We can barely keep our excitement contained! We’ve got a new tasty dish that is sure to cover all those must haves of wholesome goodness, bursting with flavor, and ultra satisfying. We just had to name it Ultimate Healthy Vegan Black Bean Burger with Special Burger Sauce. This tasty black bean burger has a deliciously satisfying texture with perfectly crunchy exterior and a tender but not mushy interior. Annnd the the pièce de résistance is the Special Burger Sauce, but let’s be honest, we put it on everything!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi! Ameera here.
Raise your hand if you love veggie burgers! We sure do! You just can’t beat a tasty burger slathered with a fantastic sauce, and this veggie burger really hits the spot! It is hearty, flavorful, and quite satisfying . . . plus, we’ve created an AH-MAZING sauce to go with it, but found ourselves literally putting it on everything!
What to call this deliciousness!
The hardest thing about this burger was trying to figure out what to call it. We are modest people by nature and naming anything “ultimate” is kind of outside of our comfort zone, but we just couldn’t help ourselves on this one. We have tasted a lot of black bean burgers in our day, and we thought it was the best one we ever had, so we thought we would live on the wild side (LOL) and call it “Ultimate Healthy Vegan Black Bean Burger” with the hope that no one would think we are being too bold.
Food Blogging
Mom and I love to create dishes for our Whole Food Plant Based community. It makes us SO happy! We enjoy helping others on their journey to living a healthier lifestyle by developing recipes that we are hoping our Readers enjoy. We also love connecting with our fellow WFPBers.
While food blogging is the perfect “job” for introverts like me and Mom, (we use that term “job” loosely, because while it is a TON of work, there is little to no pay associated with it despite what everyone thinks), it does require one to kind-of put yourself out there to be judged. Which is hard and scary, but so worth it when you hear your recipes, resources, and information are being enjoyed/helpful.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Put it on Everything!
This burger is just so tasty! Annnnnd, don’t even get me started on the special sauce, we didn’t hold back – YUM! But we aren’t the only ones, the next day after making it, Dad was sitting at the table eating quinoa (he calls it “Ka-why-nye”) and I was like “Dad, what is that on your quinoa?” He responded, “Heck if I know, but it sure is tasty!” Upon closer inspection, I saw it was our newly minted special sauce. I was like “Dad, that is our special burger sauce!” He said “Well it tastes good on Ka-why-Nye too!” LOL Ok, then, good to know!
I’ll let Mom tell you more about this yummy burger and tasty special sauce!
Hi! Robin here.
I love a great veggie burger! We think this one is pretty darned awesome, even if we do say so ourselves. Monkey pretty much said it all. We hope you give this burger and sauce a try and let us know if you think it is awesome too!
Leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Food processor
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ultimate Healthy Vegan Black Bean Burger
- Prep Time: 12 Minutes
- Cook Time: 35 Minutes
- Total Time: 47 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Burgers 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Description
We can barely keep our excitement contained! We’ve got a new tasty dish that is sure to cover all those must haves of wholesome goodness, bursting with flavor, and ultra satisfying. We just had to name it Ultimate Healthy Vegan Black Bean Burger with Special Burger Sauce. This tasty black bean burger has a deliciously satisfying texture with perfectly crunchy exterior and a tender but not mushy interior. Annnd the the pièce de résistance is the Special Burger Sauce, but let’s be honest, we put it on everything!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated zucchini (about one small/medium zucchini)
- ½ cup pecans, minced (measure after mincing)
- 1 – 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Tablespoon flax meal (ground flaxseed)
- 1 Tablespoon tamari *
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 Tablespoon miso *
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs *(see notes)
Seasonings/Spices:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion flakes
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flake
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
Other Optional Ingredients:
- Burger buns *
- Wraps
- Special Burger Sauce (recipe card below)
- Condiments
- Veggies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Place the pecans into the food processor and pulse until you have a fine crumb mixture. Note: The ½ cup (packed) measurement is after the pecans have been processed. Place in the large bowl. (You do not need to clean the food processor in between steps).
- Next place the rinsed and drain black beans into the food processor and coarsely chop, then place into the large bowl with the pecans.
- Switch from the “S” blade in the food processor to the grater attachment (or hand grate using a box grater), grate 1 cup of zucchini (no need to peel). Place the grated zucchini into fine mesh strainer and push the water out of it. Then place the zucchini into a 1 cup measuring cup and press down hard several times, tilting the cup so the water drains out over the sink. Excess liquid will release from the grated zucchini and drain into the sink. Keep pressing until you measure ½ cup of grated zucchini, then add to the bowl.
- Next add all the remaining ingredients and spices into the bowl and mix well. This may take a minute or so to full incorporate all the ingredients, then the mixture should easily pull together into one large clump.
- Use the ½ measuring cup to measure out 4 burgers, then roll the burger mixture into 4 tightly compact balls, then shape the balls into flat burger disks measuring approx. 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter, and place them onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Place into a preheated 350 F oven and bake for 20 minutes, then flip over and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes to set up before serving.
Notes
*Panko Bread Crumbs: We used Ian’s Gluten Free Panko crumbs for this recipe. If you do not need to be gluten free, feel free to use any panko bread crumbs of your choosing.
*Miso: We use Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Burger Buns: You can use any burger bun you wish. If you are looking for a WFPB compliant burger bun, Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Burger Buns by Food For Life has one (it is a wheat product). We have not found a gluten free WFPB compliant burger bun. The one in the picture is a Food For Life bun for Dad who does not need to be gluten free. We ate ours in lettuce cups and wraps.
*Makes: 4 burgers
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 7 days.
*Don’t forget to make the Special Burger Sauce, it adds so much delicious flavor!
Print
Special Burger Sauce
- Prep Time: 3 Minutes
- Total Time: 3 Minutes + 10-20 Minutes Cashew Cook/Soften Time
- Yield: About 1 Cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Cuisine: American
Description
We can barely keep our excitement contained! We’ve got a new tasty dish that is sure to cover all those must haves of wholesome goodness, bursting with flavor, and ultra satisfying. We just had to name it Ultimate Healthy Vegan Black Bean Burger with Special Burger Sauce. This tasty black bean burger has a deliciously satisfying texture with perfectly crunchy exterior and a tender but not mushy interior. Annnd the the pièce de résistance is the Special Burger Sauce, but let’s be honest, we put it on everything!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons organic maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon tamari *
- 2 Tablespoons tahini
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a small bowl and cover with boiling water, set aside for 20 minutes (or fast method, place raw cashews in a small pan, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes, then briefly rinse with cold water to cool them down.)
- In the meantime, add all the remaining ingredients into a high-speed blender, set aside.
- After 20 minutes, discard the water from the cashews. Add the cashews into the high-speed blender with all the other ingredients, and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
Notes
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Makes: About 1 cup
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 7 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
I’ll take this opportunity to thank you for all the work you put into this blog. Your writing style, photos, and food styling are engaging and your blog stands out in the vegan/wfpb world. I have one suggestion to make. Perhaps you would consider formatting the recipes so that fewer pages are required to print the recipe. I often find printing your recipes results in 4 pages of text, and it would be much easier (for me, at least) if the recipes were 1-2 pages. I will certainly be making these black bean burgers, and look forward to more of… Read more »
Hi there Alexandra 🙂
Wow, thank you sooo much for your heartfelt message. We truly appreciate your kind words about our blog. It means so much to us! We truly appreciate your feedback and have definitely taken it into consideration as we want everyone to have a wonderful experience including how our recipes are written and printed. We are so excited that you’ll be trying this recipe, and we truly appreciate your wonderful support and encouragement!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Just a suggestion . . . If you click on the “Print Recipe” button, it will format the recipe to print on one page. If you are sending it to the printer without using that button, it will not print correctly, and you will have a lot of extra pages.
Ameera and Robin this burger looks so flavorful. And that sauce …. For our next burger I have to try it. 🙂
Hi there Jasmin 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words and for giving this recipe a try. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! <3
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
These were fantastic! Thank you. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your site. This is the 6th recipe I’ve made, and every last one has been great.
Hi there Julie 🙂
WOO HOO! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed these burgers, and BEYOND excited that you love our site! It means so much to us to see such wonderful feedback! We truly appreciate you and your continued support!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Love your recipes! What would you use in place of the nuts in these burgers? No nuts allowed here.
Hi there Fern 🙂
Thank you so much! We are so thrilled to hear that you love our recipes! We haven’t tried this substitution, but we are pretty sure you can substitute the nuts for cooked- refrigerated brown rice. Place the cooked refrigerated brown rice in a food processor, pulse to break it down, then measure the same amount of brown rice in place of the nuts. We hope this helps. If you try it, we’d love to know how it goes 🙂
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Made this 2 nights ago. I ran out of time to make the sauce (gotta love grand babies). But, the burgers were amazing. This is my 5th burger recipe from various WFPB sources. None of the other ones hit home for us. This one did it! Thank you!
Hi there Joan 🙂
Woo hoo!!! We are SO excited to hear that you enjoyed our burger recipe and this one hit home for you and your family. It means so much to hear your wonderful feedback, we truly appreciate you and your support!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I made this recipe this past weekend and I am happy to report that this is now my favorite black bean burger! I have struggled finding the right burger. Often they are mushy inside or fall apart. I made this recipe in advance and stored the burgers in the fridge until ready to eat. I then put them on the grill to warm up. They held up with no breaking and no mushiness either…and the flavor is delicious! I did not make the sauce, but will definitely try it next time. I’ve finally found my “go-to” black bean burger recipe.… Read more »
Hi there Chris 🙂
WOOOO HOOO! We are beyond thrilled to hear that this recipe is your new favorite black bean burger. We feel you on the burger struggle and glad this one did the trick. It’s definitely our go to burger recipe. Love that this recipe worked by making them in advance and held-up wonderfully on the grill. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
These burgers were delicious. They held together really well. Best part of all was the sauce. It was delicious. I am going to be making that a lot. It would go well with almost anything.
Also want to say that as a newbie to this woe I am so grateful to have found your site. All of the recipes I have made are so tasty. Also appreciate the nutritional info posted with the recipes. Also love that it is so easy to double recipes. Thank you for such a wonderful website.
Hi there Kim 🙂
Yaaaayyyy! We are SOOO thrilled that you enjoyed this burger and sauce. We couldn’t agree more about that tasty sauce! We are so glad to hear that our site is helping you along your plant based journey. We truly appreciate your kind words and support! Thank you so much for your heartfelt message, it means so much to us!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I made these burgers yesterday! The sauce was a nice addition. All four burgers were gone in about three minutes!! To anyone who is about to try this recipe: double it!! Triple it!! You will want more of these.
Hi there Mary 🙂
Yaaaayyy!!! We are beyond thrilled that you enjoyed these burgers and the sauce! We couldn’t agree more about making extra, they are pretty darn tasty – if we do say so ourselves. 😀 We truly appreciate your amazing feedback and taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I tried so many vegan burger recipes and this is by far the one I love! Thank you for a great recipe. Today for the first time I made the sauce. Dinner tonight is ready 🙂
Update: my husband and I had the burger with the sauce and it was soooo good. My husband became vegan 3 months ago and I’m trying hard to impress him with WFPB life style. The burger and the sauce are perfect together.
Hi there Karin 🙂
We are so thrilled to hear that you and your husband love this burger recipe and sauce; it’s definitely our go-to burger!! We truly appreciate your awesome feedback and taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Love this burger recipe and the sauce. I had more sauce than I needed so I refrigerated the left over sauce and made the burgers again for guests the following week. I received great comments from my SAD eating guests who were happily eating their meat burgers but tempted to “just maybe try a little piece”. Thanks again!
Hi there Kathy 🙂
WOOT!!! We are beyond excited that you and your guests enjoyed this burger and sauce recipe! It’s always a WIN when a SAD eater enjoys a WFPB recipe! Thank you so much for this amazing feedback and taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hello, love your site and am inspired to try these! I am on a no-oil diet for medical reasons and am not sure I can use the tahini. Any suggestions for a substitute for the tahini? thank you!
Hi there Cynthia 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us! We are so thrilled to hear you are enjoying our site. We use oil-free tahini, which is completely Whole Food Plant Based No Oil compliant. However, we do understand needing to cut back on nuts and seeds for medical reasons. The tahini is used as a binder for this recipe, unfortunately, we haven’t tested any other substitutes. If you try a different approach, we’d love to hear how it works for you.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I have made these at least 4 times
I didn’t have any zucchini last night but I did have a medium portobello mushroom cap. I ground it up after I did the pecans and they made excellent burgers.
Hi there Cindy 🙂
Yaaayyyyy!!! We are so thrilled that you’ve made this recipe many times and enjoyed it! Love how you’ve been able to adapt it – sounds SOOO yummy! Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Thank you!! I knew if I looked in the comments, someone would come to the rescue. (I don’t have a zucchini and was pondering what veg to substitute.) Portobello is perfect!
Dinner tonight! ?
I’m so glad it worked out. I’m also glad I got an email about this recipe comment. . I’m going camping this weekend and these would be great to cook ahead of time and reheat for some meals!
Is there anything we could use instead of breadcrumbs?
Hi there Mel 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. This recipe was designed for panko bread crumbs, and we don’t have a substitution for you. It’s important that the panko helps soak up the moisture in the burger to create a great texture that isn’t mushy.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Oh my, this burger is everything!! EVERYTHING!! And the sauce with it is perfect too!!
Thanks to a comment from a previous person, I was able to substitute portobello mushrooms for the zucchini (that I didn’t have).
This burger is so flavourful and satisfying. I look forward to eating them again and again.
Hi there Sandra 🙂
Oh my goodness, this is SO exciting to hear! We are super thrilled that you enjoyed this burger and sauce. Love the idea of using mushrooms – so much yum! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful feedback with us. We truly appreciate you and your support!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
My search for the perfect meatless burger is OVER!
This burger is tender and juicy and somehow still manages to keep its shape. Nothing short of magic. The sauce is the perfect complement, and pairs well with my favorite burger toppings of “grilled” (water-sautéed onions) and pickles. Thank you for sharing this magic recipe!
Hi there Lisa 🙂
Yaaaay!!! We are SUPER thrilled to hear that your search is over for the perfect meatless burger and this recipe hit the spot for you. We are doing our happy dance over here! Thank you so much for sharing your delicious additions and wonderful feedback with us! We appreciate you and your support!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I love your recipes! Everything has been amazing. Is there a substitute I can use for liquid smoke?
Hi there Beth 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words about our recipes. We are so glad that you have been enjoying the recipes that you’ve tried so far. You can use smoked paprika instead of liquid smoke.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Both the burgers and sauce are delicious! I love the inclusion of zucchini and pecans to make these black bean burgers extra special. They are firm on the outside but tender on the inside, and hold their shape. I will definitely make again! (I also love your vegan patty melt burgers!). Thanks for the great work you do to provide delicious WFPB recipes!
Hi there Dorothy 🙂
Yaaaay!!! We are so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the burgers and sauce as well as our vegan patty melt burgers – *doing a happy dance*. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful feedback with us. We appreciate your support!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hi there, love and appreciate your recipes. Could I use walnuts instead of pecans?
Hi there Meredith,
Thank you for you question. Yes, you can substitute walnuts for the pecans with the understand that the flavor will change accordingly.
-Ameera and Robin
I made these tonight with the sauce. My husband who humors me with my WFPB eating took seconds! He said the sauce really made it good! He said he didn’t think of it as a burger. We had it as an protein ingredient in a salad bowl. Yay!
Hi there Teri,
YAYYY!!! We are so happy that you and your husband enjoyed these burgers. Thank you for taking time to leave us an awesome review.
-Ameera and Robin
I made these again tonight. We still had sauce left that I had sealed in a jar in the refrigerator. It was still great. I had it on the burger and a baked potato. Hubby still loved it!
Hi there Teri,
WOOO HOOO!!!! Thank you so much!
-Ameera and Robin
I’m so picky and was very skeptical when I saw your recipe. I liked that you included zucchini and panko breadcrumbs. I made your burger and the cheese sauce. I really loved it. It wasn’t your typical black bean burger. I followed your recipe exactly and it came together quickly. I was able to make 6 patty’s and I’ll freeze what I don’t eat. This is a keeper and it’s one more recipe to add to my arsenal since I’m new to WFPB eating. Thank you!!!
Hi there Elaine,
WOOT!!!! We are thrilled that you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it. We love these patties. Thank you so much for taking time to leave us an awesome review of this recipe!
-Ameera and Robin
Yum-yum-yum!
I haven’t made the burgers yet, but I just made up a batch of the secret sauce. It is absolutely AMAZING! I have found my new favorite sauce; I can’t wait to try it on just about EVERYTHING.
Thanks for all your experiments in the kitchen, and thanks for sharing your recipes. 🙂
Hi there Teresa,
Awesome! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed our secret sauce recipe. We appreciate your support and kind words, thank you!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Wow! These burgers truly are the ULTIMATE black bean burgers. The structure and texture are excellent. There is no mushy middle. The flavor of the burger is wonderful. And the special burger sauce is AMAZING; I can’t wait to dip some french fries in it.
I have photos that I would love to add, but I can’t find a way to do it.
I can give up ground beef burgers for the rest of my life is this is my alternate choice. Thanks again!
Hi there Teresa,
WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! We are thrilled that you gave this recipe and the special burger sauce a try and enjoyed them both! Thank you so much for taking time to write us an awesome review! We sincerely appreciate it.
-Ameera and Robin
Can these veggie burgers be frozen? And if so would you freeze them before or after they are cooked? Mine are in the oven right now and I can hardly wait to try them. They were fast and easy to make. I actually doubled the recipe!
Hi there Kathy,
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We apologize for the late response. Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Yes, these burgers can be frozen. We like to freeze them after baking this way we can grab one out of the freezer, warm it up, and enjoy for a quick meal.
-Ameera and Robin
I love your recipes!! I have tried 7 different ones, andALL are so amazing and yummy. I want to make these tomorrow. Problem is I don’t have a food processor. Can I use my high speed blender? Thank you soo much for all you do! I hope someday you publish a cookbook!!
Hi there Paula, Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We truly appreciate your kind words and support. We are so glad that you have been enjoying our recipes! We apologize for the late response in regards to your question. We don’t really think the high speed blender is conducive for chopping the ingredients without turning it to a paste. The funnel shape of the blender will cause a paste to form at the bottom while the top won’t get chopped. And it will probably be difficult to maneuver the ingredients around to get an even chop. -Ameera and… Read more »
This burger was the best I have tried by far. I am not a cheese fan but I did make it too and it was very good. I have enjoyed every recipe of yours that I have tried . Thank you for taking the boredom out of my cooking.
Hi there Kathy,
YAYYY!!! We are thrilled that you gave this burger a try and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your kind words. We appreciate you and your support!!!
-Ameera and Robin
I absolutely ADORE these burgers! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.. I ended up making way too much of the special sauce, can it be frozen?
Hi there Kimberly,
WOO HOOO!!! We are so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. We appreciate the awesome review. You can freeze the sauce, with some wateriness like you would experience with most frozen sauces.
-Ameera and Robin