A mix of black beans, rolled oats and walnuts give these flavor-packed vegan burgers a meaty bite, while spices pack in the flavor. These black bean walnut burgers will please vegans and non-vegans alike!
I don't usually go for meaty vegan burgers. Both when I'm buying premade patties and when I'm making my own, I'm usually a bigger fan of veggie burgers that taste like, well...veggies. You know? I love kale burgers, artichoke burgers, beet burgers...that kind of thing.
But I'm down with pretty much anything that's vegan, and I've noticed lately that big, hearty, beefy veggie burgers are gaining popularity. And since we're coming up on a big veggie burger weekend (happy almost Labor Day!), I decided to see if I could come up with a pretty convincing recipe of my own.
I decided to craft my burgers out of a hearty mix of black beans and walnuts. I already loved black bean burgers, and the addition of walnuts provided some extra meaty texture.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, it's been a long time since I had a non-vegan burger, and I've never tried Beyond Burgers, Impossible Burgers, or any of those super convincing meaty veggie burgers that everyone is raving about.
But I still think I did a pretty good job. Would these suckers fool a non vegan? I'm guessing no, but like I said, it's been a while! Would non-vegans enjoy these burgers and appreciate their hearty bite and savory flavor? Yup, I believe they would!
The burgers start with a mix of oats and walnuts. You'll want to blitz them up in the food processor before anything else, until they resemble coarse crumbs.
Add your beans, onion, garlic and some seasonings. Pulse again until the beans are broken up and everything is mixed. Don't overdo it! You want some texture.
I'm normally a pan-fried veggie burger kind of girl, but I preferred these baked. Just shape the mixture into patties, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes on each side.
You can top your burgers with whatever you like, but for these meaty burgers I really like the classic toppings: ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and a slice of vegan cheese (I used Chao brand, original flavor).
Tips for Making Perfect Black Bean Walnut Burgers
- Want to keep these burgers gluten-free? No problem! Just use certified gluten-free oats and your favorite gluten-free buns.
- While I prefered these burgers baked, you can pan-fry them if you're short on time. Just use a lightly oiled non-stick skillet and cook the patties over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side.
- Annie's and Edward & Sons Worcestershire sauces are both vegan. You can also check the ingredients on your store brand — sometimes I luck out and find a vegan one!
- Give the burger mix a taste-test before shaping it into patties, and adjust any seasonings to your liking. In fact, you can almost always do this when you're making vegan burgers! The only time I skip it is when the recipe includes wheat flour, which can have contaminants and shouldn't be eaten raw.
More Vegan Burger Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
📖 Recipe
"Beefy" Vegan Black Bean Walnut Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free if needed)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Cooking oil or spray
For Serving
- 6 burger buns
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the oats and walnuts into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend for a few seconds, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the beans, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, cumin, paprika, and pepper.
- Pulse until everything is well chopped and mixed, being careful not to overdo it (don't let the mixture turn to mush).
- Shape the mixture into 6 patties and arrange them on the baking sheet. Lightly brush or spray the tops with oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Gently flip the patties, spray or brush the other sides with oil, and bake about 15 minutes more, until firm and lightly browned.
- Stuff into buns and serve with toppings of choice.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Nutrition
We used the smoked paprika, smoked salt instead of regular and smoked serrano pepper. Loved the additional smoky flavor and it wasn't over-powering. I also chopped up a cup of spinach to throw in for added nutrition....couldn't even tell. These are so good!!
These were so easy to make and super delicious! Thank you.
Heart healthy and very tasty walnut and black bean burgers! I used low sodium tamari instead of soy and since I’m not a huge cumin fan, I switched amounts with the smoked paprika, which I love. I will say I will probably bake them a little less than the full 30 minutes as they came out a bit dry, but all in all, these were very tasty. Thank you so much for sharing!
Can you cook these on the grill?
You could, but be careful because bean burgers in general are pretty delicate and can fall apart easily on the grill. You could try pre-baking them to firm them up (try 400 degrees for 15 minutes on each side) and then charring them for a few minutes on the grill. You could also try putting them on foil or a grill topper pan to make sure they stay together. I'd love to hear how they turn out if you try!
I made these last night and while they tasted good, they were quite dry and a bit crumbly on the edges. I followed your recipe and didn't overmix. I wonder if adding a little "milk" or oil would help? I also think the oven dried them out so will pan fry next time (I froze half).
You could try adding a little extra liquid to the mixture, or brushing with a bit of extra oil. It could also be an oven temperature issue - try turning the temperature down about 25 degrees to see if that helps.
Made these last night and they were a hit. Made some of the mix into patties for breakfast "sausages".
They sound amazing. I don't have an oven though - could I pan-fry these or would they fall apart?
You can! I tried both methods and preferred them baked, but they were delicious pan-fried as well. I used medium heat, a couple of teaspoons of oil, and cooked them for about 5 minutes on each side. Enjoy!
Thanks, they were delicious!
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed them!
I baked them without oil and they were fantastic!
Awesome! Glad you liked them!!
Made yesterday with my son. We love them and we’re already thinking about the next time. I cut the parchment and stack them in my freezer container. I think I will try adding some of my home grown poblano peppers to the recipe.
That sounds delicious! I have some poblanos popping up in the garden, so I might try that as well. Glad you both enjoyed them!
These veggie burgers are so good! They hold together extremely well and their flavor is on-point!
Thank you! I'm so glad you like them. :)
I’m making these this weekend, so excited to have all the ingredients on hand! I’ve been looking for an easy recipe to replace Morningstar Chipotle Black Bean Burgers! Do you have any suggestions on reducing the fat (walnuts) content?
I would try just cutting back on the walnuts (or leaving them out completely) and then test the burger mixture. If it seems too moist or mushy try adding some panko breadcrumbs until you get the texture right. Enjoy!!
Thank you for a truly delicious recipe!!! I have tried many meatless burgers and this stands out in the top 5👍🏾👍🏾 I will definitely be making these over and over again!!
Awesome!! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Wendy!
I have tried many vegetarian burger recipes and I really find this is the best I have ever tried so far. I made seven patties instead of six out of the recipe and I think next time I will make 10 or 12 smaller burgers. I added a bit of water and some cornmeal. I also added some whole grain mustard to the mix. These vegan burgers are truly outstanding.
Wonderful!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Anne!
Absolutely amazing. Doubled the batch to keep in the freezer. My picky , non loving black bean son ate these up!!
I'm so glad to hear that!! Thanks Lea!
Lea, did you cook them before freezing? Thanks!
Do you think I could half bake these and freeze them for frying up later? I'm trying to wean myself off the store-bought patties as I am on a mission to eliminate as much plastic as possible from my life. How has your burger-freezing experience been?
I ate an Impossible burger for my birthday. It was eerily MEATY :)
Yup! I have a couple in the freezer right now. :) You can also mix up the burger base, freeze it, and then thaw, shape and bake when you're ready. That's why I'm afraid to try the impossible burger - I've had a couple other meat substitutes that were super meaty and freaked me out a bit!
When you say burger base, do you mean the walnuts and oats only?
I actually mean everything that goes into the food processor. :)
I'm going to make these. I'm assuming to freeze I would let them freeze first on a bakng sheet before putting them in a zip lock freezer bag? On a mission to pack my freezer with food! I'm making your jambalaya tonight, it will be my first of your recipes, but certainly not the last. I have saved a ton of them so far!!
If you've got the freezer space I think that would be a great way to do it! I hope you enjoy these and the jambalaya!!
I've tried the Impossible Burger. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I honestly believe that if I had a blindfold on, I would be able to tell the difference between that and the real beef burger.
Oops. I meant " I would not be able to tell the difference ".
I usually just wing my veggie/nut burgers but the texture has been off the last couple times so I dug up your recipe. They turned out excellent! I tripled the batch so I can stash some in the freezer, added some finely chopped parsley and 2/3 cup nutritional yeast, cut back on the sauces and used Braggs instead for a bit lower sodium. They are wonderfully savory with a good chewy but tender bite.
THE RECIPE SOUNDS VERY GOOD. HOWEVER I AM WONDERING HOW TO LOWER THE SODIUM AND THE
Potassium 483mg 14% I AM ON DIALYSIS FOR KIDNEYS FAILED ANY HELP YOU CAN HELP ME I WILL APPRECIATE IT.
I would try using low sodium beans and either cutting down on the amount of soy sauce or using a low sodium variety. If you want to try recalculating the nutrition info after making some adjustments you an use this calculator: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Amazing! Very good and “meaty”. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
I'm so glad you like them!!
Use Bragg’s Amino Acid INSTEAD of soy sauce. Tastes virtually the same but drastically less sodium.
These burgers look so good, however, I’m grain free. Is there anything grain free I could substitute for the oats ?
Does quinoa work with your diet? I've had luck using that in veggie burgers, so it might work as a sub for these. :)
What other nuts would work - husband can’t eat walnuts and these sound amazing😀
I think pecans or sunflower seeds would be your best bet. :)
Could I use cashews in place of walnuts for the walnut burger? One daughter in law is vegan. Other has but allergies
I haven't tried cashews myself, but I think they'd work. Enjoy!