Southwestern Pinto Bean Burgers
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.Ever tried making a veggie burger with pinto beans? Now’s your chance – and you don’t want to miss it! These pinto bean burgers are fresh, flavor-packed, and filling. So much better than frozen veggie burgers and easily adapted to vegan.
Is this the best veggie burger ever?
Yes.
Will it please meat-eaters and vegetarians alike?
Yes.
Is it worth the 45 minutes – 1 hour it takes to make?
You bet. (But I might have a little time-saving hack to share at the end of this post, so stay tuned!)
Is it healthy?
Of course!
Enough said. You should definitely try this pinto bean burger recipe. It’s one of my favorite easy weeknight meals. Making veggie burgers from scratch does take more time than heating up a frozen patty, but it is so, so worth it!
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I like making homemade bean burgers because then I can control the ingredients, and you can pretty much guarantee that nothing processed will be in your dinner. This recipe also makes great pinto bean cakes and fritters – just don’t use a bun!
How to Make Pinto Bean Burgers
This pinto bean patty recipe is perfect for pleasing picky eaters or veggie burger skeptics. It has a great texture, about as close to beef burgers as you can get with a homemade veggie burger patty, so it’s a great alternative if you need a vegetarian or healthy option!
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs, Low Fat Sour Cream, and 1 Egg: Necessary to bind the burger mixture together! This keeps the pinto bean patties from falling apart.
Fresh Cilantro & Jalapeno Pepper: For added brightness and heat
Hot Pepper (Cholula) Sauce: For added heat, but you can also use Adobo Sauce or Chili Powder if you don’t have hot sauce on hand.
Ground Cumin, Black Pepper, Salt: To help give the burgers that southwestern feel. You can also add some garlic powder (or 1 clove of garlic) to the mixture for more spice.
Pinto Beans: Because you can’t make pinto bean burgers without pinto beans! But honestly, any type of bean (black beans, red kidney beans, etc) would work well in this recipe.
Corn: Adds a nice texture and a subtle sweetness to these burgers.
Whole wheat or sprouted wheat hamburger buns: For added whole grains and fiber, much healthier than a white burger bun!
Toppings: Choose any toppings you like based on your personal preference. Ketchup or barbecue sauce, red onion slices, diced bell pepper, tomato slices, baby spinach leaves, your favorite hot sauce, salsa, guacamole, etc. Pinto beans also go great with roasted garlic cloves and sautéed mushrooms. Sandwich it all between two burger buns and you have yourself a very filling (and even more flavorful) meatless meal!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: To prepare burgers, combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl or food processor. If you use a food processor, you don’t have to dice the onion or mince the jalapeno pepper ahead of time. (This saves on cutting time if you have a good food processor). Transfer to a large bowl, and mix in the egg.
Step 2: Put pinto beans and corn in a food processor, and chop them — don’t puree them. Then add them to the bean mixture in the bowl. Alternatively, you can add the beans/corn to the bowl and partially mash with a fork or potato masher before adding them to the bean mixture.
Step 3: Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 3 1/2-inch patty, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan, and cook 5 minutes on each side. Reduce to medium heat, cook an additional 5 minutes (flipping the burger patty once in between) to get a nice caramelized crust. Transfer burgers to a plate lined with paper towels.
Now it’s time for assembly! Place patties on the bottom halves of the burger buns; top each pinto bean patty with 1-2 tbsp ketchup or bbq sauce, red onion slices, roma tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, and the top half of the burger bun.
The best part: One HUGE bean burger has ~400 calories, ~11g fat, ~15g protein, and ~9g fiber. Now THAT’s what I call a veggie burger!
How to Make Spicy Pinto Bean Burgers Vegan Friendly
While this recipe contains sour cream and egg, you can replace them with vegan sour cream or a vegan mayo like Vegenaise and a flax or chia egg. And just like that – with 2 quick substitutes – you have delicious vegan burgers!
If you’ve never made a chia seed or flax seed egg, all you do is mix a tablespoon of chia seeds with three tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then add it to the recipe. The egg works beautifully in these delicious burgers and really helps them stick together.
Need a Quicker Meal? Turn Them Into Refried Bean Burgers!
Since making bean burgers from scratch takes a while, I want to share my busy mom hack!
Replace the cooked whole pinto beans with a can of refried beans. Don’t worry, you won’t end up with a mushy burger.
The rest of the recipe can stay the same (you can just mix the corn into the refried beans and leave them whole). And since you’re using refried beans, which are already mashed and creamy, you don’t have to use a food processor – that’s one less thing to wash! Just mix with a fork instead of a spoon to break up the veggies a bit.
Refried beans are actually perfect for this particular pinto patty recipe because it’s already Southwest-style! It was meant to be 🙂
What to Serve with Pinto Bean Patties
Don’t feel like you have to reinvent the wheel when serving up vegetarian burgers. They’re fantastic with all the usual burger sides like regular fries or parmesan truffle fries, potato or tortilla chips, or a side salad.
Even traditionally greasy fries can be “healthified” by making air fryer sweet potato fries without all that oil!
Recipe Variations
The great thing about this pinto bean patty recipe is that it’s customizable. Here are some of my favorite ways to mix things up:
- Make it into a burrito! Try breaking up the pinto bean burgers and serving in a tortilla with other ingredients from fajitas – think guacamole, shredded cheese, and roasted peppers.
- Make it open faced! Serve the patties on buns with your favorite toppings piled on the tops of the patties.
- Make it into a hash! Cook up some chopped onion, mushrooms, and peppers and have that toasted in some olive oil or butter. Then add some cheese and the burger patties (broken up), and cook it until the cheese is melted.
- Change up the beans: Don’t like pinto beans? Swap them for black beans. In fact, turn this into a mixed bean burger recipe and combine a few different varieties!
- Make it less spicy: Don’t like the spicy Southwestern vibe? Leave out the jalapenos and hot pepper sauce and replace them with savory roasted sweet peppers. A blend of red, orange, and yellow would be ah-mazing!
- Make it gluten-free: To make it gluten-free, you can easily swap the breadcrumbs for oats. Oats add more fiber to the patties and have a heartier texture than breadcrumbs. Just be sure to get certified gluten-free oats.
Top Tips For Making Pinto Bean Burgers
- Use whole wheat panko breadcrumbs because they lighter and lower in calories than regular breadcrumbs.
- Use a food processor to cut up the first 9 ingredients, to save time.
- Make sure you don’t skip refrigerating the burger patties before cooking them! That really helps them hold together and have that meaty feel.
- The pinto bean burger patties will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To store: let the patties cool completely. Then transfer them to an airtight container and place in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months (just thaw in the fridge to defrost and heat in a skillet on medium heat until warmed through).
Want More Burger Recipes?
My whole family absolutely adores these tasty burgers, but vegan and veggie burgers can be made with all kinds of beans and toppings. Try these (your taste buds will thank you later):
- Vegan Black Bean Burgers with Tahini Sauce
- Black Bean Quinoa Burgers (Vegetarian)
- Five Different Veggie Burger Recipes!
- Pumpkin Burgers with Black Beans and Vegetables
- Falafel Burgers with Creamy Feta Sauce
If you have tried these Pinto Bean Burgers or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Southwestern Pinto Bean Burger Recipe
This is one of those leftover pinto bean recipes I would have never thought of but now can't live without! These pinto bean burgers really hit the spot when you're craving that Southwestern, Tex-Mex flavor. But beware, you won't want to go back to frozen veggie patties after these!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 411kcal
Ingredients
Burger:
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup dry whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
- 2 tablespoons low fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or Cholula sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 15oz can pinto beans, drained 1 can
- 1 8oz can no salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained Or 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Toppings:
- Ketchup or barbecue sauce If you use bbq sauce, make sure you get one that’s super low in sugar (less than 4 grams per serving)
- Red onion slices
- Roma tomato slices
- Baby spinach leaves
- Whole wheat or sprouted wheat hamburger buns Make sure you get buns with <200 calories and at least 4 grams of fiber per bun
Instructions
- To prepare burgers, combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl or food processor. If you use a food processor, you don't have to dice the onion or mince the jalapeno pepper ahead of time. (This saves on cutting time if you have a good food processor). Transfer to a large bowl, and mix in the egg.
- Put pinto beans and corn in the food processor, and then add to the mixture in the bowl. Alternatively, you can add the pinto beans/corn to the bowl and partially mash with a fork or potato masher.
- Divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 3 1/2-inch patty, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan, and cook 5 minutes on each side. Reduce to medium heat, cook an additional 5 minutes (flipping the burger patty once in between) to get a nice caramelized crust. Transfer burgers to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Now it’s time for assembly! Place patties on bottom halves of buns; top each patty with 1-2 tbsp ketchup or bbq sauce, red onion slices, roma tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, and top half of bun.
Notes
Top Tips For Making Pinto Bean Burgers
- Use whole wheat panko breadcrumbs because they lighter and lower in calories than regular breadcrumbs.
- Use a food processor to cut up the first 9 ingredients, to save time.
- Make sure you don’t skip refrigerating the burger patties before cooking them! That really helps them hold together and have that meaty feel.
- The pinto bean burger patties will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To store: let the patties cool completely. Then transfer them to an airtight container and place in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months (just thaw in the fridge to defrost and heat in a skillet on medium heat until warmed through).
Nutrition
Serving: 1burger | Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 63.1g | Protein: 15.2g | Fat: 10.7g | Sodium: 837mg | Fiber: 9.1g
Hi
We don’t eat eggs..so if I leave them out..will the burger fall apart?What can I use for binding ?
Thanks
G
I’ve heard that you can use ground flaxseed as a binder instead of eggs, but I’ve never tried it myself. You can also try using more breadcrumbs, avocado, or tahini in the burgers. I think with one of these options, you should be ok with leaving the eggs out. I’d love to hear what ends up working out for you! Hope you enjoy the burgers!
Made these tonight for dinner. Made a few modifications… used Sriracha, and fresh corn OFF the cob, and did saute the onions and jalapenos before adding them to the mixture. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and I baked them instead of pan frying them… and the result.. AWESOME!! Such a good change of pace from the “normal” black bean veggie burgers! Thanks for the recipe!!
I LOVE your modifications Margaret!! Especially the Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and baking vs. pan frying. I bet baking them allowed you to make a ton of burgers in one shot (vs. pan frying individual patties). Great idea! Can’t wait to try your version next time, and I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
Wow, I wish I lived in San Francisco and could hire you to cook for me. This looks amazing! I’ll give a whirl and hopefully it will turn out.
Aw! haha thanks so much Charles! I hope it turns out well for you when you try it! 🙂
I tried this today it was really good I love it 😀
Thank you 😀
Awesome!!! I’m so glad to hear that Rahma!
Hey, I made this tonight! These burgers were delicious!!! BUT I ended up with wayyy more patties than I had anticipated! I have some in the freezer now! I am not complaining, I LOVE leftovers!! Especially ones as yummy as this! but did you really just get 4 patties from this recipe!?!?!
Haha!! Oh my gosh – well freezing them was definitely a great idea! 🙂 I think you just ended up making smaller patties for your burgers – which you totally can do with this recipe! I did get 4 patties but my patties were pretty big and hearty – so if you want a lighter meal you can totally make smaller patties from this recipe and then save the rest for later like you did! Just keep in mind the nutritional info in this recipe is for 4 patties, so if you make more than 4, you can cut the nutritional info/calories down to accomodate your modified recipe. Hope that helps!
Hello! I made these tonight but they fell apart. I didn’t changed any of the ingredients or instructions, but they didn’t stick together very well at all. Do you have any suggestions? They still tasted delicious, so I’d love to try again!
Hi Tracey! I have a couple tricks that might help your burgers stick together better: 1) Try using regular whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of panko. They tend to be heartier and might help with the texture of the burger. 2) Try making the patties and then refrigerating them for about 10-15 minutes before you cook them in the pan. That will help the ingredients sit and bind together a bit before you cook them – which should help the patties hold together better after you’re done cooking them. Let me know if either of those ideas work!!
Hello! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for this recipe and your site! I always enjoy browsing the latest entries. These veggie burgers in particular were a hit! I really like that you incorporate lots of bold flavors and spices in your recipes. My other half is an Indian and he is sure to dislike anything that is bland! I can always count on your site to give me fresh and flavorful inspiration. Thanks for making lots of tummies happy!
Aw thank you so much Jes!! I’m so glad that you like my recipes and my blog! 🙂 I’m so happy that you and your other half both enjoyed the burgers too – they’re definitely a favorite of my husband’s as well!
These were fantastic. I did steal the yogurt/sour cream/cholula sauce from Caroline’s comment. It was amazing. These will be made again in our house! (and that sauce is going over tofu tacos next week as well!)
Yaaay! I’m so glad you liked them! I agree with you about Caroline’s comment – that yogurt sauce is delicious! I love tofu tacos btw – if you have a good recipe that you use let me know!
https://peasandthankyou.com/2011/04/05/tofu-love/
This one is my favorite! I learned how to cook tofu from reading this and haven’t strayed far when it comes to tacos. These are my fave!
Oh awesome!! Thanks Melissa – I’ll definitely try it!
Phenomenal! Love Cholula as well, it’s the best and not an overbearing amount of heat.
Thanks Scott! 🙂 Totally agree – other hot sauces are just too spicy and “one-note” for my tastes – I love the balance of spice and heat in Cholula!
I made these tonight. They were delicious! Even my meat-loving husband liked them. The flavors were a bit reminiscent of flafels. Instead of ketchup, I made a spread that contained reduced-fat sour cream, fat-free greek yougurt, lime zest and juice, and Choula chili and lime sauce. It was a nice complement to the burger. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Woohoo!! So happy to hear that! And you’re totally right – the last time I ate these, I thought of falafels too! Your spread sounds delicious – I’m totally going to try that next time!
How creative! I am definitely going to try this recipe, it looks wonderful. And an additional kudos for my favorite hot sauce, Cholula! 🙂
Thanks Renee!! And omg – I’m totally with you – Cholula is the BEST 🙂
This looks mouth watering Anjali… and that’s coming from a proud meat eater.
Looking forward to your answers on those questions 😀
Woohoo!! So glad to hear that Brian 🙂 I’ll be getting back to you very soon!
This looks delicious! You should try this gluten-free Veggie Nut Burger recipe too!
https://rkbrownrice.tumblr.com/post/20007801189
Thanks!
These do look very nice. My problem with most of the veggie pattie recipies that I have tried is that they fall apart. I hope that this will hold together for me, since I’ll have to replace the panko breadcrumbs with something gluten free. I usually use crushed gluten free Rice Krispies, and I hope those will work.
Ha that’s why my husband has an issue with veggie burgers as well! But I have to say – these hold together really well – it’s the combination of the breadcrumbs and the egg that just binds it all together perfectly. Instead of gluten free rice krispies, you might want to try making your own gluten free breadcrumbs by just taking a piece of toasted gluten-free bread and putting it in the food processor – it’s super fast and I think the gluten-free bread might be more “binding” than the rice krispies. I’m definitely interested to hear how it turns out – so let me know!
I’ve made lots of black bean burgers but have never thought to use pinto beans! Love this…will be trying it out at some point! Thanks for sharing!
I know what you mean! I used to mainly make black bean burgers as well – but I think I might like this recipe even better than the traditional black bean burgers! It has more of a kick – and I think the pinto beans make it creamier. Hope you like it!
Oh my gosh, these look incredible! I’ve been looking for some great burger recipes recently. Bookmarked!
Thanks so much Sarah!! I can’t wait for you to try them! 🙂
Looks delicious. We’re not vegetarians but still love a veggie burger once in a while.
Thanks!! I’d love to hear what you think from the “meat-eater” perspective! 🙂
wow this looks delicious! cant wait to try it!
I’m sure you will love it Arpita!!
These look amazing. What a great combination… I’m trying these soon.
Thanks Denise!! Let me know how you like them!
Yes please!!! LOOOVE veggie burgers!
Hehe yay!! Me too – veggie burgers are the best 🙂