These Vegan Beetroot and Black Bean Burgers are better than store bought! Made with protein rich beans and nutritious veggies they are ideal for those following a plant based diet. Get the recipe below.
Plant based burgers
I feel as though there are two types of vegan burgers: (1) ultra-processed fake meat burgers; and (2) bean burgers.
Bean burgers can be pretty uninspiring but I have added a slightly unusual ingredient to mine which adds extra flavour and a great texture to the end product - beetroot!
Why add beetroot?
Veggie burgers often call for something to bind them together - like egg. Of course we can't use egg in a plant based burger so we need to get creative. I find that once mashed up, the precooked beetroot is great and binding everything else together.
But we don't add beetroot just for its binding abilities. It also adds an amazing sweet and earthy flavour which, when combined with the smoky spices like cayenne and paprika, means that the burgers almost have a BBQ sauce type flavour about them. The sweet and spicy is a great combination.
Of course another fun element that the beetroot brings is the colour! Who doesn't want a bright pink burger?
How to make bean burgers
Making bean burgers is easy.
There are three key steps (1) pulsing the beans and onion in a food processor until just starting to come together and then (2) mixing together with the beetroot, breadcrumbs and spices and (3) forming into patties.
A food processor does come in really handy here. You could otherwise chop all of the ingredients by hand but I find that by pulsing them in the food processor they also start to come together into a bit of a paste like texture which helps them form into our burgers once we've added the beetroot, breadcrumbs and spice.
To shape them you don't need any fancy gadgets - just shape them by hand. Pick up some of the burger mix and roll into a ball. Squash down slightly until you have burger shaped discs or "patties". Repeat until you've used up all of the mixture and you're then ready to cook!
You can cook these burgers in one of two ways: (1) on the grill or (2) in the oven. I like to cook them in the oven because I feel like it's less stressful than on the grill. I find them so difficult to flip! I do, however, finish them off on the grill to get them slightly charred on the outside with a bit of a crust. This is just an optional extra, you can cook them completely in the oven if you wish.
How to make your own burger buns (vegetarian only)
Although I don't cover it in this post, it's really easy to make your own burger buns. Check out my sesame crusted burger bun recipe here. Please note these are not suitable for vegans as they are made from a brioche style dough.
The recipe
Vegan Beetroot and Black Bean Burgers
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 240 grams black beans drained and rinsed from a 400g tin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 beetroot precooked, mashed
- 50 grams breadcrumbs or enough to bind
- 1.5 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch cayenne
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
- Prepare a baking sheet with grease proof paper.
- Roughly chop the white onion and place into a food processor along with the black beans and garlic.
- Pulse the onion, garlic and black beans for a minute or two until the mixture starts to come together.
- Transfer the mix to a large bowl.
- Add the spices, beetroot and breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix well.
- Once fully combined, shape the mixture into 4 large burger shaped patties and place on to the line baking sheet.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the burgers to firm up.
- Cook in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a light crust has begun to form and the burgers are hot the whole way through.
- Transfer the burgers to a griddle pan on high and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until charred.
Nutrition
More burger recipes
Whether you're vegetarian or vegan I've got a burger recipe for you below.
Portobello Mushroom and Black Bean Burger (vegetarian)
Enjoy!
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