Get ready for a protein packed flavor explosion with these smokey black bean beet burgers! These burgers are a feast for the eyes and are perfect for a make ahead vegan meal.
Love beets? Check out these pickled beets that are perfect for any side or salad!
Ingredients in Smokey Black Bean Beet Burgers
Weeknights and dinnertime can be a bit of a juggling act! Everyone is either hungry from a busy day or needs to eat dinner quickly so they can be off to their next activity. I love to vegan meal prep these easy black bean burgers either on the weekend or the night before we eat them so we can retain some amount of sanity during the dinner time rush.
The ingredients in this plant based black bean burger combine fresh herbs, dried spices and fresh beets with pantry staple black beans. The beets in this recipe aree boiled vs. roasted to bring out the nature sweet taste of a beet. You can’t beat (haa, what a play on words!) the lovely pink color that the fresh beet adds to this recipe! I have used both pre-packed cooked beets (in the produce refrigerated section) from the store to make these as well as have boiled my own beets to use in the recipe. Either works great and really it just comes to your own time + if your grocer stocks pre steamed beets!
At first my pre-teen son was a bit skeptical, a pink colored veggie burger? But after some encouragement, he gobbled it up not once but twice. So what is in these black bean beet burgers that turn even skeptics into gobblers? Here is what you will need:
- Black Beans
- Steamed or Boiled Beet
- Onion
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Brown Rice Flour
- Breadcrumbs (gluten free if needed)
The key to this veggie burger recipe is the combination of fresh herbs with dried spices. They give this black bean burger exceptional flavor! I love fresh herbs in recipes as they really ramp up the flavor.
How to Make Smokey Black Bean Beet Burgers
After steaming or boiling your beet, you just need to combine your ingredients in the food processor!
We recommend a food processor for this recipe. It not only saves you time chopping your fresh herbs, black beans and beets in the kitchen, it combines your ingredients together much better than what one can do by hand (it’s true). This one on Amazon is similar to the one we have had for years.
After your ingredients are combined in the food processor, gently stir in your breadcrumbs (I use gluten free panko) and you are ready to form your mixture into veggie burger patties! Your hands may turn pink from the mixture, so gloves are optional as you put them together!
I opted to bake these in the oven, but if you are in a hurry you could fry them in a pan on the stovetop. These are great to make ahead and even freeze well. When freezing, wrap individually and store in freezer safe bag.
Beets are low in calories and pack a nutritional punch of almost all vitamins you need! When combined with plant based black beans plus fresh herbs and spices, these black been beet burgers are a great choice for those looking for a low calorie, dairy free and gluten free veggie burger.
These veggie burgers are a healthier choice than a store bought veggie burger. They contain no added preservatives and are packed full of vitamins and minerals.
Adding brown rice flour is key to keeping these veg burgers sturdy!
How to Serve Veggie Black Bean Beet Burgers
I love to eat this healthy burger in a bowl atop fresh salad greens with a side of guac! My family prefers on a bun with ketchup.
Like all veggie burgers, the toppings are up to your imagination! You could add guac, sliced avocado, tomato, ketchup, red onion, pickle – really the sky is the limit these days for burger toppings!
If you love beets, be sure to check out our Easy Roasted Pickled Beet recipe.
If you make this recipe, I would love to know! Tag @badtothebowl on social media.
Other Healthy Veggie Burgers to Try:
- Ranch Chickpea Burgers with Sweet Potato
- Sweet and Smoky Chickpea Burgers [Simply Delicious Vegan Cookbook]
- Black Bean Salsa Burgers | 30 Minute Frugal Vegan Meals
- Veggie Bean Burger Bowl
Smokey Black Bean Beet Burger
Ingredients
- 1 large beet, boiled
- 1 -15.5 oz can black beans, low sodium
- 1 – small white onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1 Tblsp lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. cumin
- 1/2 t. smoked paprika
- 1/4 t. red pepper
- 1/4 t. black pepper
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs *(gluten free if needed)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- optional burger toppings: bun, pickles, tomato, lettuce, ketchup, avocado, guacamole
Instructions
- Wash your beet and (follow link for easy boiling directions) Let cool. Then slice.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with parchment paper and then spray parchment paper with cooking spray.
- Drain and rinse black beans. Reserve 1/4 cup of beans.
- Slice your white onion into medium sized chunks.
- Add all ingredients except reserved black beans and breadcrumbs to your food processor. Pulse lightly until mixture is combined. You don’t want a puree but you do want all pieces to be combined.
- Transfer mixture to bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs, brown rice flour and reserved black beans.
- Shape mixture into patties (I made 6) and place on prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully flip. Cook another 10 minutes. After removing from oven, let rest for 5 minutes so they ‘firm’. If you want additional ‘crisp’ – crisp them up on your stovetop in a medium sized skillet.
- Top with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, avocado or ! Eat in a bowl or on a bun.
- These can be meal prepped and are a great freezer meal. For freezing, cook as directed, let cool, then place in freezer safe container and freeze until ready to use. When ready to use, remove from freezer and reheat on stovetop (for crispy) or microwave (will be softer).
