delicious! Making my mouth water!
Yay! Thank you Denise!!
I’ve been saying to the good lady wife that we should try and make our own burgers. Now you’ve just confirmed it! Thanks for this recipe.
Yessssss! So stoked for y’all to try them, Paul! Thank you!
These looks so healthy and delicious! Will definitely give it a try!
Thank you Natalia! Enjoy!
These look like a quintessential summer yummy for my veggie burger loving self. I’m drooling.
Thank you Evangeline! Love them so!