Smoky Black Bean Beet Burgers

hi! i would love to try this recipe but i’m not really a fan of quinoa and i’m allergic to walnuts. can i sub them for something else? (:

These are amazing! My friend made these and I immediately asked for the recipe. I was looking for a good vege burger recipe for the longest time and this is it. Thank you!

i jut stumbled upon this after, what, a year after you have posted and WOW these are amazing! – And i didn’t even have quinoa to put in so i subbed- I cannot wait for hubby to try these, I think they are going to be in our routine meal plan!

Can you suggest something to substitute the mushroom, I’m making these for a mushroom-hater but I don’t want them to come out wrong

Let me first say that I never comment on recipes I stumble across on the Internet. This is a first for me, because I had to tell you that these are fantastic. Even my picky 9 year old happily ate these. They’re going into my recipe box I keep in the kitchen. Thank you for the keeper!

Just tried these and they turned out great. I doubled the recipe and substituted the walnuts for 1 cup of almond meal and one cup of cornmeal. It worked just fine!

Hello! Can I use canned beets instead? I have a can of beets that has been staring back at me everytime I open my pantry.

What is the affect if I used cooked beets instead of raw? I cooked all my beets last night for a salad and didn’t read this recipe ahead of time, but I still want to make it. Do you think it will be okay? Too dry? Thoughts? Thank you! I can’t wait to try these!

I don’t know what I did wrong but these turned out way too mushy no matter how long I cooked them!

I’ve made these three or four times now, and they’re a really great basic recipe, with a few little tweaks. I find they tend to turn out crumbly, so I like to add some puree pumpkin or sweet potato (inspired by your excellent sweet potato burgers!). I’ve also made them with leftover rice instead of quinoa. I’ve started making heaps of rice when I need it and save half of the leftovers for fried rice and half for a veggie burger concoction that’s a mixture of these and the sweet potato burgers.

Thanks for all the wonderful vegan/vegetarian inspiration, Dana!

I’ve made these twice now and they are delicious! Plus, talk about nutrition-packed! Only down side is that my cutting board looks like a crime scene after I grate the beet…

The only changes I made was using ground oatmeal in place of the walnuts and adding 1 T vegan worcestershire. They got nice and firm while cooking and didn’t fall apart, so that’s a big plus in the world of veggie burgers! Thanks Dana!

Tasty recipe! Mine turned out a bit dry – any suggestions on how to make them more moist?

These look amazing! I really want to try the mixture as a loaf. Any tips or adjustments to the ingredients? LOVE your blog! :)

Just tried those. I was looking for something to make with the beets from my garden. It was delicious! Thank you! The only thing I changed was almonds instead of walnuts.

I mixed a batch of these and formed them into burgers last night. Going to cook them for dinner this evening. Can’t wait to try these I love beets ❤️
What condiments do you suggest on them?

Did you add the quinoa ‘raw’ to the mixture?

I recently moved in with my boyfriend, who grew up with meat as the staple of his diet; but somehow he’s open to trying all of my vegan creations. We made these together, and he loved them so much that he now opts for them over meat burgers any time I offer to make them! And of course, I ate about three of them in one sitting. We were too excited to dig in to get any fancy toppings together, but just a little guacamole and sriracha spread onto the bun was the perfect lazy finisher.

Can’t wait to try more of the recipes on this site!!

You have my heart. These are DELICIOUS! As a newly minted vegetarian-turned-vegan, I’ve totally fallen in love with your blog. I’ve tried several of your sweet recipes (major sweet tooth) but this was the first savory one I tried. My, oh my. I can’t thank you enough for this recipe.

The recipe is a keeper. The photos are amazing. I would love to try this sometime.
We don’t eat mushrooms is there a good substitute for that.

Thank you and great burger recipe that I can say I made was delicious.So when my daughter told me I am right now for my friends at school.Thanks really

I just made these for supper tonight. o.m.gee. These were soooo delicious. I paired mine with some tomatoes and rocket for some extra pepper flava flava!

I made the recipe to the t except I used more onions (started frying onions before I read the amount) but it worked out anyway.

My carnivore hubby was like “Beet Quinoa Burgers? Um? Sounds gross.” Three bites in he was like ‘Woooah these are good.’ and ended up having THREE…

We have 6 more left for lunch the next few days which is also awesome.

If you have a problem with your burgers crumbling, try let them cool down a bit. I had to leave them to go attend to my son who was crying and when I came back could easily move them with my hand onto the buns!

Definitely going into our monthly rotation…

These were delicious! Added a flax egg just to be safe (some commenters said there’s didn’t hold together) and they came out perfectly! Broiled them at the last minute to speed up baking process. Omnivorous boyfriend loved them!

LOVE these burgers but mine fell apart. Any suggestions? Maybe flax egg? Aside from the crumble, these were so insanely delicious- I ate 3!

I made these twice, and they came out great both times! Super easy to make and really hard to mess up. I’m always looking for yummy vegetarian recipes and I love how this one is packed with protein. Thanks for the recipe, hope you don’t mind I pinned it!

Made these for my family and they were incredible! I loved how easy they were and how they kept to the basics rather than the additives from the store. I ate it with miso mayo and lettuce and I’m so excited to make them again!

Tasted one! Delish. I should have read over suggestion to mash beans more. Mine crumbled when i try picking them off the pan. Going to see if letting them sit a a bit will help. I had some leftover, do you think adding an egg will bind it? I am still going to bring and put them on a salad!

Hi, I was asked to bring in veggie burgers for an alternative to Friday Cheeseburger family meal @ the restaurant I work at. Had all the ingredients and added some celery and cilantro to clean out the frig! These will be wonderful I can tell as I tasted along. Going to chill first and then make into patties hoping that will keep them formed nice. Making more of a slider size so everyone gets to try them. Thanks for a great recipe! Jodie

What could I sub instead of mushrooms? We’re allergic to them…sweet potato maybe?

Hi,
I’d love to try these, but in Belgium we don’t measure in cups. Could you tell me how much of each ingredient I need in grams?
Thanks! :)

I made these today, subbing the beets with carrots (because I had them on hand), and replacing the walnut meal with popped ragi (millet) flour (which I brought with me from home in India). They were excellent! Crunchy on the outside, flavorful, and the quinoa gave them a lot of texture. I’ve made veggie burgers with eggs in them before, but have often found that I dislike the smell of egg tehy have even after they have cooked. These avoided that problem altogether.

:)

Absolutely delicious!! I didn’t change anything. Everybody loved it, especially my toddler!!

My hunky hubs made this mash tonight per the directions (esp the super-smashing beans and easing off nut meal pointers) and I still had a hard time flipping them even when I pan-fried in coconut oil. So, I added an egg and then broiled for 5 min with a pc of havarti/patty. Tasted excellent but still struggled with the fall-apart problem

These were great! I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I subbed half oat flour/half ground flax instead of the walnut meal. The burgers were so tasty and stayed together really well (I baked them for about 40 minutes). They got rave reviews all around (particularly from a meat eater- who said they looked almost like ground beef because they were pink).

Made these tonight and they are the best vegan burgers I have made. Subbed almond meal and coriander. Def a keeper thanks!

I made these for dinner tonight. The flavor was awesome but they were very dry and crumbled apart. Ant suggestions?

What a great recipe! Thanks for this!

1 question: whenever I make it the burgers don’t hold together. They kind of crumble apart. Do you know why this might be?

I made these last night, and they were fantastic. I added 2 cloves of garlic and a some chopped fresh parsley. Thanks for the great recipe!

These were a hit tonight! We placed them into pita bread pockets. Can’t wait to make them again :)

I made these yesterday and they are so delicious. I noticed a lot of comments about the burgers falling apart…the first ones I pan-fryed (hungry man in the house, I felt a little rushed haha) and they turned out super moist and totally fell apart, though they were still super tasty and satisfying. So I threw the rest of the batter in the fridge overnight to dry it out and firm it up a bit, then baked the next morning. Haven’t eaten them yet as I am freezing them, but as far as I can tell the refrigeration did seem to help a little. Also I added some liquid smoke to give it a mesquite flavor which went really nicely with the sweet flavor of the beets.

I made this recipe this afternoon but I forget to add the walnuts and I used dried red kidney beans in place of the black beans but was not sure if I had 15 ounces. I cooked about eight ounces of red kidney beans in the pressure cooker until they were done. The batter was tad wet so I sprinkled some nutritional yeast for its binding effect and added a few teaspoons of oat bran. They came out delicious and I am freezing some for later use!

My whole family enjoyed these! Delish! I did use the worcestershire sauce and about a 1/2 teaspoon more salt. Thanks for a great recipe!

Just made these for dinner tonight, and even my husband agreed that these were very tasty! Definitely going to have these again.

Since I don’t like mushrooms I replaced them with smoked tofu and it turned out awesome, it was like I was eating a bacon burger, Thanks!!

Also, my mom said it tastes like the beet burger at the cheesecake factory! Which was a huge compliment because that’s her favorite :)

I just made these, and they were amazing! My meat-eating dad loved them, and my vegan 3 year old son also did! I put daiya cheddar slices on them and they took it up a notch! (as if that was even possible)
This was my first attempt at a homemade burger (let alone vegan). The color was beautiful also! This is definitely a keeper. Thanks Dana!

btw, I would love it if there was a search window on your blog! most of the time when looking for a recipe of yours, I google “____ _____ minimalist baker” so I can find it fast lol.

I really want to try these. But, I’m allergic to onions. I’ve learned that recipes that have them as a star, probably do so for a good reason. Do you have a suggestion that will help me keep flavor and texture without the use of onions?

i seriously can’t thank you enough for this recipe (actually your entire blog!!); i also discovered that hoisin sauce is a great veg alternative to worcestershire so i added a dash of that and topped with vegan cheddar, homemade guac n mango chutney they were just so good/quick/easy/unbelievable i cried a little

I made these tonight and they were delicious! Super smokey! Thanks for another fantastic recipe!

These burgers came out AWESOME! I subbed sweet potato for the mushrooms, almond meal for walnuts and added TJ steak sauce and hot sauce. Definitely my new favorite veg burger recipe– I’ll need to keep a constant supply of these in my freezer now! Thanks so much!! :)

Would brown rice be a good substitute for the quinoa? I’m extremely poor and can’t afford it. And do you think there is a way I could sneak in some corn without compromising the burger’s structure? With the black beans, that would make a complete protein.

I was able to make this as per the recipe, with some leftover quinoa from when I could afford, and it was amazing. I think the burgers would be good with a blend of powder and whole cumin seed. I’m not vegan, so I added an egg, but I’m going to try the flax egg next. The second time I made this, I had eaten up all my walnuts, so I ended up using panko crumbs and they worked ok. I couldn’t really taste the walnut the first time around so even though they add an extra dimension of nutrients, I can’t justify the expense for this recipe, so when I make it again I’m going to use a less expensive nut.

This recipe will be a permanent staple in my home now, thanks

Hi Dana…I had the same problem getting the burgers to hold together and was trying to look up the flaxseed egg recipe but the page would not load…not sure if there is a problem on your site??? Ps…even though the burgers wouldn’t stay together…they were delish, thanks!!

Finally tried the beetburger this past week. Found out that they didn’t keep their shape.
What can I add to them to bind it.

These were delicious! My 18m old sat on the counter and ate the batter right out of the bowl with her bare hands :) Thank you!

I was searching for some new recipes to use beet (which I love) and found your creative idea for veggie burgers… I really like that it hasn’t got all that “fancy” vegan ingredients which other burgers often have… Now I can’t wait to try them out :)

Thank you so much for this recipe! We had tried a beet burger at a recent “Taste of…” event here in Colorado and I happened upon your site while searching for a way to make them at home. Tried it out the night before last and it was a huge hit. Ended up cooking them up on the stovetop and they were nice and crispy on the outside and stayed pretty well formed. I eyeballed the patty size and next time I’ll make them a little smaller so they don’t test the limits of the bun so much but everything else about them was really great. Hearty and good and ‘beety’ without being overwhelmingly so. Even my beef burger-loving boyfriend wants them on the regular rotation now :-) Served them with avocado slices on top and a splash of lemon juice. Then cut up some homemade sweet potato oven fries on the side and finished with baked apples. Yum! Highly recommended.

More than a month after you posted your recipe for my requested ‘Smoky Black Bean Beet Burgers’ I finally found enough time to make them tonight! And of course, they were amazing. Everyone loved them, including my carnivore husband and visiting carnivore friend from Canada.

But most especially my daughter, who this was all for. I can’t thank you enough for taking this one on, and succeeding with flying colors. I promised my daughter I’d make them every 1-2 weeks. She actually told me she ‘appreciated’ dinner. That was a first!

I think I can speak for all of your readers when I say that you are truly elevating our family dinner time, not a small feat in this day and age!

Another home run! Thanks! I love beets in almost any form.
Because I’m allergic to walnuts, I used panko crumbs instead with no problem. They are yummy and not mushy inside like a lot of veggie burgers. Perfect with lettuce, tomato and slices of avocado.

Just assembled these burger’s and are now freezing in my freezer. Cant wait to eat one this week. They look very delightfull.

Just ate these for dinner AMAZING I cannot wait to make for friends thank you so much xoxoxoxoxo

The buns look super soft. Where did you get them ?

Excited to try this recipe. I don’t eat quinoa though. What can I substitute it with?

So good, I used pecans for the walnuts, and cooked bulgur for quinoa, ( because it was what I had on hand) and best veggie burgers ever!!

Looks yummy!! What other nut could be substituted for the walnut?

OMG these are hands down THE B-E-S-T burgers I have ever made. Thank you x1000 xoxoxo

These burgers were an utter fail for me. I left them in the oven for 40 minutes and tried to flip them and I basically ended up with a pan of mush :(

I cant wait to try these! Specially after reading the comments. I am a big fan of your blog!

There were amazing! And awesome reheated the next day on a plate with some veggies. My 9 year old daughter loved them, husband loved them. They are going in “the book” as my daughter says (We started a recipe book of just her favourites, so when she moves out, they will all be there). So that is a complement to you!

I am sitting here eating my freshly-made burger and my mouth can’t find the words to describe how delicious this is and how happy it is! The flavors are incredible, I can’t believe I managed to make a burger this good!! It puts store-bought, restaurant-made veggie burgers to shame. Well worth the effort! (Any tips on fine dicing for help? I’m really terrible at it.)
P.S. Tip: I used a mason jar lid to shape the burgers – popped the top off and put a butter knife between the lid and burger to slide it off and it worked really well! Ended up with 11 burgers instead of 9. Just 2 more meals of complete bliss!

These have replaced my previous favorite beet burgers, yay so delish! I am an aspiring beet fan so recipes like this make it so much easier. I made these alongside your rosemary beet chips, the chips didn’t even last until dinner, can’t wait to make again when I have more beets.

One hint that I use to make the perfect veggie burger shape is round cookie cutters, great for keeping the shape like your jar lid idea.

Like others, I found them very crumbly when cooked. They were good when put together in a burger, but unlike other veggie patties, I didn’t find them super tasty on their own. I like the idea of beets in a burger – often because I have too many of them! – but I ‘m off to find another recipe.

So good they were almost gone before I remembered that I was going to take a photo for you! I used canned beets, since that is what I had, and they worked. (They were delicate; could have been the added moisture. ) Kudos to you and thanks for sharing a great recipe. It is definitely a keeper, and one that I will double next time.

These veggie burgers are AMAZING. I had a beet burger at a local restaurant that I thought was good, but this one blew it out of the park. Even my dad, who eats meat, was chomping his down and was very impressed.
This will definitely be a repeat recipe!

Made these last night and while they tasted fantastic, they were super crumbly….in fact I couldn’t even flip them during baking….tried one and it all broke apart. The only thing I did differently was sub almonds for walnuts since I was out. Would that make that big of a difference?

I made these last night. Mine were a little loose (too moist even with all the walnuts), and I thought that next time I’d add some bread crumbs – the oatmeal suggestion above would be worth a try as well. I also thought they were labor intensive, but as they made nine smallish burgers, I won’t have to do it again soon! But worth it – they are beautiful and taste good! My non-vegan family was actually interested in them – they smelled great. I did use some vegan worcestershire sauce.

These were fantastic, my husband loved them! I was only able to make 7, but they fit perfectly on the buns and were delish!

I made these last night, and they were fabulous and so filling. I added a dash of Worcestershire, as suggested, and subbed pecans for walnuts. These are the best vegan burgers I have ever made.

Hey ! These look AMAZING. I’ve been looking for a good veggie burger since forever, and all the ones I tried had a really mushy paste like inside, which I didn’t like. This one look awesome though, can’t wait to try it ! One question, can I replace the mushrooms with anything ? Any other vegetable or legume that could work ? Thanks !

Hi! 1) These are stunning — and that, of course, means they taste even better than they sound like they taste (which is amazing!); 2) I really want to make these, but have a nut allergy — any suggestions for swaps?? 3) Love every recipe you post — huge fan!
Thanks!

Wow! These look stunning! The colour is indeed beautiful. I’ll make these for sure!

These look amazing! I’ve made veggie burgers loads of times but have never put beetroot in them before – I love the pink tinge it gives them!

Love how simplistic this recipe is (as always!) – can’t wait to try these next week :)

I love me a good beet burger! And I love that you simplified what can be a complicated process! I will definitely have to try your version out for myself!!

I don’t like quinoa – any suggestions for a substitute? Also, we don’t get canned black beans in South Africa (my home) but I have some raw ones. Could I use butter beans, sugar beans etc. instead?

Made these last night! Delicious and substantial. I followed the directions exactly, and baked them in the oven. I had 7 patties. I will definitely keep this in my repertoire. I ate mine without a bun, topped with avocado, with a salad and red lentil soup. My husband enjoyed his on English muffins with avocado and catsup. He likes a strong flavor and next time I’ll include some type of salsa for him. I will say they are fairly labor intensive, but worth it! A great way to eat beets if you’re not 100% a fan. Thank you!!

What a seriously cool recipe. First of all, it actually looks like a ‘real’ burger with the addition of beet. Such an amazing color! And I love the fact that your version is packed with good-for-you ingredients. There’s nothing worse than a veggie burger that’s all filler. I’m glad that you decided to give this one a go, and lucky for me I have everything in my fridge. Weekend project. Oh, and that ketchup- killer. ;)

I can’t wait to try making these! I don’t have much experiencing cooking with beets; I have only boiled them and eaten them a few times. I notice your recipe calls for raw beets. So do you simply skin the beets and then grate them; you don’t have to boil them at all?

oh I cannot wait to try these!! I love making your recipes.
thx

We make our beet burgers all the time. Will have to give yours a try.

These look delicious! I loooove beets (hence my website name) and have had some good veggie burgers with them but haven’t mastered them yet. I’ll definitely have to give this a try, do you think it would hold up on a grill?

I’m always on the look for a good veggie-burger and these look amazing! They’re in the oven as we speak. Can’t wait to see how they’ve turned out! Thanks for the great recipe, I really love your website :)

These look AH-MAZING. Ever since a head injury earlier this year I can’t stomach the taste (or smell) of meat and am on the hunt for new vegetarian recipes. This one is just perfect.

YUM! These look amazing, and I have beets ready for harvesting in the garden right now!! Thanks for the delish recipe!

Quite keen to try these as I’m hoping that the beet will help the burger to hold onto some juiciness. My difficulty with making bean burgers usually stems from the lack of moistness.

These look incred! Love the first photo. PINNED!

These look great and I happen to have all these ingredients on hand in my kitchen! PERFECT.

As soon as I have the time, I will try to bake these burgers. Black bean burgers were on my wishlist already, but with one of my favorite vegetables (beets!) in it, I can’t resistentie this of course!

Discovering that beets enrich nearly every veggie burger by infusing it with added moisture, colour, and great texture actually changed my life! Now, gone are the days of adding boring, carby ol’ sweet potatoes to burgers – long live the beet!

So it takes talent to make a copycat recipe without ever trying the original! Bravo, these look amazing!

These are stunning! Love the bright coloured burgers. Looks like you nailed the recipe!

I love this! I have about 15 beets in my fridge right now (an overabundance from my CSA box–I can’t keep up!) so this is perfect timing. I actually have a beet burger recipe that I adore, but it is labor intensive. I’m excited to try this one as it seems much easier. :)