Spicy cheesy bean burgers, coated in breadcrumbs and fried until golden and crispy. A brilliant fast-food style dinner that’s meat-free and tastes so good! Serve it up to the meat-eaters and they’ll be asking for seconds!
Having worked at fast food restaurants through school, college and university, I tried everything on the menus over about 6 years!
I’m not a vegetarian, but certain veggie burgers on the menu were so good, I often chose them over beef or chicken burgers.
Now, when I say ‘veggie’ – I mean vegetarian – not vegetable (if you want a vegetable-filled veggie burger, this cheesy vegetable burger is my favourite).
These bean burgers are reminiscent of the old-style Burger King® and Wimpy® bean burgers, given an upgrade with the addition of cheese IN the burger (inspo from the veggie burgers from the fried chicken place I also used to work at!).
I’m even going old school with the lettuce, tomato, mayo and ketchup toppings. None of the fancy dips and unusual additions here!
📋 Ingredients
- Tinned beans – Kidney beans and black beans
- Gram (chickpea) flour – to help bind the burgers without making the mixture heavy or gluey
- Seasonings – tom puree (paste in USA), Cajun spice, garlic powder, onion pwder, salt and pepper
- Cheese – for obvious cheesy reasons
- Coating – flour, eggs, golden breadcrumbs, plus oil for frying
- Burger buns and fixings
How to make Spicy Bean Burgers
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Pulse the beans in a food processor and pulse until you have a lumpy paste. Then transfer to a bowl
- Add the seasonings and cheese and mix, then form into four patties
- Coat each pattie in flour, then egg, then the golden breadcrumbs. See the breadcrumbed and not-yet-breadcrumbed burgers here:
- Fry in oil until golden.
- Pile up with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and ketchup in burger buns and serve.
Pro Tip
Make sure you use enough oil in your pan to come at least halfway up the sides of the burgers when frying. This means the burger will be uniformly cooked and golden by frying and turning once during the frying process.
Now let’s have a look at that burger on the inside….😍
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- Air fryer Chips or Oven Chips
- If you enjoy making bread, try my homemade brioche buns
- Drizzle on some sweet chilli sauce or bang bang sauce
Would you make this for your next meat-free dinner?
🍲 More fantastic meat-free meals
They are a bit drier when baking or air frying, but yes, you can if you prefer.
Brush/spray the burgers with oil then air-fry for 10-12 minutes at 200C/400F, until golden and cooked through. Alternatively oven-bake on a tray at 200C/400F (fan) for 15-20 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Yes, make up the burgers (but don’t cook) then refrigerate or freeze in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between each burger to prevent them sticking together.
Fry straight from the fridge – adding an extra minute to the cooking time.
Or fry straight from the freezer – adding an extra 2-3 minutes to the cooking time. Check they’re piping hot throughout before serving.
Quickly cool the cooked burgers, then refrigerate or freeze in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between each burger to prevent them sticking together.
Reheat straight from the fridge, uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 15-20 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Or reheat the straight from the freezer, uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 22-24 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
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Veggie Bean Burger
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) tin kidney beans drained – but reserve the liquid
- 400 g (14 oz) tin black beans drained
- 1 tbsp tomato puree (paste in USA)
- 20 g (1/4 cup) gram flour also known as chickpea flour or besan
- 1 tbsp cajun spice
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 150 g (1 1/3 cups) grated mature cheddar cheese
- 60 g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- 100 g (2 cups) fine golden breadcrumbs (I use Paxo – you can replace with panko + 1 tsp paprika if you can't find golden breadcrumbs)
- 240 ml (1 cup) oil for frying
Toppings:
- brioche buns sliced in half and toasted
- slices of burger cheese (i.e Kraft slices)
- ketchup
- tomato slices
- shredded romaine lettuce
- mayonnaise
Instructions
- Place the kidney beans and black beans into a food processor and pulse a few times until you have a lumpy paste (I like it with a bit of texture).400 g (14 oz) tin kidney beans, 400 g (14 oz) tin black beans
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the tomato puree, gram flour, Cajun spice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, grated cheese and two tablespoon of the drained liquid from the Kidney beans (or use water if you forgot to save it). Stir with a spoon until combined.20 g (1/4 cup) gram flour, 1 tbsp cajun spice, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 150 g (1 1/3 cups) grated mature cheddar cheese, 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Place flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs in three separate shallow bowls.60 g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 2 eggs, 100 g (2 cups) fine golden breadcrumbs
- Split the bean mixture into four portions and shape into four patties. Coat each pattie first in the flour, then the egg (make sure it's fully covered), then in the breadcrumbs.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet over a medium-high heat and fry the burgers for 3-4 minutes each side) until golden and crispy.240 ml (1 cup) oil for frying
- Assemble the burgers by placing the burgers on the base, followed by the burger cheese, ketchup, sliced tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise. Add the top half of the bun and serve.brioche buns, slices of burger cheese, ketchup, shredded romaine lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato slices
Notes
Brush/spray the burgers with oil then air-fry for 10-12 minutes at 200C/400F, until golden and cooked through. Alternatively oven-bake on a tray at 200C/400F (fan) for 15-20 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Fry straight from the fridge – adding an extra minute to the cooking time.
Or fry straight from the freezer – adding an extra 2-3 minutes to the cooking time. Check they’re piping hot throughout before serving.
Reheat straight from the fridge, uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 15-20 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Or reheat the straight from the freezer, uncovered, in a single layer, on a baking tray, in the oven at 180C/350F (fan) for 22-24 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Nutritional Information is approximate, per veggie burger – NOT including bun, cheese slices and sauces.
- Adding 1 brioche bun, 1 slice of burger cheese, 1 tablespoon of ketchup and 1 tablespoons of full-fat mayo for each burger will add approx 300 calories per burger. Which is a hefty calorie amount, but it’s a filling burger.
- *Note* I’ve calculated for 1 tablespoon of oil, being absorbed into each burger during the frying process. This may vary for you.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I can’t wait to try this. My kids are vegetarian, and I am always trying to find something different. The only change I suggest for air fryer or baking is that I add a couple of tablespoons of oil to my egg mixture for coating. 🙂
Obvious question, can I sub the gram with wheat flour?
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH for sharing this recipe! I have loved the Burger King Bean Burgers and so disappointed that they discontinued it!