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Simple Black Bean Burger

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Vegan and oil-free, these simple black bean burgers are made with only 8 ingredients and can be on your plate in about 30 minutes. Gluten-free option, too!

Simple Black Bean Burger

Let’s face it: When you follow a plant-based whole foods diet, there are some things you miss. I’m not talking about rich desserts and fried snacks. What I sometimes miss is the convenience of packaged foods, especially the ease of pulling a veggie burger out of the freezer and cooking it in the microwave in under two minutes. That’s why I decided to create a faster, easier black bean burger.

Maybe I shouldn’t be confessing this on my food blog, but the older I get, the less time I want to spend cooking. Often, it’s just a mental hurdle—once I decide what I want to make and get into the kitchen, I enjoy putting a meal together, especially if my husband is available to help with the chopping.

But for some reason, not having a child around to cook for has made me less eager to spend more than about 30 minutes on meal preparation. Maybe I’m just getting old; maybe I miss daughter E’s critical palate. Who knows? The upside is since she went away to college, I’m creating more Ridiculously Easy recipes for those of you who feel the same way about cooking. Like this recipe for 8-ingredient black bean burgers (7 if you skip the corn.)

Simple Black Bean Burger

I have lots of incredible burgers in my archives, but all of them require some vegetable chopping or cooking some ingredients in advance. My African-Inspired Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers, for instance, are amazing, if I do say so, but they require cooking sweet potatoes and chopping 4 different vegetables.

Instead of all that chopping, this easy black bean burger uses prepared salsa and just a few potent seasonings to create a burger that is firm yet moist, simple yet flavorful, in the least amount of time possible. I start by slightly grinding regular oatmeal so that some of it becomes powdery, helping the burgers stick together without added thickeners like flour or cornstarch.

I’ve made these burgers twice now—first on the bake setting and then on the air fryer setting on my Breville Smart Oven Air—and they came out equally well both baked and air-fried.  Since all of the ingredients are already cooked (or don’t require cooking, like oats and corn), they only need to be cooked long enough to crisp up the exterior and warm the interior; letting them “meld” in the fridge for at least 15 minutes insures that they will hold together.

Simple Black Bean Burger

The first time I made these chipotle-flavored black bean burgers, I skipped the usual condiments and topped them with Green Tomato Pepper Butter, a tangy sweet-sour sauce that brought out their spiciness. (Check out the recipe plus a photo of our new puppy!)

The second time, I treated them like regular old burgers and topped them with ketchup and mustard. I think you’ll love them with whatever condiments you use.

P.S. I made the oil-free fries in my little Phillips air fryer, making this a two air fryer meal. I simply cut thin fries (I use a food processor) from Yukon gold potatoes, toss them with about a tablespoon of aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) and some seasonings. Then I air fry at 360F for 18 minutes, tossing and stirring every 6 minutes.

Simple Black Bean Burger
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Simple Black Bean Burger

Gluten Free
Nut Free
Soy Free
Sugar Free
The chipotle chile powder gives these burgers smokiness with an edge of spiciness. If you'd rather them not be spicy, substitute mild smoked paprika.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups rolled oats (old fashioned oats) (use certified gluten-free oats to assure that the burgers are gluten-free)
  • 16 ounces black beans (1 can, well drained)
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari or 1/2 teaspoon salt, for gluten free)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons mild chili powder
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (more or less, to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen and thawed) optional

Instructions

  • Place the oats in a food processor fitted with an S-blade and pulse 5 or 6 times until they are partially chopped (some will be powder, some will be whole.) Add all ingredients except the corn and pulse until most of the beans are blended.
  • Pour bean mixture into a bowl and stir in the corn. Cover and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form bean mixture into six patties using a scant 1/2 cup for each. Bake for 20-30 minutes, being careful not to overcook and dry them out. They're done when the outside is beginning to get crispy and they hold together well.

Air Fryer Cooking Instructions

  • Preheat the air fryer to around 375F. Place the burgers in a single layer and air fry until slightly crispy on the outside, about 15 minutes. (They have a tendency to stick, so consider using perforated parchment paper underneath them.)
    Simple Black Bean Burgers in Breville Air Fryer

Notes

These are easy to freeze either baked or unbaked. Just shape the burgers and wrap them tightly to store in the freezer for about 3 months. Thaw unbaked burgers well before cooking.
Each burger is 2 Weight Watchers Smart points.
Nutrition Facts
Simple Black Bean Burger
Amount Per Serving (1 burger)
Calories 158 Calories from Fat 12
% Daily Value*
Fat 1.3g2%
Sodium 690mg30%
Potassium 351mg10%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Fiber 9g38%
Sugar 2.7g3%
Protein 8g16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional info is approximate.

Have you made this recipe?Mention @SusanFFVK and tag #fatfreevegankitchen in your photos on Instagram.
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Enjoy!

Susan

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Vegan and oil-free, these simple black bean burgers are made with only 8 ingredients and can be on your plate in about 30 minutes. Gluten-free option, too!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Cindy

    Thank you Susan! These look good and I love your ridiculously easy recipes! I fix your soup and lunchbox recipes every week. I subscribe to your blog and LOVE your recipes!

    Reply

  3. Rachel

    I subscribe to your newsletter . I’m going to try cooking your black bean burger in the air fryer using perforated parchment paper.

    Reply

  4. B Walker

    I have subscribed to your newsleter for quite some time. I have made many of your recipes. I too seem to want to soend less time in the kitchen, so I cook enough for the week on Sunday. I would love this new cookbook.

    Reply

  9. Janell

    I subscribe to your newsletter. Love your flavor palette, and so you are the first site I visit when looking for new ideas or to return to family favorites.

    Reply

  14. Donna Hopper

    I have been a happy subscriber for a long time and enjoyed so many of your recipes. These look delicious. Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Deb Hussey

    I subscribe to your newsletter and love easy to prepare recipes like this as I’m a busy working mum to two big and very demanding dogs so time is at a premium!

    Reply

  17. Olivia Hemming

    I subscribe to your newsletter but I’m not on either FB or Instagram.

    Vegan way way decades before the word was coined; in fact since childhood as my body rejected milk (yuck) plus any dairy products as well as meat as its mere smell nauseated me and hurt my stomach when forced to eat them, so needless to say I’m happy in my elder years to find new recipes with more flavor profiles than I prepared – made up that were mostly bland.

    Please enter my name in your give-away cookbooks, I would love to have one. Thank you so much for the creativity you prepare and share with us Vegans. I look forward to more of them.

    Reply

  21. L

    I subscribe to your newsletter!! 🙂
    both the burger and the tomato pepper butter look amazing…
    and the new puppy is simply adorable <3

    Reply

  24. lisa michelle

    I subscribe to your newsletter! I LOVE YOUR OFFERINGS AND ALL THE THOUGHTFULNESS YOU PUT INTO THE RECIPES AND IN COMMUNICATING WITH US. YAY

    Reply

  25. Soo

    I subscribe to your newsletter. Everyone loves your Eggplant n Chickpea curry that I make over and over again! Thanks for great recipes !

    Reply

  26. Cindy

    I subscribe to your newsletter and use your recipes constantly! The black bean burgers look amazing and I love the suggestion for using aquafaba to make French fries. Can’t wai to try them!

    Reply

  27. Cathy

    Thank you for the lovely recipes. I follow you on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest AND I receive your newsletter 🙂 This recipe looks similar to the basic one I use and am eager to make this variation.

    Reply

  35. Alison Flanagan

    I’m with you on simplicity! I subscribe to your newsletter and one of the first things I look at when considering a recipe is the number of ingredients and how much chopping there is. This will definitely be one I try! Thanks!

    Reply

  39. Christopher

    Hi, Susan… I subscribe to your newsletter and find that I go through phases of cooking. Sometimes I prep for the week so that I don’t have to cook during the rest of the week… and sometimes I want to get all fancy in the kitchen. Either way, I really enjoy your recipes and have used several in my own kitchen.

    Reply

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