Today I’ll show you how to make black bean burgers so that they hold together well and don’t crumble while cooking or when you bite into them.
It’s about combining a few easy-to-find ingredients and nutritious items that give lots of flavor to the burgers and the right texture. Besides the black beans, I’m talking about rolled oats, tahini, walnuts, spices and a few other ingredients that make them both tasty and light.
From this mixture I made 6 medium-sized burgers, each worth almost 5 Weight Watchers points, but you can make more or fewer, or even make small meatballs. They are well balanced: you have carbs, proteins and healthy fats, so you can enjoy them without much bread or perhaps with some air-fried fries.
Before we get to the preparation, here are some other vegan main course recipes you can easily turn into burgers:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 12 Minutes
- Portions: 6 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 7/8 cup whole rolled oats (or buckwheat flakes)
- 1 1/2 cups precooked black beans (drained)
- 1 oz black olives (pitted)
- 1/4 cup walnuts (shelled)
- 2 tbsp tahina
- 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 (from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of each dried 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 ingredients before blending. Obviously rinse the black beans well, drain them and chop the onion into pieces.
Flax seeds should be ground; I use the cup of my Ninja appliance which grinds them very well. Or you can buy them already ground, but keep them in the freezer otherwise they become rancid quickly.
Start by pulsing the rolled oats and the walnuts. Use the pulse function; you don’t want them powdery, leave some small pieces.
Then add the rest: the beans, the onion, the spices, the parsley, the ground flax seeds, the tahini, the nutritional yeast, the olives, the salt and all the spices.
Pulse until you obtain a homogeneous mixture but not a purée: there should still be pieces. If you take a little in your hand and squeeze it, it should hold together without crumbling. You can refrigerate it like this until it’s time to form the burgers.
Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. I weighed the mixture and it was about 530 g (about 18.7 oz), so I made 6 portions of roughly 88–89 g each (about 3.1 oz each).
Shape the burgers by first making a ball and then flattening it.
For cooking I placed them directly in the basket of my air fryer and cooked them at 356°F for 5–6 minutes per side. Don’t overcook them otherwise the exterior becomes too crunchy and may start to break apart.
And here our black bean burgers are ready to be served or stored. For storage read below, but first here are some serving ideas.
Here I served one the classic way, in a whole-wheat bun with lettuce and tomato. A bit of mustard works great as a sauce. On the side I served the burger directly on lettuce: since there are oats there’s no need for a bun, you can add carbs differently: some boiled or roasted potatoes, rice or anything else you prefer.
This is how I ate one for lunch and I loved it: I warmed a whole-wheat tortilla, spread some mustard, broke the burger into pieces, added lettuce and cherry tomatoes, rolled it up and that was it. Delicious!
There are many ways to serve these black bean burgers. We really liked them, and the texture is excellent. You can also make them in large batches and keep them ready to use.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and how you served them, let me know and in the meantime:
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can store these burgers in the fridge for 3–4 days or in the freezer for a few months, either raw or cooked. If they are already cooked, just thaw and reheat. If they are raw, you can put them directly in the air fryer and add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
Be sure to keep them separated with paper towels or parchment paper; here’s how I do it in the photo:
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
Can I bake them in the oven?
Certainly, you can cook more of them in the oven. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m sure if you preheat the oven to 356°F, bake for 7 minutes, then flip the burgers and bake for another 7 minutes it should work: you can judge by the color, they shouldn’t brown too much.
What can I use instead of black beans?
I believe any other type of legume should work, although I personally haven’t tried them yet.
What is nutritional yeast?
This recipe also includes nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It’s widely used in vegan cooking because it gives a cheesy flavor to dishes. To learn more read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it and why!
I’m gluten intolerant, how can I adapt this recipe?
The only ingredient that might contain gluten is the rolled oats: you can buy certified gluten-free oats or alternatively use buckwheat or quinoa flakes.
