A scrumptious, grill-worthy and nourishing vegan Bean and Oats Burger that is packed with all the goodness you can imagine from oats, two kinds of beans, and carrots. There are no added oils in this veggie burger patty and it's hefty and sturdy enough for your Memorial Day grill. Also a gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free recipe.
Some of your favorite veggie burgers on this blog, and mine, have long been these vegan bean and oats burgers. It's easy to see why. They are full of flavor and yet they are utterly healthy with carrots, oats and red beans and pinto beans. A veggie burger simply does not get any better than this.
This is a really easy burger to make and it's full of texture from the beans and oats, which makes it wonderful to bite into. It easily makes it to the griddle and back, and is sturdy enough to throw on a grill.
Table of Contents
What you'll love about these bean and oats burgers
- They're delicious.
- They are made with beans and oats and carrots--all foods that are good for you.
- They're sturdy enough for the grill.
- They are free of any added fats or nuts, so they're great if you're looking for a waist-friendly option.
- They are tried and tested, over and over, by dozens of Holy Cow! readers, so you don't have to take my word for it.
Featured comment:
I just made your Oat and Bean burgers and I am delighted with them!!! They are so delicious on a sesame bun with spicy brown mustard, ketchup and dill pickles. Thank you!!!
Karla S.
Ingredients
- Onion
- Garlic
- Quick-Cooking Oats (or rolled oats, run through a food processor to break them down a bit, are fine)
- Pinto beans
- Red beans
- Carrots
- Ground cumin
- Cayenne
- Tomato ketchup
- Dijon mustard of whole-grain mustard
- Tamari (optional if soy-free)
- Salt, as needed
- Cooking spray for coating the pan or grill
Tips and steps for making these veggie burgers
- Mash the beans: Place the beans in a bowl and mash them together. You should mash them well so the burgers hold together, but it's okay if a few beans remain whole, as they will add more texture.
- Cook the veggies: You will need to cook the carrots, onions and garlic first before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. This helps get rid of any moisture that could make your burgers fall apart when you cook them, and it also gives you an opportunity to cook the veggies with the spices, helping them marry together. This is not a long-drawn process--it takes just about five minutes.
- Prep the oats: Quick-cooking oats, which are usually cut into smaller pieces than rolled oats, are great in this recipe. I don't usually have quick oats on hand so I just use rolled oats and run them through the food processor to break them down further.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients: Mix in the onion-carrot mixture, oats and seasonings and mix it all together really well.
- Form the patties: I get eight hefty burger patties from this recipe. You can make them thicker, as I did this time, or shape them thinner as you see in the photo below from the last time I shared this recipe.
- Cook the burgers: I recommend cooking these burgers on a skillet first, with a bit of cooking spray, before you throw them on the grill. That will also take care of any worries about the burgers sticking to the grill.
- Serve the burgers: These burgers are great with this whole wheat burger buns. Serve them layered with hummus, like this eggplant hummus, greens, and a vegan coleslaw.
FAQs
You can use either. I have made this burger with both and it doesn't make a difference and you really can't beat canned beans for convenience. For the burgers you see in the photos this time I used canned pinto and red beans. The 14-oz cans yielded just over a cup of beans each after they were drained.
If starting with dry beans, use half a cup of red beans and a half a cup of pinto beans, soak them overnight, then cook them in enough water until really tender.
Yes and yes. If you want to make these with only pinto beans or only kidney beans that is fine. You can also use other kinds of beans--black beans would be great here.
You can store them in the refrigerator, after cooking them, for about a week. For longer storage I'd separate the burgers with parchment and store in the freezer in freezer-safe containers. To reheat, throw on a hot griddle or grill coated with cooking spray.
More veggie burger recipes:
- Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Black Bean and Black Rice Burger
- Quinoa and Bean Burger
- Beet Burger with Chipotle Cashew Hummus
- Sprouted Mung Bean Burger with Mint Cilantro Chutney
Vegan Bean and Oats Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 large onion (finely minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 medium carrot (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (use more or less based on your preference)
- 14 oz pinto beans
- 14 oz red kidney beans
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats (I ran regular rolled oats in the food processor for a minute)
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or whole grain mustard)
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce. Leave out if soy-free and use more salt)
- Salt to taste
- Cooking spray
For serving
- Whole wheat burger buns
- Baby spinach or other greens
- coleslaw
Instructions
- Heat a skillet and saute the onion and garlic with a tiny bit of salt (no oil) for a few minutes until translucent but not brown.
- Add the carrots, cayenne, and cumin and cook a couple minutes or until carrot is tender. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the carrot mixture, mustard, ketchup, tamari and oats.
- Mix well, then shape the mixture into eight patties. You can make more, smaller patties, or fewer, larger ones. For the grill shape the patties thicker.
- Heat a nonstick or cast-iron skillet and coat with cooking spray. Cook patties over medium heat for four to five minutes on each side, or until golden brown. I like mine a little charred for extra flavor or you can char them on the grill.
Anonymous
you use tamari because it's gluten free. sodium doesn't matter.
Jodnia
These are great! Can they be frozen?
Vaishali Honawar
Yes. Separate patties with wax paper and freeze. Enjoy!
Anonymous
I precook my beans in bulk and store them in the freezer in small quantities. When you have 1/2 cup dried beans in your recipe, how much does this equate to when cooked?
Vaishali
Roughly double-- 1 cup cooked.
Jessyca Delepine
Love this recipe but adding 1/4 teaspoon or less of liquid smoke and 1 teaspoon of sriricha hot sauce with a diced jalopeno or thai pepper and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1/2teaspoon of black pepper gave these bugers a slight smoky hot upgrade
Vaishali
Nice suggestions. Thanks, Jessyca.
Anonymous
If using canned beans..what are the measurements?
Vaishali
Roughly half of the dry.
Activista
I tried making these and found that they were still too soft and kinda crumbly to use as patties, but I added some extra spice (more garlic, cumin and chili powder, along with pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper) and made this into some AMAZING taco filler. I love it! I'm going to try again and see about mashing things together more, hopefully that will help. Thanks!
Anonymous
This is a great recipe for veggie burgers. We substituted canned beans (pinto and red kidney - a can of each) because of limited time. We could also see possibilities for making them spicier with the addition of diced jalapenos. Very good, Vaishali - thanks!
Anonymous
we tried this when we first went plant-based. Now we make them weekly, take them to every single holiday or other get-together and even the meat eaters enjoy them! I have even made them with just water in place of the tamari because I was out of it and soy sauce both, still good! Thanks for this amazing recipe!!!
Joe
Thanks for the recipe - I tried them and they were great. I substituted the pinto beans for chickpeas, and left out the tamari and mustard - just because that's what I had - but they were still delicious. Held together really well and in fact more robust than a beef burger. They are really filling.
I lightly fried them in coconut oil - really good.
Thanks, I will keep up with your blog
hornpleasetataok
I am in India and I don't think pinto beans and cooking spray are readily available in the market here. I would like to know what are the substitutes for these? Also, has anybody tried baking these instead of frying?
Vaishali Honawar
Use red beans (rajma)-- they would work just as well. And use a thin coating of oil if you don't have cooking spray.
Benny
I made these burgers today and they were pretty damn tasty..... Didn't have mustard so decided to add a little smoked paprika!
Just found your blog through google, think ill be making a few of your dishes in the future! Benny
SS
Hi...approximately how many patties can be made with these measurements? Thanks :0)
Vaishali
SS, I can't honestly say I remember because it's been a while. It may be too late for you, but I'll post this the next time I do make these.
Kalifa
Im actually going to attempt this recipie tomorrow. I will start soaking the beans tonight. This will be my first time using pinto beans so I'm really excited.
Adele
Hiya hun,
Just wanted to let you know that I featured this recipe on my blog this week. I would love it if you could check it out 🙂 I recently made the burgers using 1 cup of oatmeal and adding half a cup of cooked bulgar and they were delish! Thanks for sharing. I wıll be eating these lots!
- Adele @ Mammy Made
Anonymous
Can these be frozen?
Pooja
Hi Vaishali,
Discovered your blog a few weeks ago, when I tried your Mango Loaf (I am one of those lucky souls who did get fresh alphonso pulp!!) and of course the result was polished off in minutes!!
I cant decide which I love more, your recipes or your writing style.
I am going to try out these beans and oats burgers today. Forgive my ignorance, but is black Rajma equivalent to pinto beans?
Thanks in advance,
Pooja
Vaishali
Pooja, black beans are different from pinto beans. If you cannot find pinto just substitute rajma or black beans. Thanks for your kind words!