Really Awesome Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

We’ve sampled many a vegan burger, from slightly healthier frozen options (three stars for Hilary’s and Dr. Praeger’s) to the plant-based but more processed Beyond Burger or Meta Burger (four stars if you don’t mind a nutrition splurge, worth checking out for any Denverites). In looking for a whole food, plant-based option that we could make at home and feel good about eating, we stumbled onto J. Kenji López-Alt’s Really Awesome Black Bean Burgers.

Originally vegetarian, we added some tweaks to the recipe and voila – a really awesome vegan black bean burger! The cashews add some nice texture and the smokiness from the chipotle pepper is delicious. We often ditch the buns, topping the burgers with avocado and our favorite mustard, and serve alongside a simple cabbage slaw.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups black beans, soaked for 8+ hours (see notes if using canned beans)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, minced, plus extra sauce to taste
• 3/4 cup roasted cashews
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 vegan egg – such as flax egg (see notes) or from an egg replacer (optional, but helps with binding)
• Salt and pepper
• Avocado oil

Directions

1. Drain, rinse, and cook the black beans until done (this will vary depending on your cooking method. In our case, this was 18 minutes in the Instant Pot followed by a 10-minute natural release then quick release). Once cooked, drain the beans and set aside.
2. While the beans cook, heat a tbsp. of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the diced onion and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Finally, add the diced chipotle chili and cook for 30 seconds, stirring to combine. Remove and place the mixture in a large mixing bowl.
3. Chop the cashews by pulsing in a food processor until the largest pieces are about halved. Add the chopped cashews to the mixing bowl with the onion and pepper.
4. After draining the cooked black beans, add them to the food processor and pulse a few times until the beans are roughly halved. (You may end up with some whole beans at the top and some pureed beans at the bottom – this is fine!) Transfer the beans to the mixing bowl.
5. Add the vegan egg, bread crumbs, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. of avocado oil to the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. At this point, taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, and extra adobo sauce if you like more spice. Form the mixture into 8-10 patties.
6. In a frying pan with a tbsp. of avocado oil over medium heat, cook patties for 4-5 minutes per side, flipping carefully.
7. Serve burgers either on buns or bunless and top with your favorite condiments (we love a spicy brown mustard here).

Notes

1. We primarily cook our beans from dry, and have not tested this recipe with canned beans which have a much different texture. My recommendation if using canned beans: dehydrate 3 cans’ worth of black beans in the oven (as suggested in the original recipe) for about 10 minutes at 350°F to avoid the burgers just turning into a mush. Try not to dry them out too much, or the burgers may not hold together.
2. To make a flax egg, mix 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseeds with 2.5 tbsp. water and let sit for about 5 minutes until thickened.

Nutrition Facts