Flavor-packed and beautifully colored, our vegan kidney bean burger is the star at every BBQ, picnic or dinner table! Seriously hearty and secretly healthy, it’s crispy, protein-rich, carnivore-approved, and so easy to make.
Scrumptious, messy, colorful, and perfectly textured, this kidney bean burger offers everything you’d want a good burger to be!
It’s crispy on the outside and moist but not mushy on the inside and requires only 10 accessible and healthy ingredients to make. What a delicious and fun way of eating more plants!
If you want to satisfy meat lovers with vegan-friendly meals like burgers, wings or meatloaf, this recipe is for you.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Packed with hearty Umami flavor
- Colorful and wonderfully textured
- Crowd-pleasing and family-approved
- Lower in calories & protein-packed
- Great for “hiding” some veggies
- Perfect for BBQs or picnics
Get your kids involved in making these beautiful burger patties from scratch! Only a handful of accessible ingredients are needed.
Ingredients needed
- Kidney Beans — the plant-based protein-packed body of the burger with a meaty texture and filling complex carbs
- Mushrooms — responsible for the nice meaty texture while providing moisture to prevent dry patties
- Beetroot — nutritious vegetable responsible for the beautiful color
- Onion, Garlic & Soy Sauce — these add some deep & savory Umami flavor that many are missing in plant-based meals
- Walnuts — enhance texture, add a nice bite and omega-3 fatty acids
- Flax Egg — flaxseeds soaked in some water are an easy & healthy egg replacer and hold the ingredients together
In terms of kitchen equipment, you’ll need measuring equipment, a food processor, a pan, and a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to make the kidney bean burgers!
How to make kidney bean burgers
- Place a non-stick pan over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic in a splash of vegetable broth or olive oil until soft.
- Add diced mushrooms and sauté until all their liquid has evaporated. Stir frequently so that nothing sticks to the pan!
- Transfer the mixture into a food processor. Add the beet, flaxseeds, walnuts, herbs and spices, then pulse a few times to obtain a crumbly texture.
- Add the kidney beans and pulse a few more times until they are well incorporated. Make sure not to over-process — you want to end up with a textured mixture, not a mushy one!
- Divide the mixture as evenly as you can into 6 parts. Using your clean wet hands, form each of them into a patty.
- Line all of the patties next to each other on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes on each side!
Keep the size of your burger buns in mind when shaping your patties!
vegan freebie galore 🤩
Grab all of our 9 vegan & healthy eating PDFs at once! Including food lists, meal plan, easy recipes, and shopping & nutrition tips!
How to serve kidney bean burgers
Once the bean patties are baked until crispy on the outside, remove them from the oven and let them firm up for a couple of minutes before assembling your veggie burgers!
Here’s what we used in the photos.
- Whole wheat burger buns
- Carrots, cut into ribbons
- Avocado, smashed
- Mustard
- BBQ sauce
- Salad greens
- Microgreens
Serve them on their own, or pair your kidney bean burgers with sweet potato fries, potato salad, or chips!
They also taste great with veggie croquettes or a summer salad.
Storage suggestions
These burgers taste best fresh from the oven but can also be cooled and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. This means they can be used as part of your meal prep!
Any leftover cooked patties can be reheated in the oven or a skillet — they will become a bit drier, but you can add more sauce to the bun to balance this out.
Place the patties in a freezer-friendly container for longer storage and freeze for 2-3 months. Put a piece of parchment paper between the patties, so they don’t stick together when frozen! Let them thaw before heating.
Tips & FAQs
Substitution ideas
Don’t have one or more ingredients we use in our easy kidney bean burger recipe? Here’s what you can use instead.
- Kidney Beans — use black beans or white beans
- Walnuts — pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds
- Beets — carrots, quinoa, rice, cauliflower, and sweet potato can be used
- Flaxseeds — chia seeds, aquafaba, or a store-bought egg replacer
- Soy Sauce — our gluten-free friends can use tamari
- Cumin & Parsley — replace with any other spices of your liking
Are the patties meal prep-friendly?
Yup, you can make them up to 2 days in advance and let the bean mixture sit in the fridge until you form the patties and put them into the oven. Bake them in the oven as per our recipe instructions!
Delicious topping ideas
Making a delicious bean patty is just one part of creating an epic plant-based burger — here are some ideas for vegan toppings, fixings, and add-ins.
- Mustard, relish, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayo
- Vegan cheese sauce or slices, hummus
- Lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles, grilled veggies
- Pesto, ketchup, or beetroot dip
- Salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapenos, chips
- Mango chutney, kimchi, sprouts
Additional tips
Cook the bean burgers in a skillet with some oil to achieve the tastiest crust if you don’t mind the calories!
To boost the smokiness and savory flavor, add some smoked paprika, liquid smoke, and vegan Worcestershire sauce!
Any leftover patties can be added to colorful vegan bowls, sandwiches, or wraps.
If you don’t have a food processor, chop all ingredients really finely and mash the kidney beans with a fork. Combine in a large bowl until homogenous, then shape the patties with your hand!
More delicious recipes
Have you tried our kidney bean burgers and liked them? Feel free to share in the comments below, rate the recipe and Pin it here!
Ingredients
For the Patties
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 2 ½ cups button mushrooms diced (175 g)
- 1 small beet peeled and grated
- 3 cups kidney beans cooked and drained (530 g)
- 2 tsp flax seeds soaked in 1 tbsp water
- ½ cup walnuts 50 g, crushed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 3 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly ground black pepper
To Assemble
- 2 cups leafy greens 60 g
- 2 avocados smashed
- 2 carrots cut into ribbons with a mandolin
- ¼ cup microgreens 10 g
- 3 tbsp mustard
- 3 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 6 whole wheat burger buns
Instructions
Make the Patties
- Place a non-stick skillet over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic in a splash of veggie broth or oil for a few minutes.
- Once the onions have become soft, add the diced mushrooms and cook until all their liquid evaporates, occasionally stirring with a spatula.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer the mushroom mixture, beet, flaxseeds, walnuts, herbs and spices into a food processor and pulse 2-3 times to obtain a crumbly texture.
- Add the kidney beans and pulse another 3-4 times to obtain a sticky mixture, making sure you don’t over-process — you want to end up with a textured mixture, not a mushy one.
- Shape the kidney bean mixture into 6 patties using your hands and line them on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then flip over and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the patties from the oven and let them sit for around 5 minutes to firm up a bit before assembling your burger.
Assemble the Burgers
- Get all of the ingredients you want to put into your veggie burgers. Spread some smashed avocado on the buns, then add the warm beetroot pattie.
- Dress with leafy greens, sliced carrots, microgreens and top with mustard and smoky BBQ sauce. Enjoy warm!
Notes
- If your bean mixture turns out too wet to handle, add some rolled oats or half a tsp of arrowroot powder so the patties hold together nicely. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few minutes, then form the patties and bake them.
- Make sure your food processor is regular/large-sized so the burger mixture can be processed evenly.
- When forming the patties, keep the size of your burger buns in mind and adjust their size accordingly.
- Find more tips & adjustments in the article above!
this truly was the best veggie burger I’ve ever made! thanks so much for the recipe
most delicious indeed
Can these be made with something other than walnuts? We have but allergies.
Normally I’d leave out but a half cup is a lot and would probably alter too much. Can I use pumpkin or sunflower seeds?
yes, you can totally swap them for seeds :)
omg, those look good
If i were to use sweet Potato instead of the beetroot, how much would I use and would it be raw or puréed? Similarly how would one use grains in stead of the beet? I love beetroot but my dad really doesn’t.
Hey Anna,
the best swap would be a small sweet potato grated (about 1 cup?) instead of the beet. I’ve also made this burger with cooked rice and quinoa but don’t remember the exact measurements — could you just play around with the components to see when the mixture holds together well? Do let me know how they turn out! :)
Warmly,
Alena
Thanks for all these great tips, it was really helpful. I just started a brand new website and this article gave me some insights on this topic. I Can’t wait to read your next content. Thanks again for the tips
Would like to try this, but fresh beets are not available. Will canned beets work?
definitely, yes!
Can you dehydrate these?
never tried it but if you do, please let us know :)
Just made it for lunch and it turned out excellent! My 10 years old son said that it was delicious. Although, I used a golden beet, so it did not have the lovely red color, yet the taste was amazing. Thank you for such good recipes!
Your recipe inspired me to be creative and make some veggie patties of my own. I mashed together oatmeal and bread crumbs with cans of beets, kidney beans, black beans, spinach, green peas, string beans, carrots and corn. For spices I used lots of cumin, black pepper, steak seasoning and turmeric. I browned the patties in olive oil, wrapped them in parchment paper and froze them. They taste exactly like sweet grilled beefburgers. THEY’RE DELICIOUS! Thank you for the inspiration, and for taking the time to share your recipe and your methods with us.
Is this freezer friendly?
Yes, you can freeze the patties by baking them for only 15-20 minutes, letting them cool and wrapping them in parchment paper. Place in an airtight container in the freezer and once you’re ready to make them, you can put them frozen on a baking sheet and reheat for about 20 minutes until the desired texture is reached.
Hi, my family does not like mushrooms. Is it possible to substitute them for something else, e.g. sweet potato, oats, etc? Thank you!
just use more kidney beans or walnuts! Sweet potato is also delicious if you want to add it to your patties :)
Can you put the patties on the barbecue?
We personally haven’t tried it but some of our readers told us they have done so successfully!
How much cauliflower do you use to sub for beetroot? Also, has cauliflower been made with these before? Curious about the flavor of the two together. Thank you kindly-
Kidney bean”burger”
Delicious. I make them very often and each time they come out nicer!