Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, these veggie burgers are a delicious filling for sandwiches or even alone. Vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free.
A few days ago, my family was in the mood for a good old burgers-and-“fries” meal. Now, you know I try to eat as little processed food as possible, so rather than reach for a frozen burger, I opted to make a bean-based burger from scratch. And though these are not as fast as a microwaved burger from a box would be (what is?), they’re really easy to mix together in the food processor and they cook in about 25 minutes.
While they’re in the oven, you’ll have time to assemble your condiments and slice and chop any vegetables you want on your burger. I ate my burger without a bun with spinach, red cabbage, and tomato, but these zesty veggie burgers also taste great on a bun with ketchup and all the usual fixin’s.
Update 6/29/17:
Since I created this recipe 10 years ago, I’ve made it over and over again for family and friends. Recently, I bought an air fryer and decided to try using it to make these burgers. The results were delicious, crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. I’ve updated the recipe to include the air fryer directions, which you will find at the bottom of the instructions.
Oil-Free French Fries
To make the oil-free fries in the photo, I used the French fry disk on my Breville Sous Chef food processor to cut thin fries. Then I tossed them with a tablespoon of aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid) and Creole seasonings. I preheated the air fryer to 360F (standard air fryer; Breville and oven-type air fryers set to 425F) and cooked them for about 15 minutes, rearranging them once about halfway through. They are best eaten right away.
Red Bean-Chipotle Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 small onion peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 16-ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup old fashioned or quick oats uncooked (try quinoa flakes for gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 1-3 teaspoons chopped canned chipotles OR 1/2-2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder or hot smoked paprika, to taste
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour or brown rice flour (or other flour)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional for salt-free diets)
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Put the onion and garlic into a food processor and pulse to chop coarsely. Add the beans and process until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well blended but not a paste (it will look similar to ground me@t.)
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the burger mixture onto the baking sheet, smoothing it into six patties. (It is easiest to do this by making six “piles” of beans and using the spoon to smooth the top and round the edges of the patties.)
- Bake for about 15 minutes. When the bottoms are lightly browned and beginning to get crisp, turn the burgers and cook for 10-15 more minutes, until the other side is brown. Do not overcook or they will be tough!
- Serve immediately with accompaniments as desired. These keep well in the fridge and can be reheated for a quick lunch.
Air Frying Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 390 to 400F. Form burgers on parchment paper and transfer to air fryer (I put them directly into the AF but they did stick; if possible, cut parchment paper to fit AF.) Cook for 8 minutes. Turn burgers over and rearrange from top to bottom if you are using a rack. Cook 4-8 more minutes, until burgers are crispy outside and firm. Be careful not to overcook or they will be hard.
Nutritional info is approximate.
More Veggie Burgers
- Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers
- African-Inspired Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers
- Savory Lentil-Mushroom Burgers
- Colleen’s Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Sauce
- Roasted Beet-Tofu Burgers
- Hash Browns and Black Bean Burgers
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Christine
September 4, 2009 at 11:00 pmThese were wonderful–probably the best veggie burger I've ever had! I didn't have chipotles (I added cayenne instead), but they turned out great anyway. Thanks for the recipe–I'll be using it often!
Heather
September 8, 2009 at 9:58 amHi Susan,
I printed this recipe a while but I still haven't made these burgers. I opened a can of chipotle chilis for another recipe so now's the time!
Anyway, I was wondering: do you have any suggestion on what type of oats to use? Quick cooking oats? Oat bran? Rolled oats? I was think quick oats would be best.
SusanV
September 8, 2009 at 10:01 amHeather, either quick-cooking or rolled oats should work. I buy the "100% Whole Grain Oats" that cook in 5-6 minutes, and that's what I use when I make this. I wouldn't recommend anything that takes longer to cook than that. Hope you enjoy them!
iris
September 11, 2009 at 8:18 amHi Susan…
I just need a bit of clarification on the ingredient "chopped chipotles (from canned chipotles)." Is this the same ingredient as the "chopped chipotles in adobo" sauce that you use for your guacamole recipe??? I'm still learning about all the different types of chilis available, whether fresh or canned. Thanks…
SusanV
September 11, 2009 at 8:28 amHi Iris–Yes, canned chipotles in adobo sauce is what I use. I usually take the whole can of it, puree it in a blender, and then freeze it in various amounts for easy use later. It's so spicy that it takes a while for us to go through a whole can.
Kym L
September 13, 2009 at 10:50 pmThis is the third recipe of yours that I have made and all have been great. I served this with a (vegan) chipotle aioli and baked sweet potato fries. Amazing!
Nicole Manha
September 14, 2009 at 11:02 amThank you! These were delicious! I didn't have chipotle peppers so I just used red bell pepper with a 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke. It worked! I used the leftovers in a smokey linguine. You are a genius!
Kelly
September 24, 2009 at 8:50 pmHands down my favorite veggie burger to date. I have made them several times already!
AndreaQ
September 28, 2009 at 10:39 amHi Susan! Love your blog. I'm not vegan but I've been coming to your blog for years for ideas because I'm always trying to incorporate more vegetarian and vegan recipes into my diet. Question for you: Your nutritional stats for this recipe mention "trace cholesterol". Where does this come from? I've always been under the impression that cholesterol only comes from animal sources. Thanks!
SusanV
September 28, 2009 at 10:59 amAndrea, thanks for pointing that out. You're right: cholesterol comes only from animal products. One of the ingredients must be listed wrong in my recipe software. I've checked carefully and none of them actually contains any cholesterol.
Heather
October 2, 2009 at 3:10 pmHi again… just to follow up from my September 08 comment. I finally made these last night & they were delicious 🙂 I used quick cooking oats, btw.
Jo
October 22, 2009 at 11:10 amI love this blog, whenever I can't find a recipe that looks good or sounds good I am always able to come here and find something great.
I had these burgers bookmarked and decided to make them for lunch today, they are in the oven cooking right now and look/smell wonderful, I don't like spicy so I left out the chipotle and added a few other spices so hopefully they still taste good lol.
thanks again for such a wonderful blog.
Robert
December 1, 2009 at 6:14 pmI am sorry but I followed this recipe precisely but it did not work. After baking the patties in the oven the insides were still mushy like pudding and inedible. I cooked them longer just to be safe and even though the outsides were crisp and near black the inside was still gooey. What did I do wrong?
SusanV
January 17, 2010 at 6:03 pmRobert, I suspect that your burgers were a little too thick. You have to make these on the small side to have them cook all the way through.
Tall Donna, just doing a fast look-through, I count at least 8 people who made the burgers and liked them. If you don't like them, you're welcome to say so, but don't misrepresent what the other commenters had to say.
tall donna
January 17, 2010 at 5:54 pmI tried these and they weren't all that great. The inside was mushy, so I simmered them in a little salsa, it helped. It appears that all the "great" comments are from people who haven't actually made the recipe, but are going to, and think the pics are good. The pics ARE good, but maybe we should save the review until we've actually made/eaten the recipe. It's very misleading.
sylvia amundson
April 25, 2010 at 10:36 pmI love these!!!!!! I have made them 3 or 4 times since finding this recipe 2 months ago and I double the recipe so I can freeze them and have burgers anytime I want- They stay together so well and I love the chipotle taste- I use 1/4 cup of chipotle sauce and sometimes quinoa instead of brown rice. They are great with a slice of purple onion, tomato and sundried tomato aioli!!!
chantelle rodriguez
May 3, 2010 at 4:30 pmThese look great do you think you could grill them ?
SusanV
May 3, 2010 at 4:53 pmVeerrrry carefully! It might be best to pre-cook them before grilling or else they might fall apart.
BigTickles
May 9, 2010 at 11:24 amI made these today without the chipotles, because of my toddlers, and they were GREAT!! The toddlers only got 2 bites out of them before they gave me the side eye but I know they will come around (because I will keep making them – ha ha). I should have made more to last me throughout the week. Another wonderful recipe to add to my list. 😉
Azahara
June 27, 2010 at 2:13 amThese burgers have become an absolute staple in my diet. I eat them once a week and being able to make six at a time and freeze them saves a lot of time. I’m not a fan of beans, but bean-based burgers are a delicious way to add some protein to my diet. Thanks, Susan!
By the way, I always use dried beans for this recipe, and it turns out fine. Just make sure they are tender enough before you start preparing the burger mixture. I like to soak them overnight.
Anke
August 5, 2010 at 11:38 pmI made these a few days ago for my non-veg*n family and we all loved them. The burgers turned out great with just the right amount of crispness.
Thanks for another great recipe.
Annie
September 11, 2010 at 11:01 amThese look great, really want to make them, having difficulty finding canned chipotle in the UK, can I used the dried ones somehow?
thanks
Alejandra
November 30, 2010 at 12:41 pmIf you dont have this “chippotes” or whatever they are ( havent seen them in my country ) u have to be creative and add things you can find in your country
in my case: rosmarine, aji molido, sweet pimenton and so on.
Excelent recipe..I made these today and for a meat only-country like mine ( argentina ) they really taste like a hamburguer!! 10/10
lea
January 18, 2011 at 7:55 amThese were by far the prettiest veggie burgers I have ever made! The consistency was perfect, they cooked evenly, and they held together so well. I was heartbroken, however, because I made them way too spicy to eat! I must have misread the recipe and I put in close to three tablespoons of the chilis. Typically I like spicy food, but these were on fire!!! I would definitely recommend making these with the smaller amount of chilis the first time around and then adjust as needed the next time :- ) But Great Recipe, I will definitely try these again!
Terri
January 19, 2011 at 8:23 pmYummy!! This is my favorite recipe so far! Next time I’ll add extra chipotle (I used 1 whole) and garlic, I like it spicy =)
meredith
March 7, 2011 at 5:58 pmI have made this a couple times and I made it tonight and it was a winner as usual 🙂 I did not have chipotles and I used a little liquid smoke and a tad of cayenne powder. I also omitted the flour and they stayed together fine and cooked up well.
Sarah
April 4, 2011 at 10:28 pmYum! I tried this tonight for dinner and it was so good and easy. A few things I did – I didn’t have tomato paste, and I used oat bran instead of oatmeal, they turned out great!
Rowena
May 24, 2011 at 12:10 pmAmazing! Trying to stay away from meat, and this may do the trick!
Thanks!
Meridith
June 19, 2011 at 8:46 pmWe make these all the time! For ease, we use 1 1/2 tsp of chipotle chili powder instead of canned chipotles. We also have had great luck cooking them on our George Forman grill – they seem to not dry out as easily. Just one of the many, many, many recipes we love from you Susan! Thanks for all you do!
Kay
July 13, 2011 at 9:05 pmCan you add ground flax seed to these?
SusanV
July 13, 2011 at 9:43 pmSure, I don’t see why not.
Sarah
July 15, 2011 at 4:51 pmHow I love these burgers! I just made my second batch. I use oat bran, and it works very well. (I also open a can of chipotles, then freeze them individually so the whole can doesn’t go to waste.)
Alexandra
August 30, 2011 at 4:27 pmThis is a great veggie burger recipe; its easy and tasty. I have subbed black beans, etc, with different seasonings, and am so glad to have the recipe; made it first as directed and it will be a mainstay;
Kristen
September 5, 2011 at 8:44 pmI made these tonight and they were indeed delicious! I used the smaller amount of chipotles and the burgers still had quite a kick (in a good way though!). Since it would take me the next 20 years to finish a can, I might substitute with chipotle powder next time. I spread the burgers quite thin so they’d cook all the way through. Delish!
Alexandra
September 21, 2011 at 6:13 pmI already commented on this, but in very short time this has become something I want in my fridge all the time; I pressure cook a pound of beans, and then pressure cook 3/4 cup of brown rice (to make 1 1/2 cups). Then I divide the beans into 3 plastic freezer containers with the rice and oats and seasonings and freeze. Several days before I want the burgers (about every 3 days) I take a container out to let it defrost in the fridge. When I want to finish the recipe I process the onion and garlic in the food processor, and then add the bean mix with the remaining ingredients. Then I bake the burgers while I am also baking my no-knead whole wheat raisin walnut bread. I love this burger recipe.