Delicious and meaty, these vegan black-eyed pea burgers are seasoned with just a touch of barbecue sauce for a spicy, smoky flavor.
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.)
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.
Barbecue Black-Eyed Pea Burgers
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 (look for certified gluten-free if needed)
Instructions
- 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.
- Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- 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.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy something through them, I receive a commission that helps support this site. Thanks for your purchase!
Janna
August 16, 2014 at 3:48 pmThis recipe looks great! Do you use quick oats or old fashioned oats, or does it not matter? Thanks!
Susan Voisin
August 16, 2014 at 4:19 pmI used old fashioned oats but I’m sure quick would also work.
Raychelle
August 29, 2014 at 11:28 pmHi! Glad to have found this in time for labor day. How do you think these patties would fare on the grill? Thanks!
-Raychelle
Vince
August 30, 2014 at 12:13 pmThank you so much for your thorough research. Wow! I’m just discovering how big the vegan universe is.
Lesa Carr
September 18, 2014 at 4:17 pmThe 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
Susan Voisin
September 18, 2014 at 4:24 pmSorry 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.
Ann
October 24, 2014 at 6:30 pmI 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.
Liane Blanco
November 12, 2014 at 7:16 pmI 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!
Beth Wienhoff
January 3, 2021 at 3:19 pmAwesome idea Sister .. hoping for Potlucks soon again!
Lydia
January 8, 2015 at 10:26 amTried 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!
Rachel
April 29, 2015 at 12:47 pmI 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!
deb
June 7, 2015 at 1:37 pmNo 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?
Susan Voisin
June 4, 2018 at 10:52 amYes, black beans make a good substitute.
Annie
July 14, 2015 at 9:17 pmOur 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.
Aria
September 12, 2015 at 10:05 amThe burger is really great. I falled in love of black-eyed peas thanks to this recipe.
Mollie C
November 21, 2015 at 12:04 amI’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!
Rise Shine Cook | Ashley Madden
September 11, 2017 at 12:07 pmHi Susan!
I love all the spices in this recipe in addition to how freaking creative it is! I’m totally inspired!
xo
Ashley
BlueKarma
July 19, 2018 at 10:27 amI 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!
Ace
June 20, 2019 at 9:48 amI made these yesterday and everyone simply loved them! These were great, i love blackbean burgers; but this black-eyed pea burger is right there behind them…Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe.
Ruth Baker
July 29, 2020 at 11:21 amI have made these three times and have shared them with friends. We all loved them.
Cendi
April 5, 2022 at 9:40 amThese were probably the best homemade veggie burgers I have ever made! The seasonings that went into these made them absolutely perfect!
Awesome recipe! Thanks!