Nut

Nutty Veggie Burgers

September  6, 2019
4.5
10 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Makes 10 burgers
Author Notes

If you don’t have (or want to use) a food processor, just swap in 1/4 cup nut or seed butter and 1/4 cup chopped nuts and/or seeds. A few great options that you can mix and match: sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, and cashews. The blend of nuts makes for a more exciting flavor overall, but you can just go with your favorite. Pre-toasted nuts and seeds are perfectly fine here; however, toasting your own (at 325°F for 7 to 15 minutes depending on the nut) brings more depth of flavor—and wouldn’t you want all that toasty goodness in your burger? —Rebecca Firkser

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Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup mixture of unsalted, toasted, chopped nuts and/or seeds (see Author Notes for ideas), divided
  • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
  • 1 cup finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 teaspoons chile powder
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons almond flour
  • Kosher salt
  • Olive oil
  • Whole-wheat English muffins, or your preferred burger bun (these burgers are on the small side)
  • Burger fixins: lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, pickle chips, ketchup, mustard, special sauce, yogurt sauce—whatever your heart desires!
Directions
  1. To make in a food processor: Pulse 1/4 cup nuts and seeds in a food processor until a smooth paste forms. (Feel free to skip this step and just place nut butter in the container). Add half the beans, mushrooms, garlic, chile powder, and pulse until mixture is combined and the beans have started to slightly puree (you’re not looking for chopped beans here, but you’re also not looking for bean dip). Add in remaining half of the beans and pulse once or twice more (this time, you do just want to chop/gently mash). Turn the mixture out into a large bowl.
  2. To make by hand (see Author Notes): In a large bowl, mash beans most of the way with a potato masher. Stir in 1/4 cup nut butter, mushrooms, garlic, and chile powder.
  3. Mix in chopped nuts and seeds, 3 tablespoons almond flour, and season with salt. Pick up a bit of the mixture and squish it—if it holds together, move onto the next step. If not, add more flour by the tablespoon. Form into 10 patties (about a heaping 1/4 cup of mixture each). If not cooking right away, refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or freeze for up to 3 months.
  4. To cook the burgers, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook patties in batches (about 3 burgers at a time) for 3 to 5 minutes per side, turning carefully, as these burgers are a bit delicate, adding more oil for each batch.
  5. Serve burgers on English muffins with your desired fixins.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

2 Reviews

Libby D. April 1, 2021
In spite of chilling these blobs of wet mix for over an hour and using the maximum amount of almond flour, they would not hold together.
They were impossible to turn over.
They seem to need a better binder, possible a cooked grain and/or an egg.
They tasted good (with the addition of coriander and Worcestershire sauce) but never came close to being a burger. They remained wet blobs with browned bits.
Disappointing to have all that clean up for what I produced.
Lovetoeat April 23, 2020
We loved them! The nuts added a layer of texture that pulled the other ingredients together! They were better than beef burgers! Healthier for our body and easier for the digestive system! Thank you! I'm passing this recipe on!