Veggie burgers are a tricky business. I made my first veggie burger about 2 years ago, and although they tasted pretty good, they weren’t sturdy enough. Ever since then, I’ve been on a mission. I’ve experimented with a different variety of beans/grains every week in hopes of making a blogworthy veggie burger. And this week, I made this Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgers Recipe that I think turned out really well.
There have been chickpeas, lentils, brown rice, wheatberries, and quite a few others. Some held together well but fell flat in taste. Other tasted great and held together but just had a mushy texture. Oh, and if you’re wondering how poor Lance has been holding up after having to taste test all these burgers, he’s hanging in there. It’s a rough life he leads, being lead taste tester and all.
I’m happy to report that I’ve finally created one that deserves to be shared. It has a unique taste all on its own, although we loved it with a little bit of an all-natural BBQ sauce. I used Annie’s sweet and spicy. The spicy BBQ seasonings had just enough contrast with the sweetness of the carrots and the tanginess of the apple cider vinegar.
This Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgers recipe was packed with protein from the quinoa, and black beans and the texture was chunky enough to seem very burger-ish. That sums up the aim of a good veggie burger, doesn’t it?
This Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgers Recipe is the perfect dinner for such a hot, sunny day. I threw together a quick salad to get our veggie fix in there.
I made these a couple of nights ago, and the leftovers have made great wraps for our lunches. I just broke them in half and rolled them up with a bunch of veggies in an Ezekiel wrap, with a little BBQ sauce!
Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 medium hamburger buns
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water
- 1 ¾ cup black beans cooked
- ½ cup quinoa cooked
- 2 medium carrots peeled and grated
- ½ medium red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke optional but adds smoky flavour!
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup oat flour
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, if you like some kick!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix together the chia seeds and water in a small dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a fork to roughly mash the black beans, leaving it a little bit chunky. Next, stir in the quinoa, carrots, red onion, liquid smoke, agave nectar, and apple cider vinegar.
- Combine the oat flour, paprika, pepper, salt, cocoa powder, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Stir into the other mixture until very well combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the burger mixture into equal-sized patties. I made 5, and they were the perfect size for the burger buns, but you could adjust the size and make 4 or 6 if you wanted an even number.
- Place the patties on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
- Allow them to cool before placing them on the patties, garnishing, adding a bit of BBQ sauce, and serving with a great side dish like a salad or some healthy, homemade french fries.