Dairy Free Vegetarian Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers

Vegetarian & Dairy Free

UPDATED 01/05/2025 with InstantPot Option for Black Beans

Due to eggs and mayo which contains egg, this is not a vegan recipe.  Along with the bread crumbs, eggs serve as a binding agent for the wet ingredients.

I based my recipe very closely on this Black Bean Burger recipe but adjusted it due to my dairy intolerance and trial and error over three successful attempts.

Instead of buying buns I use my basic quick-ish bread roll recipe. As these black bean burgers have a tendency to fall apart a bit, these rolls work better at corralling the burgers than the softer burger buns. If using this recipe, prepare the bread ahead of time.

I use a Cuisinart to mix the final stage. It's easier than a hand held immersion blender. If using a hand held focus on the onion, bell pepper, and garlic mix and half the black beans. The rest can be combined by hand.

Start with prepping the black beans.

Preheat the oven to 325F. 

Drain and pat dry 

TWO 14oz cans of black beans.

Prep a large baking tray with parchment paper. Spread out the black beans single layer, not touching.

Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to add last to the recipe.

INSTANT POT BLACK BEANS instead of canned beans

Prices being what they are I opted to forego the canned black beans and use the pressure cooker option on my Instant Pot.

Because I needed more than the beans for this recipe, I used a larger amount of dry beans. 

3 CUPS Dry Black Beans

6 CUPS Cold tap water

No need to presoak. Set Pressure Cooker at HIGH and cook for 30 minutes.

Quick Release.

Stir in 1 TSP Salt

Pressure Cook on HIGH an additional 10 minutes.

I drained off 28 ounces,* volume not weight, of beans. I used a large liquid measuring cup to measure the volume of 28 ounces*. The beans were spread onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet single layer. I tried the 15 minutes cook time at 325F but found they hadn't dried out sufficiently. I added another 5 minutes for a total of 20 minutes in the oven at 325F.

Next prep the wet base

The goal is to cook these three veg down nicely but without excess oil. If you add too much, use a crumpled paper towel to absorb the excess.

Sauté ONE CUP of chopped sweet Onions in the smallest amount on olive oil you can get away with. 

Add in One diced and cored Green Bell Pepper. 

Cook down nicely, browning the onion.

Add 1 TBSP Minced Garlic.

Cook another minute or two. Garlic is added last as it tends to burn if left in the heat too long.

Set up the Cuisinart to gently puree the vegetable base.

Add these Ingredients to the Cuisinart

STAGE ONE

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

2 Large Eggs

3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

1 TBSP Soy Sauce

2 TBSP Ketchup

1 TSP Ground Black Pepper

1/4 TSP Salt

Mix all the above well in the Cuisinart

STAGE TWO 

ADD in the Onion/Bell Pepper/Garlic Mix

Mix all together in the Cuisinart

STAGE THREE

Add 3/4 to 1 cup bread crumbs 

Pulse together until mixed.

STAGE FOUR 

Add half the black beans and pulse together well.

At this point you want no dry ingredients visible.

The blend will be softener but gathering together, pulling away from the sides.

STAGE FIVE

Add the remaining black beans BUT gently pulse. You want them to mix in but some should remain visible.

If you overblend, don't worry about it. It will still cook ok but traditional black bean burgers usually have parts of the beans showing.

Prep a large baking sheet with Parchment Paper. 

Preheat oven to 375F

Using a 1/2 CUP measuring cup, scoop the mixture into the cup. The goal is to make 8 patties. Place each dollop onto the lined baking sheet not touching other portions. After you dole out eight, even out any remaining mixture among the eight. Using the back of a large spoon, press them into a general roundish shape and thickness about 3/4 inch. Don't fret with them too much; the second stage of baking will sort out any lumpiness when they are flipped. You want nearly the same thickness overall from the center to the sides. Avoid making them into balls so the center cooks in proportion to the sides.

Place in the heat 375F oven for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes, flip the burger and use the spatula to slightly flattened them a bit. It evens them out so they cook well.

Cook another 10 minutes and remove from the oven.