These spicy vegan kidney bean burgers are loaded with flavor and super easy to make with just a handful of ingredients! Perfect for busy weeknights!
When it comes to veggie burgers, black beans tend to get all the love. And I get it! I love a good black bean burger.
But I'll let you in on a secret: other beans work just as well when it comes to making bean burgers. In fact, you can usually swap out the beans that a recipe calls for with just about any other variety of common beans!
I created this recipe specifically with red kidney beans in mind (although you're totally welcome to substitute chickpeas or black beans or cannellini beans). I really enjoy Tex-Mex spices with kidney beans, so that's how I seasoned my burgers.
They turned out scrumptious! And they also happen to be super easy to make. Just blend, shape, and grill!
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Rolled oats.
- Kidney beans. The recipe calls for canned kidney beans, but feel free to soak and cook your own beans if you prefer. Try this method. You'll need about 2 cups of cooked beans.
- Red onion. Yellow onion works as well if that's what you have on hand.
- Garlic.
- Spices. We're using ground cumin and chili powder.
- Hot sauce. Use a mild, vinegar-based hot sauce such as Cholula and your burgers will still be pretty mild. If you really can't take the heat, leave it out and substitute a tablespoon or two of vinegar instead.
- Fresh cilantro. You can leave this out or use parsley instead if you're not a fan.
- Salt & pepper.
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute another high-heat oil, such as avocado, corn, or canola.
- Burger buns.
- Toppings. Get creative here! Try vegan mayo, ketchup, mustard, salsa, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, avocado, and/or sliced vegan cheese.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Place your oats into a food processor bowl and blend them up until they're finely chopped. Almost a powder, but not quite.
- Add the beans, chopped onion, minced garlic, spices, hot sauce, cilantro, salt and pepper to the food processor bowl and blend everything up. Don't overblend the mixture — make sure it has some texture.
- Taste-test the mixture and adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. This may mean more salt, pepper, hot sauce, or spices.
Tip: Really scrape the sides and bottom of your food processor bowl with a spatula. The ground oats have a tendency to get stuck in the corners.
- Shape your bean mixture into patties and pan-fry them for a few minutes in an oiled skillet. Carefully flip them about halfway through. They should be lightly crisped and browned when they're done.
- Stuff the patties into buns and pile on your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy!
Variation: Baked Kidney Bean Burgers
If you prefer to bake your burgers, simply place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 400°F. Give them 25 to 30 minutes of bake time, carefully flipping them halfway through.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover kidney bean burgers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are if you use certified gluten-free oats and buns.
Most bean burgers don't hold up too well on the grill, but if you'd like to give it a try I recommend partially baking them first for about 20 minutes. This will help them firm up so they hold together better on the grill. Then just grill them briefly to get some charring going on.
You can! Substitute oat flour for the rolled oats. Make sure your onion is chopped super finely. Mash the beans in a bowl using a fork, then stir in the remaining ingredients.
More Vegan Burger Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Kidney Bean Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup roughly chopped red onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons mild vinegar-based hot sauce, such as Cholula
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
- 4 burger buns
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Place the oats into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade and blend them to a coarse powder.
- Add the beans, onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, hot sauce, cilantro, and salt to the food processor bowl. Pulse the machine until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Taste-test the mixture, add black pepper to taste, and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Lightly oil the bottom of a medium nonstick skillet and place it over medium heat.
- Give the oil a minute to heat up, then shape the bean mixture into patties, placing each directly in the skillet. Cook the patties in batches, cooking only as many as you can fit at a time without crowding.
- Cook the patties for about 4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
- When the patties are finished cooking, stuff them into burger buns and top with toppings of choice.
- Serve.
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My roommate and I really enjoyed these. We didn’t have cilantro 🌿 but they were still delicious. I baked them in the oven. Thanks 🙏 for sharing your recipe with us.
How funny! I thought I was new to this burger but I see a comment I had left two years ago!! Yup, it's worth another spin and another THANK YOU!! Subbed parsley for cilantro and mashed the beans by hand, but followed the rest that is veggie burger perfection!!
So easy to make! Delicious and satisfying. I topped them with salsa.
Alissa,
Are they able to be baked? And, if so at what temperature and how long on each side?
Thank you,
Jamila
They can! Bake them at 400°F on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
How long do you cook these in the skillet?
Oops! I've updated the recipe to include that info. Sorry!
These are incredible!! They are the best bean/veggie burger I have ever had and my hubby liked them, too! Huge win for us - thanks for a great recipe!
I have to report, these are the best burgers I think I have ever made and so simple, too!! Followed exactly today. I did a 4X recipe so I could freeze a batch. Glad I did and these are now the ones to top for me... always searching for the Holy Grail of everything vegan :)
I am about to make these but what temperature should they be cooked at in the oven?
400°F - thanks for catching that! I just updated the post.
Hi Alissa,
I was thinking of using steel cut oats (I have lots of and thinking of ways to use them up), could I substitute those for the flakes?
Aga
Steel cut oats should work fine! They're denser though, so you'll want to use less. I'm thinking you should have the amount, but I'm not 100% sure. What I'd do is blend up a full cup then remove about half and proceed with the recipe. Add more if the burger mixture doesn't seem to be holding together well.