Chipotle Black Bean Burgers (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
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These healthy vegan chipotle black bean burgers are protein packed and perfect for summer cookouts, barbecues and easy family dinners! Simple substitutes make the patties gluten-free, and the creamy, delicious tahini sauce makes this the ultimate veggie burger!
It’s always hard to find a healthy veggie burger recipe that holds together well and has great flavor — because most veggie burgers just fall apart on the grill! These chipotle black bean burgers are the exception: super meaty, hearty, natural flavor, and slightly spicy, they will satisfy both vegetarians, vegans, and meat eaters alike.
If you have a sensitivity to wheat gluten, or follow a vegan lifestyle, this meal is a great way to get your burger fix!
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Serve these burgers with homemade air fryer sweet potato fries or parmesan truffle fries on the side for the perfect pairing. You guys are going to love these healthy burgers, they are great for busy weeknights or for feeding a crowd!
This simple meatless burger has become a favorite in our house. It’s so easy to make yet jam packed full of flavor. It’s slightly spiced with paprika, chipotle pepper and cumin but remains kid -friendly. The only thing I add to mine that is different than the kids, is a few smoky chipotle peppers. It feels like a real treat, but a fully made burger (bun included!) comes in under 450 calories!
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Burgers that holds together
- Vegan Friendly
- Gluten-Free
- Satisfying and Filling
- Chipotle Pepper Spiced
- Great Recipe for Meatless Monday
🥘 Ingredients
This black bean burger recipe calls for basic ingredients easily found in your pantry or your local grocery store! See the recipe card below for details on exact quantities of ingredients.
Black Beans: One can of black beans drained and rinsed.
Flax Egg and Oat Flour: A flax egg is made from a combination of ground flax and water. When paired with oat flour, it helps to bind the ingredients together. Use gluten free oat flour to keep these burgers gluten free friendly.
Veggies: Chopped red onion, garlic, bell pepper, and carrots add texture and flavor.
Spices: The star of these burgers are the chipotle pepper powder. In addition, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper bring heat and flavor. If you don’t have chipotle chili powder, you can also use a diced chipotle pepper.
Buns: If gluten-free use your favorite gluten-free buns, if not, I recommend whole grain wheat buns.
Tahini: Tahini is a condiment that is made from sesame seeds and is used in Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. It is rich in protein and a great source of vitamins B and E as well as iron and calcium. I love it in so many dishes! We pair it with garlic, lemon juice, water and salt to create a rich sauce for these burgers.
🍅 Burger Topping Ideas
What do you put on a black bean burger?
Just about anything you like! I like to load up these vegan burgers are with fresh toppings. Some of my favorites include:
- Avocado (or vegan guacamole)
- Red onion
- Baby spinach or romaine lettuce
- Slices of tomato or tomato jam
- Tahini sauce – a great healthy swap for the usual (less healthy) mayonnaise and really pulls the burger together.
- Pickles
- Salsa
- Ketchup
- Vegan BBQ Sauce
🍽 Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Large Pan or Skillet
- Food Processor
📖 Variations
Black Bean Burgers With Chipotle Mayo: Substitute the tahini sauce for simple chipotle mayo to amp up the spice. Add a bit of lime juice for some acidity.
Adobo Sauce: A Mexican sauce made from ground ancho chiles. It’s a reddish brown sauce with a thick consistency. You can add up to a couple teaspoons of this to your burger patty mixture, and for even more spice, add a few green chiles with the adobo sauce!
Brown Rice: Instead of adding oat flour to hold these burgers together, you can use a 1/3 cup of cooked brown rice. They will still be gluten-free! Note: Almond meal will also work in place of oat flour as a GF option.
Avocado Salsa: You can make this chipotle black bean burger with avocado salsa instead of tahini for a different twist on this recipe.
🔪 Instructions
Make Your Flax Egg: The first thing you’ll do is mix flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and place in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Saute Burger Base: Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Once oil is hot, add in onion, garlic and carrot, and red bell pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and carrots begin to soften a bit.
Add Spices, Blend Mixture: Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the spices: cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Using a food processor, high powered blender, or potato masher, blend black beans until well blended and just a few bean chunks remain. Transfer to the bowl with the veggies and then stir in the flax egg and the oat flour. Taste, adjust seasonings and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
Make The Patties And The Tahini Sauce: The next step is to divide the mixture into 4 patties. Put on a plate lined with parchment paper, and cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. While the burgers are in the fridge firming up, make the garlic tahini sauce by mixing together the following in a small bowl: tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.
Cook The Patties: After 30 minutes, place a large skillet pan over medium heat and generously spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray, or vegetable oil. Add the patties and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and heated through.
Assemble Burgers: Place on buns with tomato, avocado, red onion and tahini sauce. Serve with sweet potato fries or a salad. Makes 4 burgers.
❓ FAQS
Are chipotle black bean burgers healthy?
Absolutely! While most traditional burgers aren’t healthy for you due to the high caorie and fat content, this is the best chipotle black bean burger recipe because they taste amazing AND are good for you!
Here’s what makes them healthy:
1) Low Calorie and Low Fat: One ENTIRE burger has under 400 calories and only 11 grams of fat!
2) High Fiber: You’ll get 14 grams of heart healthy fiber in each burger. That’s almost half of your daily fiber needs!
3) High Protein: Who says plants don’t have protein? One burger has 15 grams of protein to keep you full and satisfied!
How do I make homemade veggie burgers stick together?
There are a few tricks to keep veggie burgers from falling apart when you grill them.
#1: Add A Binder: The main way to make sure your veggie burger sticks together is to add a binder – something that holds all of the ingredients together to keep your burger patty from crumbling. Ingredients like flax eggs, regular eggs, breadcrumbs, oats, rice, all work. I like combining something moist (flax egg or regular egg) with a grain (oat flour, cooked rice, etc) for the perfect binder.
#2: Remove Extra Water: You need some moisture in your burger, but not too much! A too-wet burger patty won’t grill up well and will fall apart. If you’re adding veggies into your patty mixture, choose sturdier veggies that don’t have as much water (e.g. carrots, sweet potatoes). Veggies like zucchini or eggplant won’t work as well.
#3: Make Sure Your Burger Patties are 1 Inch Thick: This will also help them hold together! If your patties are too thin, they will fall apart when you try to flip them during cooking.
Are veggie burgers kid friendly?
Veggie burgers can be super kid friendly for several reasons. Kids can choose their own toppings making it a fun, interactive meal!
This particular recipe is super flavorful without being spicy or too strong for little kids’ palates. If you’re worried about the spice, remove the chipotle chili powder from the patties you make for the kids, and add it to the adults’ portion only.
Kids can also dip their burgers in a variety of “sauces” — for this burger we used guacamole and tahini, but feel free to mix it up with BBQ sauce, ketchup or any other favorite condiments that your kids will love!
👪 How to Serve
Serve on your favorite burger buns. Top with your favorite veggies, layers of lettuce, sliced red peppers. Side dishes that go great with these burgers include:
- A side of sweet potato fries
- Air fryer frozen French fries or fried potatoes
- Crispy Air fryer carrots
- Air Fryer Tater Tots
- A light soup like this asparagus soup
- A hearty salad like this roasted cauliflower salad
❄️ How to Store
Refrigerate: Allow burgers to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Burgers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Wrap each burger in plastic wrap and transfer to a freezer safe bag. Burgers will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheat: When ready to reheat, thaw the frozen burger overnight in the refrigerator. Heat for 2-3 minutes on each side on a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
💭 Expert Tips
- Be sure to let the black bean mixture sit in the fridge to allow them to come together.
- To freeze the patties, do it before cooking and separate them with parchment. Thaw before cooking them.
- Serve with sprouted wheat buns. To make gluten free, just use gluten free burger buns.
- You don’t want too much excess moisture in your burger patties. If they seem to moist, add a bit more oat flour.
🍔 More Healthy Burger Recipes!
- Budget Friendly Black Bean Burgers
- Falafel Style Lentil Burgers with Creamy Feta Sauce
- Southwest Pinto Bean Veggie Burgers
- Build A Healthy Veggie Burger
- Veggie Burgers by Recipe Tin Eats
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Chipotle Black Bean Burgers with Tahini Sauce
These healthy vegan chipotle black bean burgers are protein packed and perfect for summer cookouts, barbecues and easy family dinners! Simple substitutes make the patties gluten-free, and the creamy, delicious tahini sauce makes this the ultimate veggie burger!
Servings: 4 burgers
Calories: 359kcal
Ingredients
For the burger:
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ red onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large carrot shredded
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced
- 15 oz can black beans
- ¼-⅓ cup oat flour gluten free if desired
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder depending on how spicy you want your burgers
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic Tahini Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water to thin
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For serving
- 4 sprouted/whole grain or gluten free buns
- Sliced avocado or 1 tbsp guacamole per burger
- Baby spinach
- Diced red onion
- Tomato slices
- Serve with baked sweet potato fries (optional)
Instructions
- Mix flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and place in the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Place a large pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Once oil is hot, add in onion, garlic and carrot; saute for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and carrots begin to soften a bit. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the spices: cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Using a food processor or high powered blender, blend black beans until well blended and just a few bean chunks remain. Transfer to the bowl with the veggies and then stir in the flax egg and the oat flour. Taste, adjust seasonings and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
- Divide mixture into 4 patties. Put on a plate and cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- While the burgers are in the fridge firming up, make the garlic tahini sauce by mixing together the following in a small bowl: tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.
- After 30 minutes, place a large skillet pan over medium heat and generously spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the patties and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and heated through.
- Place on buns with tomato, avocado, red onion and tahini sauce. Serve with sweet potato fries or a salad.
Notes
- Be sure to let the patties sit in the fridge to allow them to come together.
- To freeze the patties, do it before cooking and separate them with parchment. Thaw before cooking them.
- Serve with sprouted wheat buns. To make gluten free, just use gluten free burger buns.
Nutrition
Serving: 1burger + bun | Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.4g | Sodium: 502mg | Potassium: 562mg | Fiber: 14.2g | Sugar: 3.1g
This look & sound so flavorful! My boyfriend & I are trying to go more plant based, so I will have to try this recipe with him soon. 🙂
Thanks Carrie! Can’t wait to hear how this recipe turns out for you! 🙂
As much as I enjoy a hamburger, red meat just does not agree with me lately. This was a perfect option for a vegan hamburger so I didn’t have the red meat or the dairy that I’m allergic to.
I’m so glad you found this recipe as hearty as a traditional burger! 🙂
I’ve been looking for a black bean burger recipe that actually holds up and THIS RECIPE is it! Amazing and loved by the whole family, thank you!
Awesome!! I’m so glad you all loved this recipe as much as we do!
These veggie burgers look so delicious. We are a huge fan of bean burgers. Will definitely try.
I can’t wait for you to try these!! I’m sure you will love them!
Oh my goodness, these burgers were mind-blowingly delicious! I buy frozen black bean burgers every once in a while, but making this homemade recipe was sooooo much better and totally worth the effort!! So much flavor while still being very healthy!
Yay!! I’m so happy you liked this recipe! And I agree, these are so much more delicious than store bought – totally worth it to make it at home! 🙂
This looks wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Of course! I hope you love it if you try it!
What can the garlic tahini be switched with?
You can probably use hummus, or if you want a non-mediterranean inspired sauce, BBQ sauce would be delicious too!
This would make a great in between meal snack for my kids! How easy is it to make this?
Totally!! My kids often eat just the patty for a snack or a second “dinner” when they’re super hungry 😅 This is super easy to make, ready in less than 1 hour!
I totally love how this can be adjusted and made kid friendly! How spicy did this turn out?
Thanks Jenn!! This isn’t spicy at all, but if you have kids that are particularly sensitive to spice then you can always decrease the amount of spices by half!
This looks wonderful! I can’t wait to make this.
Thanks so much Jess! I’m sure you will love this recipe!
With veggie burgers I have never really like them because of the flavor so most times I would rather opt for non vegan but I would love to try this.
That makes sense Elisha! Although, I have a feeling these burgers will make you a veggie-burger convert! 😉
Hi
This will be definitely enjoyed by my teens.I am wondering if these can be grilled on a charcoal grill or will they fall apart?
Thanks
Geetha
Hi Geetha! I usually grill them on a grill pan — I think you definitely run the risk of them falling apart on a charcoal grill. If you want to cook them on a charcoal grill, I’d first chill them in the fridge or the freezer for an hour so they are more firm, then I’d just put aluminum foil underneath them so they stay together while on the grill. Hope that helps and I hope you guys love them!
Can you substitute whole wheat flour for the oat flour?
Yes that would work! 🙂
Ooh…yummy! I want to try this!
Thanks Holly!! I’m sure you will love it!
Oh, yum! I used to make black bean burgers all the time. This recipe has my mouth watering, I will definitely be making these. Thank you!
Awesome!! I can’t wait to hear how you like these Danielle!
These sound delish! I love black bean burgers but have never had much luck making them at home. Definitely going to try these out!
Thanks Crystal! Can’t wait for you to try these – I’m sure you will love them!
Yes, flavor has always been a huge issue for me when it comes to veggie burgers. These look SO good, definitely can’t wait to give them a whirl!
Totally – I completely agree! It has to be hearty enough and flavorful enough so that you don’t even realize it’s a veggie burger – and this burger fits that exactly!