FatFree Vegan Kitchen

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Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers

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Delicious and meaty, these vegan black-eyed pea burgers are seasoned with just a touch of barbecue sauce for a spicy, smoky flavor.

Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers

Move over, African-Inspired Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers! I have a new favorite veggie burger, and it’s ridiculously easy to make.

It was inspired by a burger at our local vegetarian restaurant called the “Good Burger,” a black-eyed pea burger that lives up to its name. When a local newspaper recently printed the recipe for Good Burgers, I couldn’t wait to make them.

Of course, I had to play with with the formula a little, put my own personal stamp on it. There were a few ingredients in the recipe that I wanted to avoid–relish, which my husband hates, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, which I hate, and Panko bread crumbs, which I try to avoid because they’re more processed than I like.

But mainly I wanted to give the burger a flavor boost by replacing ketchup with barbecue sauce (free of high-fructose corn syrup, of course.)

Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers

It was a great adaptation, and I knew it while they were baking because of the wonderful aroma that filled the house. The burgers were meaty, firm, and gently seasoned, and oddly, they tasted nothing like black-eyed peas.

While they were baking, I threw some sliced sweet peppers into a hot skillet and cooked them until they were touched with brown.

And, though I would have liked to have served them with Comeback Dressing as the High Noon Cafe does, I didn’t have time to make any, so I compromised by making a quick Sriracha mayo–simply Tofu-Cashew Mayo mixed with a little of the old rooster sauce. The combination was unbelievably good. Make them. You will not regret it.

5 from 11 votes
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Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers

These smoky burgers freeze well, so you can make a batch and save some to eat later.

Course Main Course, Sandwich
Cuisine Gluten-free, Southern, Vegan
Keyword blackeyed pea burgers
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 108 kcal
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1 can cooked black-eyed peas or 1 3/4 cups cooked, drained
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup organic barbecue sauce
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos, soy sauce, or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups rolled oats, panko, or dried bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients except the oats (or bread crumbs) in the food processor. Pulse a few times, just enough to break up the peas a little but not puree them. Stir in 1 cup of the oats. Check the consistency. It should be moist but not wet. Add more oats to achieve the right consistency.
  2. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Form burger patties on the prepared surface using about 1/2 cup of mixture per burger. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Burgers will be hot throughout, but don’t let get too dry. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before serving.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional info will change depending on exact ingredients used. With 1 1/4 cup oats and Annie’s Organic barbecue sauce, each burger counts as 2 Weight Watchers Smart points.

Nutrition Facts
Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers
Amount Per Serving (1 burger)
Calories 108 Calories from Fat 24
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2.7g 4%
Sodium 311.3mg 13%
Total Carbohydrates 18.6g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9%
Sugars 3.4g
Protein 3.2g 6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy!

Susan

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Comments

  1. I swear, I just cooked some black-eyed peas this morning (I’d gotten them fresh at the farmers’ market and didn’t want them to go bad) and had no idea what I was going to do with them. Were you spying on me?? 😉

    Reply

    • Honestly, it reminds me of the cheap soy sauce that came in the Chinese stir-fry kits my mom used to buy in the 60’s, the ones with the veggies in the can. Besides the taste, it contains more sodium than regular soy sauce, yet people act like it’s somehow healthier than soy sauce.

      Reply

      • Wow, I never would have thought to describe Bragg’s this way, Susan, but I have to agree with you–your description is spot on as far as my own reaction to it as well. Now I know what to say about why I don’t like it!!

        Reply

        • Do you remember the Chinese food kits I’m talking about, Maria? I think they were made by La Choy or Chung King and they were truly horrible. I mean, stir-fry in a can? Yuck! 🙂

          Reply

          • my siblings and I remember our Mom singing the jingle…”swing American”- to her it was a night off from cooking and for us a night without well food- to this day two of my siblings won’t try any type of Asian food which is too bad because there are so many good things they are missing. But they were traumatized by those cans- blech and those horrible crunchy noodles too…but I don’t blame her for wanting a night off from cooking. There were 6 of us. It was a change too from all the food covered in Cream of Mushroom soup. I never had broccoli until I had moved out of the house…ok ok I’ll stop I hear the violins in the background…

      • I remember those stir fry kits, they were horrible. All you could taste was salt. As for Bragg’s, I love the way many people are fooled by their 1/2 tsp serving size to give you the illusion of low sodium compared to most soy sauce that uses a 1 tbsp serving size.

        The burgers look delicious and am adding them to my list of thing I am cooking for my parents when I’m visiting them on vacation.

        Reply

  4. You have inspired me to finally try a burger. I am allergic to oats so will have to go the opposite direction from you. I will get some buns for the burgers, and one of the buns will become bread crumbs. Thanks Susan.

    Reply

  5. The High Noon recipe says “relish.” Is that sweet pickle relish or dill relish or some other relish like hot dog relish which has mustard in it? Thanks

    Reply

    • It’s probably sweet relish, since that’s so common down here, but it could be anything. I never noticed a flavor of relish or pickles in their burger, so I don’t think it adds a noticeable flavor.

      Reply

    • I’m wondering about BBQ sauce, as well. The commentary contains a hyperlink to Organicville sauce, but I don’t know if Susan is recommending it or if that’s something that the software inserts into the text.

      Reply

      • Hi Denise and Marie, yes, I recommend the Organicville sauce or Annie’s. Or, if you have the time, I have several recipes for BBQ sauce that you can make yourself. Just search the site using the search box on the top right.

        Reply

  7. I am having the hardest time finding a NO OIL BBQ sauce. Annie’s has one, but I have yet to find it in my new home in Buffalo NY. No Whole Foods Markets here YET (but there will be in 2016!!! I cant wait). I guess I can make my own BBQ sauce. Just extra steps. But this looks delicious and i love black eyed peas!!! Thanks Susan

    Reply

  8. These look amazing! Is there something I can use in place of the vegan Worcestershire sauce? It’s something I never have around and can’t find locally. Thanks. 🙂

    Reply

  9. Have you ever made vegan burgers with Purple Hull Peas? The color is very much like hamburger and they taste fabulous with barbecue sauce.

    Reply

  10. Susan, you definitely read my mind. I’ve been craving black eyed-peas and I spied a recipe using them on Whole Foods’ website that I thought I might try early next week. Well, a veggie burger (especially a fave of yours and a super easy one, too) is right up my alley, so that’s gonna take a back seat to this one. These will definitely make an appearance on my menu very soon, so thanks in advance!

    Reply

  11. Hi Susan–These look wonderful. I, too, have some dried black-eyed peas I’ve been “eyeing”–haha–and wondering what to do with them. I think this would be great to have when the kids come to help me move. Thanks! (Love the sauteed peppers as an addition too. xo

    Reply

  12. I’ve printed the recipe and will make them soon. But I want to know why you don’t like Bragg’s Aminos? Is it the taste or something else?

    Reply

    • It’s both the taste (see the comments above where I describe how it tastes to me) and the fact that it contains more sodium than regular soy sauce yet people buy it thinking they are getting less salt.

      Reply

  13. Wow! I had everything to make these on hand, so I was able to make them for dinner. To be honest, I measured nothing. Just tossed it in the blender, hoping for the best. This was literally the BEST veggie burger I’ve ever had (including store bought and restaurant). I made the patties a little larger than yours and had five huge burgers. My kids and I each had one, and my husband had two. Did not expect that. My 6yo rarely finishes anything. No leftovers, which was exciting (until my husband asked for another batch so he could take a few to work tomorrow).

    Anyway, thanks! I’ll never buy another veggie burger again! No more frozen patties that cost approximately the same per burger as these cost per batch. And I love that I can actually make them large enough to fit the bread! (Not a fan of hamburger buns.)

    Reply

  15. Love the flavour profile. I have a favourite West African groundnut stew that we love and after seeing this I will attempt to adapt it for burgers. Thanks for the fantastic idea, Susan. A really winner.

    Reply

  16. Not only does the recipe sound great, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier picture of a burger! The peppers are a gorgeous (and no doubt tasty) addition. I hear you about Braggs, I prefer low sodium Tamari. I never experienced the stir fry kits though, thank goodness!

    Reply

  18. I am always looking for decent burger recipes with a variety of beans. They are such a great option for not only BBQ’s but as a main. I like to find ones which will stay together. This one looks great and I love the added BBQ flavours and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Look forward to making these.

    Reply

  19. I made these for lunch today–nice and firm and delicious. I’m not a fan of the rolled oat texture in my burger, so I ground it into flour and it worked wonderfully. I also added a little minced kale.

    Reply

  20. I had just given up trying to make a decent veggie burger when this recipe came to my email. I have been having trouble lately making one that I am satisfied with. I you have finally given me one that suits me! It is moist but holds together well. And no fuss or muss which is always good. I may tweak the seasonings a bit to suit my own taste next time but they are great without any tweaks too. This is a keeper!

    Thanks Susan!

    Reply

    • Susan, what a trip down memory lane. I not only remember those, but as a child we were pretty poor. One Christmas all we had was, donated from a food pantry type place, some of that canned chow mein with those hard chow mein “noodles” for our Christmas dinner. My toys that year were a couple pencils and candy canes.
      Every year now as an adult I donate holiday type food to our north texas food pantry.
      Needless to say, I’ve never eaten chow mein again 🙂

      Reply

      • Cheryl, you bring back my memories too. Just Beans and Mashed potatoes, no butter for our Christmas dinner but we did have hard candy in our stocking with a mandarin orange. In 1950 I was 13 and my gift was a Purity cookbook which I still have, use all the time and will give to my granddaughter when she is 13. I think it is great to have grown up poor, makes one appreciate what you have.

        Reply

  21. I made these for brunch today and enjoyed them (I served mine with pico de gallo and a slice of avocado.) I have only found a couple of veggie burger recipes that I will make again and this is one of them. Thanks, Susan.

    Reply

  22. These look terrific and I can’t wait to try them. What buns do you use that are McDougall friendly? I also might try the BBQ sauce from Amazon, I’m getting tired of using HFCS BBQ sauces from Safeway. 🙂

    Reply

  23. Made these for dinner yesterday, they are delicious! Didn’t want to heat up the house with the oven so we wrapped them in foil and put them on the grill for about 20 mins, they cooked up great and browned! I’ve never made anything from your site that isn’t delicious! Thank you so much Susan 🙂

    Reply

  24. I was dreading a trip to the store today and saw this burger pop up on my news feed. I have everything on hand other than…… Black eyed peas. I do however have a bag of mixed beans (15 bean soup kind of thing) and some of them are soaking. Sooooo, I’m going to make these burgers with that and hope for the best. Dinner may be a wonderful surprise or a lesson learned in what not to mix together. Wish us luck!

    Reply

    • Donna – how was the mixed bean version? How could not have let us know? Shall I take the “no comment” to be a not having anything nice to say, so don’t say anything at all , or was it that you cannot stop prepping and eating them to let us know?

      Reply

  25. Wow! Delicious–I made Potato and Green Bean Salad with Lemon-Basil dressing to go along side. What a delightful summer meal. Thanks.

    Reply

  26. I made these tonight, but I substituted black beans for black eyed peas. We cooked them on the grill and they were delicious! A little crispy on the outside and firm on the inside. My favorite home-made veggie burger so far. I’ve also made several of your other recipes and they’ve all been fabulous. Thanks!

    Reply

  27. ive been toying with becoming vegan for awhile. just watched a news vid of cows dairy cows in horrific abusive treatment. that sealed the deal. thanks for the start up of great recipes.

    Reply

  28. After reading recent reports of how bad Boca and all the other frozen patties actually are, I’d like to try making these. Has anyone made them in advance and then frozen them? We are family on the run with two littles, and its very convenient to just grab them and heat them up for a quick dinner:-)

    Reply

    • I always double the recipes and make my husbands burgers a little bigger. He won’t eat 2 burgers (always watching his intake) but he will eat one bigger one if that is what I make him. I freeze the rest for another night or for a cookout at friends house. Never had any problems freezing them.

      Reply

    • I always freeze my homemade veggie burgers. I put them on a cookie sheet to freeze, then put them in a ziplock baggie with those little pre-cut squares of waxed paper in between them. Better than store bought and just as handy! You can get the waxed paper squares on Amazon – a box of 250 is about $10.

      Reply

  30. Thank you for the recipe! I made these burgers with home fries, corn on the cobb and broccoli yesterday for Father’s Day. My carnivore parents were over for lunch and they approved 🙂 The burgers baked nicely and were very flavorful.

    Reply

  31. I love black eyed peas.I was searching for some recipes and came across your site.
    This is such an easy and flavorful recipe .I’ll give it a try soon

    Reply

  33. Susan:
    I made these last week and they are really fabulous! I used a smoky BBQ sauce and got a real good depth of flavor. I agree, they don’t taste like black eyed peas at all. They have a great texture, and even pair well broken up in a salad or in tacos.

    Thanks and keep em coming!! Love your recipes!!
    Lesli

    Reply

  35. I have now made this recipe 3 times. In keeping with Susan’s post on using something besides garbanzas in hummus … one time I used red beans (those big red ones) pretty much otherwise as Susan wrote it. I used dry beans which I had sprouted and cooked, so I had alot of beans and made extra since Susan said it freezes well – OK I didn’t freeze it. We had “bean loaf” made from the leftovers. Very good. I didn’t do much but throw it in a loaf pan, top with some catsup and a couple of bell pepper rings. Then, because I thought I was going to make hummus … I had some garbanzas that I soaked and sprouted and they became burgers. Biggest change I made with the garbanzas was to add a mess of fresh flat parsley because …. :))) Have you seen those gourmet burgers (you know – the ones made with non-vegan ingredients) at the grocery stores that have parsley or whatever in them?

    Reply

  36. I’m making my third batch of these today. I double the recipe because my husband likes them so much. I did make a change to the ingredients, adding two tablespoons of chili-garlic sauce to bump up the heat. We eat them on whole wheat toast with a slice of onion and tomato, some lettuce and some pickles (and one or another vegan mayonnaise recipe). My next recipe to try will be the frankfurters you served on July 4. As we are using the Ornish Heart Reversal program, your recipes can absolutely be characterized as lifesaving. Thanks for all you do.

    Reply

  38. I AM IN LOVE!!! Thank you so very much for this great recipe. I was a little apprehensive as to whether I prepped them right, because I added the oats to the processor and the batter was still rather sticky..so I added more oats once I put it in a bowl, just to play it safe. Even though the batch was still sticky, they cooked up WONDERFULLY!!!

    Question: Can I freeze them once they are cooked or should I freeze beforehand?

    Again, thanks and NO MORE STORE BOUGHT VEGGIE burgers for me!!!!

    Reply

  39. I made these this weekend. I love them. I am continuing to eat them for lunch and they are holding up deliciously. Mine are well seasoned by the yummy BBQ sauce I had on hand, the same sauce I used to use on meatloaf. My sandwiches taste like my meatloaf sandwiches of old. Love them! I will be putting this recipe in my favorites pile. Thanks so much, both you and your family.

    Reply

  42. Hi! Glad to have found this in time for labor day. How do you think these patties would fare on the grill? Thanks!
    -Raychelle

    Reply

  44. The flavor of my confetti cornbread is wonderful. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet for twice as long as you recommended but the center does not seem to be done. What would do you suggest next time?
    Thank You,
    lesa carr
    clarksdale, ms

    Reply

    • Sorry to hear that. If you are sure the temperature of your oven is accurate (they can be off as much as 100 degrees), consider using a larger skillet next time or turn up the temperature 50 degrees.

      Reply

  45. I tried your recipe for the Applesauce Ginger Cake and shared it with my friends. We all loved it because it was very moist and easy to put together. I will share it the next time we have our 1st Sunday Breakfast at church.

    Reply

  46. I just made these for the 2nd time and they are almost as good as the first; I didn’t have any smoked paprika left, so I used regular paprika and it did make a difference. But they are still delicious.

    For my next potluck, I think I might make this again, but make mini-burgers and serve them on slider buns with red onion and barbecue sauce. YUMMY!

    Thanks for another superb recipe!

    Reply

  47. Tried these last night and oh my they are DELICIOUS! Yet another recipe has been added to my growing repertoire of Fat Free Vegan delights. Thank you!

    Reply

  48. I tried these burgers, honestly I was not expecting a lot. I am a meat eater trying to EAT TO LIVE to lose a little weight.
    The texture of these patties is great!
    they have a real chew to them, and I loved the taste no weird flavors, I like these a lot.
    Great Recipe!
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  49. No such thing as a can of black eyed peas up here in Canada in the small town. Would black beans or something work just as well?

    Reply

  50. Our family made and ate these barbecue black-eyed pea burgers this evening and I had to come by to tell you how much we enjoyed them. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a keeper.

    Reply

  52. I’m not a vegan but my boyfriend is a vegetarian…. I haven’t enjoyed many veggie burgers but im going to try this recipe ASAP. It looks great! I was just wondering if there’s a flavor difference beween the vegan ingredients and non vegan ingredients? Thanks in advance. I’ll repost what I think soon.
    Btw, this is the very first time I’ve visited your blog/website. I really enjoy it so far!

    Reply

  54. I made a double batch because I wanted to experiment with different ways of eating them. Of course I only wanted to do the work once! These were delicious. We ate some the night I made them as burgers with all the trimmings (oven time:35 minutes). Perfect texture. For the remainder, I pulled them out of the oven at 25 minutes, allowed them to cool, and wrapped them in wax paper put them in ziplocks and froze them. I’ve pulled them out of the freezer a couple at a time. I’ve heated them in a skillet about five minutes a side, topped them with remoulade sauce and chopped fresh tomatoes and served them as a main dish. I’ve pulled them out and heated them up on the grill, In every casethey held their shape,texture and flavor very well.
    This is a great recipe! I’m going to play around with the bean and spice blends to work on patty flavors, namely sausage,fafafel and spicy black bean.
    Thank you for all your work and delicious inspiration!

    Reply

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