Baked black bean burgers with quinoa and peppers, a healthy vegetarian burger that will please even the most loyal beef burger lover.
I love a good burger! How do you beat a good flavorful, juicy burger? You don’t, and these black bean quinoa burgers made with healthy peppers are full of great flavor, and they’re deliciously moist. I have been hard at it trying to find a good vegetarian baked black bean burger that my husband and 10-year-old son will give the “good dinner Mom” thumbs up. Finally, these have done it! Adapted from a recipe given to me by my friend, Emily. I hope you like them as much as we do! See? Colorful, heart healthy ingredients…
Of course, the condiments are almost as important for a perfect burger. I used a super good rye bread, toasted, with homemade southwest mayo. (Which is 1 tablespoon of Cajun Spice Mix and 1 cup good quality mayonnaise or veganaise.) Carmelized onions only add to the intense flavors.
Feed this to your die-hard beef-burger lovers.
Baked Black Bean Burgers with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1- 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup quinoa, will be ¾ cup after cooked
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup green bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup roasted red bell peppers, diced (may use raw peppers)
- ½ jalapeno pepper, minced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons onion, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 good dash red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
- 1 large egg, For vegan burgers, substitute ½ cup oatmeal, cooked rice or mashed potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bring ¼ cup quinoa and ½ cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.
- Roughly mash 15 ounces black beans with a fork leaving some whole black beans. You should have a paste-like mixture now.
- Add cooked quinoa (¾ cup), ½ cup bread crumbs, ¼ cup peppers, 2 Tablespoons onion, 1 clove garlic, 1½ teaspoons cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, and 1 egg into the black beans. Mix well, using your hands.
- Form 5 patties and place on parchment lined baking pan.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
- Enjoy with your favorite burger condiments!
Have you tried freezing these burgers AFTER cooking them? Do you think that would work? I typically freeze extra meat burgers so that we have a couple of quick meals available at a later date. I am definitely going to try these!
Hi Robyn, You can definitely freeze these after baking. I like using Press N Seal for this to make sure there’s no air inside. But these do freeze beautifully after baking.
Mouth watering pictures! These look so delicious Sally, I cant wait to make them! And, LOVE the bun idea.
This burger was AMAING!!! I’ve been craving a burger and fries lately and have recently gone vegan/low fat. I made these for the hubs and I and I am not disappointed! Highly recommend!!
Can these be cook d on the grill?
Hi Mary, No these burgers will fall through the grates. They won’t stay together enough for the grill.
I actually did grill them & they didn’t fall through the grates, maybe it was the size, they weren’t so big. They cake out perfect! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Rebeca, that is awesome! So good to know. Thank you!
So tasty your buger is! Can i use pre-cooked black beans for this recipe? Can i preserve this dish in refrigerator for a week?
Hi Lita! Absolutely use pre-cooked black beans in the recipe. For preserving the burgers, I’ve never made them ahead of serving but did have one reader comment that they freeze them all the time so I’m sure they’d be fine for several days (or a week) in the fridge. Thanks for stopping by, it means a lot.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe, I can’t wait to try it.
I made these burgers tonight for our family. They were really delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Christine, glad you liked them! Thanks for the comment.
I am really getting some great meals from this recipe. I’ve omitted the peppers and substituted roasted green Anaheim chilies for a grilled flavor. I love the quinoa because there is just enough to add texture, not so much that it interferes with the flavor of the bun. My parents, who are new to no-meat meals, are using this recipe weekly too.
Hi Dawn, I’m glad to hear you have been able to utilize this recipe in so many different ways. I love that it is versatile, as well. Thanks for your comment and for sharing it with your parents too! 🙂
These were amazing! It wasn’t mother’s day, but football day! http://xtinaluvspink.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/black-bean-quinoa-burgers/
Christina, Thank you for trying them. Your picture looks delicious!
I tried your Baked Black Bean burger with Quinoa recipe, I must say it was tasty. I thought twice about adding the amount of cumin powder in the recipe, because it does have a strong taste to it, but I am happy I did, that is what actually gives it a good taste to them.
Protein without eating red meat !! I like that
Thanks
Next i will try your broccoli quinoa salad
Jesse, I’m glad you went all the way with the cumin and happy it was a success for you. These are favorites of ours, as well. Thanks for your comment and I look forward to hearing what you think of the Broccoli and Quinoa Salad.
Hi,
Just wondering if I could cover the bottom of a 13×9″ pan then cut them up for “cheeseburger” sliders? Do you think they would hold together well enough for that? I want to make them for a birthday party we are having but I am not sure if I could make these the same way as the regular meat sliders to be able to provide something for our non meat eating friends and family. Thank you for the recipe as I will be trying it out either way.
Candi,
I would not recommend trying them this way for your first time since it is for a party. Just in case. They MIGHT cut okay, but I’m thinking they will probably kind of break up instead and then you’d have black bean crumbles. You could make these as instructed the day before the party and refrigerate them to be heated in the oven just before serving. Just be careful not to heat for too long as to dry them out. We love these and I think your non-meat eating group will too. Thanks for trying my recipe and good luck with your party!
My family insists on having steak for our Mother’s day dinner, and considering I’m the only non-meater in the family, I think I’ll be whipping up a batch of these for me to enjoy! Thanks!
Christina, I would be honored to have you try these for Mother’s Day. And they freeze so well to be reheated back to just-made freshness. Enjoy your Mother’s Day celebration with your family!
Hi, I’ve just come across this recipe and I think it looks great. I’m wondering, though, whether it can be frozen as, being the only veggie in the house it will make more than one can eat in one sitting
Many thanks.
Hello David,
I freeze these all the time! Sometimes I make a double batch and freeze the leftovers so I can pull one out at a time for a single burger or to break up over a salad. Thanks for your comment and I hope you like them. 🙂
Sally,
Thank you do much! That is about what we figured. I love your blog and can’t wait to try more of the wonderful recipes.
Susan
This was an AMAZING burger. I made a sauce w/ Greek yogurt and homemade chili sauce and a Cherokee purple heirloom tomato. Just a question on nutrition content…any idea on calories and fat content on just the burger, not the condiments?
Susan, thanks for trying the recipe! I love the idea of Greek yogurt with homemade chili sauce and will definitely give that a try. My mom makes a great chili sauce so that will be perfect and better than mayo.
Yes, I do have calorie and other nutrition information for you. (That is something I’m working on having available for all my recipes.)
Nutrition per pattie: Calories, 187; Total fat, 2.6g; Sat. fat, 0.62g; sodium, 500 mg; carbs, 28.9g; cholesterol, 37mg; fiber, 7.5g; sugar, 1g; protein, 10.3 g
In all fairness this recipe is much yummier than the one I gave Sally! :). But we love this burger. I use it as a salad topping too!
Emily, I should have mentioned that, as well. It IS delicious crumbled up on top of greens. My favorite way, in fact.