These extra easy black bean burgers taste amazing and are ready to beef and black bean burritos in about 20 minutes! These bean burgers are dairy, egg, and gluten-free, don’t require any complicated steps, are perfect for making ahead, and will make both the meat-eaters and non-meat eaters in your life happy!
For gluten-free burgers, make sure that you use gluten-free oats. We used the idea of adding walnuts from our favorite recipe for veggie burgers. Walnuts add a lovely meatiness and texture to the vegetarian burger patties. Try cashews, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, blanched almonds, or pecans instead if you don’t like or eat walnuts. For burgers without nuts, leave them out. A dash of real maple syrup adds a lovely balance to the burgers. I was hesitant when adding maple syrup at first, but after tasting the burgers, I’m convinced.
By Hand: The burgers are a little more rustic but still hold together and taste amazing when made by hand. We mince the garlic and green onion, leave the oats whole and mash the beans with a fork. As long as you mash the beans enough, the burgers will hold together pretty well. With a food processor: A food processor makes quick work of these burgers. Compared to when made by hand, the texture of the burgers is more consistent, which helps prevent them from crumbling apart when cooking or eating them.
We use both methods in our kitchen. I don’t feel like getting the machine out, I’ll happily make these black bean burgers by hand. For the firmest burgers that won’t fall apart, we recommend the food processor method. However, if you are okay with a bean or two falling out from the sides, make them by hand. Do I need to dry out the beans? In our recipe for veggie burgers, we tell you that for the best burger, you should dry out the beans in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes before mixing them with the rest of the burger ingredients.