Today I’m showing you how to make black bean burgers in a way that they turn out nice and firm, so they won’t crumble during cooking or when you bite into them.
It’s about putting together some easily available and nutritious ingredients that give a lot of flavor and the right consistency to the burgers. Besides the black beans, I’m talking about oat flakes, tahini, walnuts, spices, and a few other ingredients that make them very tasty but also light.
With this mixture, I’ve made 6 medium-sized burgers at nearly 5 Weight Watchers points each, but you can make more or less or even make small meatballs. In any case, they are quite balanced: there are carbohydrates, proteins, and good fats, so you can enjoy them even without using much bread or perhaps with some air-fried fries.
Before moving on to the preparation, here are some other vegan main dish recipes that you can easily turn into burgers:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole grain oat flakes (or buckwheat flakes)
- 1 cup cooked black beans (drained)
- 2 tbsp black olives (pitted)
- 1 cup walnuts (shelled)
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp flax seeds (ground)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- A few sprigs parsley (fresh)
- to taste onion, garlic, smoked paprika, turmeric, and cumin (1/2 to 1 tsp of each dry spice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Total Points = 29 WW points
- Points per burger (6 burgers total) = 5 WW points
Tools
- Blender
- Air Fryer
Steps
I recommend weighing all the ingredients before blending them. Of course, you need to rinse the black beans well, drain them, and chop the onion into pieces.
Flax seeds need to be ground; I use the cup of my Ninja blender which grinds them perfectly. Or you can buy them already ground, but store them in the freezer otherwise they quickly become rancid.
Start by blending the oat flakes and walnuts. Use the pulse function, you don’t want them to be floury but leave them a little chunky.
Then add everything else: beans, onion, spices, parsley, ground flax seeds, tahini, nutritional yeast, olives, salt, and all the spices.
Keep pulsing until you get a homogeneous mixture but not a puree: there should be chunks. When you take a bit in your hand and squeeze, it should compact without crumbling. If you want, you can keep it in the fridge until it’s time to make the burgers.
Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. I weighed the mixture and it was about 18.7 oz (530 g) so I made 6 portions of about 3.1 oz (88-89 g) each.
Shape the burgers by first making a meatball and then flattening it.
For cooking, I placed them directly in the basket of my air fryer and cooked them at 356°F (180°C) for 5-6 minutes per side. They shouldn’t cook too much, or the outside becomes too crispy and starts to break.
And now our black bean burgers are ready to be served or stored. For storage instructions, read below, but first, here are some ideas on how to serve them.
Here I served one in the classic way, in a whole grain bun, with lettuce and tomatoes. A little mustard as a sauce goes perfectly. However, I also served the burger directly on lettuce: considering there are oat flakes, there’s no need to use a bun; you can integrate carbohydrates differently: some boiled or roasted potatoes, rice, or anything else you like.
Here’s how I had it for lunch and I loved it: I took a whole wheat tortilla, heated it, spread a little mustard on top, crumbled the burger, added lettuce and cherry tomatoes, rolled it up, and there you go. Delicious!
In short, there are many ways to serve these black bean burgers. We loved them, and the texture is also great. Plus, you can prepare them in large quantities and have them ready to use.
I’m looking forward to your opinion and how you served them, let me know and meanwhile:
Bon appétit!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can store these burgers in the fridge for 3 or 4 days or in the freezer for a few months, either raw or cooked. If they’re already cooked, just defrost and reheat them. If they’re raw, you can put them directly in the air fryer and increase the cooking time by a few minutes.
Make sure to keep them separated with kitchen or baking paper; here’s how I do it in the photo:
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I bake them in the oven?
Absolutely, you can make more in the oven. I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure if you preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C), bake for 7 minutes, then flip the burgers and cook for another 7 minutes, it should be fine: you can judge by the color, they shouldn’t get too golden.
What can I use instead of black beans?
I believe any other type of legume could work fine although I haven’t personally tried it yet.
What is nutritional yeast?
In this recipe, you’ll also find nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It’s widely used in vegan cooking as it gives dishes a cheesy flavor. To learn more, read here: Nutritional Yeast: What it is, How to Use it, and Why!
I am gluten intolerant, how can I adapt this recipe?
The only ingredient that might contain gluten is the oat flakes: you can get certified gluten-free ones or alternatively use buckwheat or quinoa flakes.
