Smoky Black Bean Beet Burgers

I was skeptical because I thought the beets would taste too strong, but they didn’t. It was really good. Even my meat-eating husband liked it. The one change is to add a flax egg. We ate 4 at dinner and had two left over, but they fell apart as I was putting them in the container to save. Otherwise, surprisingly yummy.

These burgers taste amazing! I used couscous instead of quinoa, I used jarred beets instead of fresh beets, and I added 1 tsp of liquid smoke for extra flavour. They did fall apart during the cooking process even though I chilled the mixture first, so they definitely need a binding ingredient. Next time I’ll try adding a flax egg or some quick oats or bread crumbs. Otherwise, it’s an excellent recipe. I will definitely make these burgers again!

Loved this recipe!! I did add one egg and one third cup of panko to help bind it. I cooked mine in my George foreman grill for fifteen minutes at 375 and they came out beautiful!! No need to flip,crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Thank you for sharing this healthy recipe.

BEST VEGGIE BURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN!!
The modifications I made were, I added one egg and 1/3 cup (any) oats, 1/3 cup panko.
I added 1/3 cup mashed chickpeas and mashed 1/2 the can of black beans and left the rest whole.
I whirled about a cup of the mixture then added it back to the rest.
Now here is where I really changed it up…. I refrigerated the well mixed ingredients for a couple of hours.
I heated a cast iron skillet with olive oil, let it get hot then cooked.
I mean dropping the heat back down and letting them do a slow cook. I flipped them after about 15 minutes and they held together nicely.
THESE TURNED OUT BETTER THAN ANY VEGGIE BURGER I’VE TRIED. …they were absolutely delicious and moist.
THE KEY IS THE SLOW COOK IN A FRY PAN ON TOP OF THE STOVE!

This tasted delicious and I loved the ingredients It needed more binding however. I’ll add something extra next time but love this recipe.

I just made this recipe and it turned out great! This is actually a very frugal recipe which I appreciate! I used half a packet of a microwaveable pre-cooked brown rice and quinoa blend just to save myself a step. I added about 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs to help bring the mixture together. I ended up with 12 burgers so I have plenty leftover to freeze. The peanut butter lid trick is fantastic! Thanks for that! I enjoyed this a lot and look forward to trying other recipes from your blog.

Super delicious, one of the best vegetarian burgers I have eaten in a while. My family loved it, but I think I baked it a little too much so it dried out. We ate it with smashed avocado. Will definitely make it again! Thank you, this is a definite keeper….

Wonderful recipe. I used lightly fried eggplant instead of mushrooms (mushrooms hurt my stomach) and replaced the walnuts with hemp hearts (I have a child with nut allergies). I pulsed all the vegetable ingredients in the food processor, then mixed in the quinoa, hemp hearts and seasoning be hand. Since there are no eggs in the recipe, I tasted before cooking and adjusted the seasoning accordingly, adding some Cheyenne pepper for kick. In regards to flipping. The recipe says to GENTLY flip. I noticed it was too delicate to flip when I took the burgers out of the oven. I waited a few minutes for them to cool slightly and they flipped beautifully, with a careful hand.

Pretty good and very burger-like, in a crumbly veggie burger kinda way. Great nutrition with all the luscious ingredients but this is a one-timer for me as the flavor didn’t live up to the work involved and I really developed a hearty mushroom onion sauté. Although the patty texture seemed perfect, baking was a bomb for me as they fell apart — saved them by transferring to a grill pan.

Delicious! Felt like they took awhile but worth it. Looking forward to giving them another go one day when I have leftover quinoa to make it speedier.

I didn’t have walnuts so I used a combination of pecans, oats (quick steel cut for texture) and flax meal, and added a splash of vegan Worcestershire sauce and nutritional yeast as suggested elsewhere. I thought these were incredible and while a bit time consuming not difficult. Thank you!

I don’t know if I did something wrong but The burgers fell completely apart when I cooked them. They were also really bland. :( but the walnuts in there were a really wonderful addition.

This is now my favourite burger recipe. The beets give a delicate sweetness, and complement the smoked paprika and chili flavours beautifully. They’re even great cold out of the fridge the next day!

This is the second burger I’ve made from your blog and I had a lot more success with this one! After reading through the comments I made a few modifications to ensure they didn’t fall apart:
1) On step four I added a flax egg, a bit of ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.
2) I put the whole thing in a food processor and pulsed for step 5, adding the walnut mix little by little. I wanted to ensure I had a mush that resembled ground meat in consistency.

Note 1: This recipe is time-consuming if you don’t have a few things pre-made already. I was prepared for that and made it a fun Saturday night project, but it goes a lot faster if you have canned beans and pre-made quinoa ready to go.
Note 2: I put both parchment paper AND a little oil on the baking sheet to ensure the burgers flipped easily. They were soft for the flip but after the final 25 minutes they were great, stayed together in the bun, and went well with a little homemade slaw. Thanks for the recipe!

These are love on a plate! I’m absolutely serious – long time follower here and these came out fantastic, I love beet burgers and these are a new staple meal for me :)

Thank you for the recipe. I followed everything and measured the 3/4 cup quinoa cooked; however, it was disappointing that the patties didn’t stay together upon flipping. I think emphasis needs to be placed on gently flipping in the instructions. Also, I think it would be helpful if you put in a bold note somewhere that the 20 minutes of prep time does not include cooking the quinoa. This recipe took me well over one hour to make – probably two overall, understanding that everyone’s prep time will be a little different depending on what they have at their disposal and how good their knife skills are. I found the taste to be bland – I’m glad I tried it and it was an interesting experience. This wasn’t a winner for me but again, I appreciate the recipe!

Loved this recipe. I did half the batch on the stovetop and half in the oven. I will definitely do them all in the oven from now on just because they held up the best that way. But the ones that did crumble I put on top of salads and they were just as delicious.

Very good. I would recommend adding some vegan Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce and nutritional yeast as it’s a bit bland otherwise. Super healthy too which is great

This is a wonderful recipe! I used to live on Oahu and had black bean beet burgers from Down to Earth at least weekly (they are incredible!) Since moving away I haven’t found anything that satisfies that craving until now. This will be my go-to veggie burger recipe from now on.

This was a really great recipe, I loved it! Easy to make, no blending required, and the burgers have enough structural integrity to not fall apart. They tasted amazing! I ate 2 and froze the rest. I added some coconut flour to the mixture to make them a little less moist, but other than that stuck to the recipe. I had them on potato rolls with tomato, pepper jack cheese, ketchup and Sir Kensington’s special sauce. I’m bookmarking this so I can come back to it. :)

Great veggie burg recipe! The texture is great and they are much less time consuming to make than other beet burg recipes I’ve come across. I used flax meal instead of walnut and added 1 Tbsp of cornstarch based on other reviews that they were too crumbly — I put them in the freezer for 2 hours and then grilled them and they held up great. I did not add worcestershire sauce but wish I would have as they could have used a bit more flavor. Thanks MB– will definitely

This recipe will be my go-to recipe from now on to make my own veggie burgers! I ended up not having time to saute the mushrooms and onions, so I skipped that step. I am sure this would add extra delicious flavor, but I’ve got a 1 y.o. at home and extra steps are all optional. In the spirit of Minimalist Baker I opted for the prepackaged cooked beets you find in those vacuum-sealed packages. I used a blender and starting with the walnuts, pulsed them into a meal. Then, I added the whole package of beets, 1 can of beans, 2 flax eggs, and spices and mixed on low. Then I took that mixture and added cooked (red) quinoa until the mixture could form patties (*this is the key to the burgers sticking together – the mixture has to ‘look right’ and the ingredients all need to be pretty finely chopped or ground). I then baked them. They turned out so delicious! Easy-peasy 1-2-3. Even my dad said they were “okay” which is a glowing recommendation from someone who scrunchies his nose at anything that isn’t meat and potatoes! For a little extra punch next time I may add some fresh herbs and garlic into the blender. Easy clean up too – less dishes and prep than the original recipe. I took one star off because although the original recipe is simple, there is a lot of different prep work involved.

I made this using red quinoa, and canned beetroot. Aware the recipe called for white quinoa, so I had to cook the red quinoa for extra 8 mins. To prevent it from crumbling when cooking it (so many negative comments that the patty doesn’t hold) I add in some cornstarch and swap walnuts to grounded flaxseed to make sure it hold ! It was a success !! Will definitely be making this again 😀

My favourite Beetroot and Black Bean patty recipe to date! Super yum! have just printed the recipe to make again!!!

Your burger recipes are always a hard FAIL. They need stay together, always fall apart. So disappointing

I made these delicious burgers last night! Wonderful! I used a grill pan and they came out perfect! Added a few dashes of cayenne to recipe.

These were delicious! I baked mine and added extra Worcestershire sauce. They did break a little when I flipped them halfway through the cooking time, but became more firm when the cooking time was done (but were still fragile). I have a guess as to why some people’s fell apart and others’ did not—WHITE quinoa can act as a binder if you stir it for one minute after cooking it. The grains break apart and become glue-like. It only happens with white quinoa. I’m going to give that a try next time I make these. I learned this from Feasting at Home’s Quinoa Cakes recipe.

Mine also fell apart and crumbled when cooking. Did like the ingredients and if that could be fixed I think I would have enjoyed it.

Delicious burgers, although they were quite crumbly at the end despite adding a flax egg. Slowly turning my meat-loving boyfriend vegan with your recipes! Thank you!

I love this recipe and continue to recommend it to friends and family!

I’m not vegan, just trying to eat a little less meat. I love this recipe because it’s easy, it’s great for meal prep and I find I can add and substitute ingredients if I do not have everything listed. We haven’t been going out for as many groceries lately. For example, instead of the walnuts, I just added some oats. I added a little bit of broccoli because that was going to go bad and an egg to help keep them from falling apart. I really love the peanut butter lid trick as well!

It’s a new family favourite.

First recipe I have tried from your site and I loved it!
Just due to quarantine and working with what we had, made a few changes.

Instead of quinoa, swapped for farro.
Instead of a finely, grated beat, swapped for cut beets in a can. I just diced them up.

I used the first patties for tacos! I used a flour tortilla, added greens, pineapple, salsa, and a little bit of dijon mustard. Plan to use the rest of the patties for an actual burger. Also, your peanut butter lid trick worked liked a charm.

I love love love this recipe!! I’ve made it twice now and both times it’s been a massive hit. I swapped the walnuts for oats that I finely chop. I even added a cube of cheese into the middle of the patties.
The second time round I made lots of smaller patties and they go much further yet one is still plenty filling. I put them in wraps with lettuce and capsicum and it goes well with bbq sauce or mayo.
Thank you!!

I liked these burgers but I found they really fell apart! I think I probably made them too thick for baking… next time might spread in an even layer and then cut into squares. Also felt like an extremely fine chop was needed for the onions and the mushrooms and that really helped create a more even flavour. Maybe I could also mash them a bit better next time.

I prepared and used all the ingredients as listed. I chose and recommend shiitake mushrooms. I added extra chili powder and smoked paprika for a stronger flavor. (I tasted the mixed before forming the burgers).

I was worried about them being crumbly, so took all the steps mentioned to help with that- mashing the black beans as much as I could, doing a little less walnut meal, and adding in Worcestershire sauce (3-4 glugs, yum)! I also added in 1 “vegan egg” for more binding from a package I never use in my pantry.

I got 6 good sized patties from the mixture. Next time I will maybe double the recipe to have more food for the effort! Used the jar lid method for forming, which worked well. I tried pan frying the first 4 in cast iron to get that nice grill effect. They were very tasty.

Flavor is great but when I bit into the burger it was a bit mushy and came out of the burger. So, for the other 2 patties, I tried the baking method as described in the recipe. Much better result! The patties held up better. The drying out while baking probably helped with all that moisture I added. So if you can wait, I recommend baking them. You can always finish on the stovetop or broil for extra crispiness/browning.

Had leftover burgers with a fried egg for brunch the next day, yum!

Wow! This is exactly what I was looking for. I happened to have the ingredients on hand, and I wanted to make a vegan shepherds pie. I made 1/2 the recipe as directed for freezing, and the other half I crumbled into a pan with olive oil on med/high heat, tossing every few minutes until the mixture formed crumbles. The flavor was perfect and I ended up with satisfying crisp “meaty bits”.
Deglazed pan with wine and assembled pie. Turned out BEAUTIFUL with the deep red beets, and very yummy!

This will be my go-to for patties and crumbles from now on. Thanks for the great recipe!

These were really good! They did fall apart on me, but the flavor was nice. Maybe next time I will mash the beans up more to help them hold together?

My husband really liked them, but I wasn’t too crazy about them. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms and I felt like that’s all I could taste. However, I could have subbed with more black beans or other ingredient. I also added a touch more salt as I tend to favor salty over savory. Again, my husband thought these were great! He is watching carbs so he ate it without the bun.

No, they are not as sturdy as a hamburger meat patty, but they did not fall apart on me.

The flavour of these patties is just wonderful. I made my batch using previously oven-baked beetroots and otherwise followed the recipe. I made the patties only about 1cm thick, baked them in the oven and finished them off in the fry pan to make them extra crunchy on the outside. People then chose whether to have one or two patties, according to the amount of extra salad they were putting on their bun. I was really happy how they turned out. They were moist on the inside but not overly. Because I had such success using the pre-baked beetroots I’m nervous to try raw beets. I’ll keep you posted. thanks again!

I have made this recipe several times and it is always amazing. This is hands down the best veggie burger I have ever had. It is smoky and flavorful, it never fails to impress. You can’t beat the bright red color that the beets give the burgers either. It has become one of my regular recipes.

I made this for the family tonight and it was delicious! I removed the walnuts (my daughter is allergic) and it came out great. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes :)

Many comments stay they are time consuming….I use a food processor starting with the walnuts. This cuts prep time considerably.

This is a tasty recipe, and I’m not too bothered about the falling apart. They are best I find well chilled before cooking. If you are not wanting to keep them vegan….add an egg……

We loved this recipe! I made it last night for my husband and our 9 month old baby and it was a win all around —-flavorful and still mild enough for the little one. I didn’t have walnuts on hand, so I used pecans instead and the result was delicious! They fell apart a bit- so I might try to add a bit of flax next time around. These were so easy and quick to make- only took me 20 minutes to whip up a double batch and now we have extra for the freezer. Thank you so much for this recipe!!

Fantastic! Prep time is underestimated though. Lots of fine chopping, took me 45 to prepare. Will do it again with less stress but results are fab!!

Overall I really enjoyed this recipe! I had a black bean beet burger at the Mustard Seed Cafe in Kent, Ohio and have been trying to recreate it. My only complaint is that it fell apart easily and was a little dry but the flavor and texture were fantastic!! I’ll keep working on it but thanks for getting me off to a great start!!!

Insane!! Best bean burger I’ve ever had.

These were tasty, but a little dry- I live in the SW, so cooking always requires more moisture. I probably overlooked the quinoa, so next time, I’d add a little water. They are a little time consuming, but good! Thank you for sharing, I look forward to trying to make them again!

Dear Minimalistbaker,

I myself am a “minus sugar omnivore” (with a strong tendency towards being a serious carnivore), but these beet and quinoa burgers are on my top fav food list since the first time I spotted them on your blog and tried them out. It’s been five years now since then and I still make them, and I even prefer them to the regular burger. So, thank you for this bliss of taste and texture and keep doing the awsome work!! ?

My daughter (vegan) made juice from carrot, beetroot and celery, I did not have the heart to throw away the pulp, carrots and some of the celery went into the home made dog food with chicken and rice and the beetroot went into these burgers, was a little concerned that without the “beetroot juice” they may be a little dry but I added a little of the pumpkin soup I made yesterday. Burgers turned out beautifully, full of flavour, particularly liked the walnut flavour. Have tried quite a few of your recipes and never been let down.
thank you Minimalist Baker, appreciate your tried and true recipes.

thank you, Dana for this wonderful recipe. I am new to vegan burgers but loved the combination of black beans, quinoa, mushroom and spices. My only addition was a flax egg, following what some of the reviewers suggested.

I impressed my friends greatly with this recipe! I made it again with a few tweaks and as I was eating the burgers on a bed of lettuce with tomato and cucumber and avocado I said, “Wow I really love this”! Now I’m adding a few more tweaks on my third time. Take these with a grain of salt but I am very happy with the result:)

Shitake mushrooms are a must!
I don’t saute the onions or garlic ahead of time.
I add a lot more spice than what the recipe calls for. Same ones but in bigger quantities, although I have been unable to get smoked paprika in my town so I just add regular. I added a half of a raw jalapeno finely chopped also. Tonight I added a little cilantro.
I toast my walnuts after I finely chop them.
I was having a little trouble keeping the burgers together. I tried egg which didn’t help too much and I have friends who don’t eat eggs. This time I am very happy to report that adding one medium size sweet potato mashed gave the raw burgers a great consistency for forming the burgers and I love adding another healthy vegetable.
I think I have the recipe now that I love the best. Thank you so much for this great inspiration of yum!

Fair Warning: These are so good, they will make it hard for you to enjoy another veggie burger anywhere else, ever! My man LOVES these. He requests them at least once every 2 weeks. So I have made these about 10 times and they only thing that would make them better is if I had a food processor with grating attachment (for grating the beets) and then I could just mix everything in there. I’m quite an experienced home cook and even after making these a LOT, they are a bit labor intensive and there is no way I can do them in the 20 min. of prep time stated. It takes me at least 5 minutes just to form the patties! Just a heads up to allow more like 2 hours from start to finish cooking. Unless you can rope in a helper. ;)

These were FANTASTIC! I substituted the walnuts with flaxmeal (nut allergy), and added more spicing with cayenne pepper for some kick. YESSSS! Baked them on parchment paper. Found out I needed more time for my oven to complete the process. Left out the oil (dietary preference). They came out crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and they stuck together!!! Warmed one up the next day and was thrilled with it all! YUMOLA!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!!

Thank you so much for this recipe! As I was making it I thought that it had too much moisture and that it would break apart (as always) when I bake a veggie burger. But instead it came out juicy and perfect following your instructions step by step ! <3 I love your recipes thank you for sharing and making our life healthier and colorful ;)

I have made these several times. Sometimes I used different kinds of beans (whatever I have on hand) like chickpeas or white beans. I have used red beets and golden beets and both taste delicious. I sometimes add Sriracha to help form the patties and make the mixture stickier, I also usually put the mushroom, onion and bean mixture in the food processor for a few quick pulses which helps. It’s my go-to veggie burger recipe. My fiancé and I are not vegan so we usually have it with our favorite sliced cheese (pepper jack), and I always make caramelized onions to top it off. MMMMMM :)

Super easy and tasty, but two tries and I haven’t gotten them to hold together well. I am gong to try subbing rolled oats for the walnuts or adding a flax or chia seed “egg”.

Just made these and they are so easy and really tasty. We aren’t vegan but love a mixture of foods and the flavour was great – thank you!

So, so good! Love that each and every ingredient is healthful! Thank you for all of the delicious recipe(s)!

I made these tonight and they held together perfectly and were super tasty! Loved the texture, colour and flavours – only made 6 patties though! Even the meat eaters gave the thumbs up. Delicious!

I made this tonight and it was excellent. I didn’t measure exactly, and also substituted carrots for the beets as my store was out of beets (!) and used cashews instead of walnuts. The patties held together very well, and the combination of cumin and smoked paprika really made it great.

I had to walk for half an hour and back in the rain to get the ingredients because it looked so good. Worth it. High effort (I cooked the quinoa from scratch) but I’m so glad our food processor can grate because grating beetroot/carrot is my least favourite thing. I wouldn’t recommend flipping them halfway through cooking because until they’re cooked they’re quite flimsy but they held together well and I have big plans for this burger, bread, another vegan burger, vegan cheese and sweet chilli sauce to make an epic vegan big Mac. Thank you Xx

ah-freaking-mazing recipe! I made one for myself tonight, and I’ll be bringing several for the game tomorrow. Proud to present these beauties!

I’ve made this recipe three times now and I very much enjoy it, with a single caveat. Cumin is not a subtle spice and I found it was overpowering the rest of the flavors the first time I made this so I have reduced it from 1 tsp. to 1/2 tsp the the second time and a smidge less than a 1/2 tsp the third time. (Call it 3/8 tsp.) Overall this is a really outstanding recipe. The first veggie burgers I actually enjoyed.

I made these a couple months ago and told my meat lover boyfriend they were lamb and beetroot. I made him two burgers since his complaint about vegan food is the stereotypical “not enough protein” phrase. So didn’t want him to have any ammunition. He was so full after the first one and told me they were one of his favourite meals I had cooked. Asked him the next day if he was going to eat his leftover burger and he said he couldn’t wait! I then told him they were vegan. Haha! Sprung. What a delicious meal! Have just bought more ingredients to make them again and freeze them for on the go meals. Thanks so much.

I loved this recipe and made it in the same day as the Pumpkin cheesecake pie, I loved both and I cannot stop recommending your website! Brilliant! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!

Fave homemade veggie burger so far! I’ve made these 3 times now and each time they’ve been a little different even though I followed the recipe exactly.

The first time (beginner’s luck maybe!) they turned out PERFECTLY. Held together, crispy on the outside, etc. The 2nd and third times they didn’t hold together as well, but honestly I think it’s because I rushed the cooking of the onions and mushrooms so they still had too much moisture. And my beet was particularly juicy, so I should have pressed it to remove any excess liquid. All I can say is, Stick with it people! Give these another chance if you didn’t luck out the first time. Make sure your ingredients are too moist and bake them, don’t try to fry in a pan. This is one of my boyfriend’s favorite meals, served along the crispy matchstick fries :)