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Mediterranean Black Bean Quinoa Burgers with Red Onion Basil Aioli

by on March 10, 2010 in Beans, Burgers, Vegan 'Meat'

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Weekly Wednesday Wrap-Up to bring you the best vegan burger in the world.

So sorry to skip WWW, folks, but a combination of too much work and this delicious burger, has convinced me to give it a miss this week. But you will not be dissapointed with this burger as a replacement. It really is pure win.

To me, texture in a veggie burger is just as important as taste. And it always seems that the only veggie burgers that please me with their texture contain TVP or vital wheat gluten. Unfortunately neither of those things sit well with my hubby’s tummy, so I’m always looking for healthier alternatives…and I’ve finally found it!

This burger combines a savory background of black beans and liquid smoke with the bright tang of sun dried tomatoes to create a mind blowing, taste bud thrilling Mediterranean extravaganza! The texture is nice and chewy all thanks to a healthy dose of quinoa, chickpea flour and flax seed. When you plop this patty onto a toasted bun and top with the rich herby goodness of the aioli and serve with a side of lemon rosemary fries you’ve got a dinner you won’t soon forget.

Black Bean Burger
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed and roughly smashed
2/3 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup chickpea flour (with additional 2Tbsp if needed)
1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, the soft kind marinated in oil
1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water, microwaved for 20 seconds
2 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste

- Combine all of the ingredients and form into 4 large patties

- Allow the patties to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then fry in a drizzle of olive oil until brown and crispy on both sides

Red Onion Basil Aioli

No specific recipe here, just mix a chopped red onion, a few diced garlic cloves and chopped fresh basil with lots of vegan mayo and there you go! Easy and delicious.

Lemon Rosemary Potatoes

Again, no recipe needed. Just chop 4 potatoes into fries, toss well with olive oil and bake on 400F till they are all nice and crispy. Pull them out of the oven and, right onto the pan, squeeze out the juice of one lemon and toss with a handful of fresh chopped rosemary. Beautiful!

Post Author

Tasha

This post was written by who has written 190 posts on Voracious.

  • http://www.maplespice.com Debbie

    That looks seriously delicious!! I must get my hands on some liquid smoke….and I love the idea of the Aioli – yummy!

  • http://showmevegan.blogspot.com Lisa (ShowMeVegan)

    yum, this one is bookmarked now!

  • http://theemptynutjar.wordpress.com theemptynutjar

    Wow – nice creation!

  • http://glutenfreewelshy.wordpress.com Sarah

    Oh my word, that looks delish! And it’s gluten-free, woo woo! Totally worth postponing WWW methinks. Might try making it for dinner tonight… I’m bookmarking it nonetheless x

  • http://haikutofu.blogspot.com Trinity

    That looks awesome! Have a great weekend.

  • http://www.fullofbeansblog.blogspot.com Kiersten

    Healthy and delicious!

  • http://ordinaryvegetarian.blogspot.com The Ordinary Vegetarian

    Well, I’m sold! I love the short list of super tasty ingredients. Of course sometimes the simplest things are best.

  • http://www.seitanismymotor.com Mihl

    These sound so easy and absolutely delicious! I have to make them soon. How big were the cans of black beans you used?

    • thevoraciousvegan

      About 15oz, I think!

  • http://veganburnout.blogspot.com Shannon

    WHY did I read this before lunch? My poor lil PB&J just can’t compare!

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  • http://www.dairyfreebetty.com Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty

    Wow, it all I can say! Seriously those look out of this world!! I added them to my MUST MAKE list!! Watch for a blog post soon!

    xo Jess

  • http://therawproject.com Christine (The Raw Project)

    This looks brilliantly delicious and something I can share with hubby. Thanks!

  • http://www.girlonraw.com Girlonraw

    I’m hearing ya re trying to find the perfect vegan burgers, it is tough but this looks eerily like a REAL burger. Wow. And where did you get the burger bun from??

  • http://wheres-the-beach.blogspot.com/ Heather (Where’s the Beach)

    Oh my these sound fantastic. I’m always up for a new veggie burger/bean patty recipe!

  • http://www.thedomesticvegan.com Jess – The Domestic Vegan

    These look absolutely incredible! I need to make these ASAP!

  • http://vegancrunk.blogspot.com/ Bianca- Vegan Crunk

    That is one sexy-lookin’, “meaty” burger! I love the color the black beans give the patty.

  • http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com Shelley

    omg these sound amazing and they do look like a legit burger!! haha

  • http://moretolifethanlettuce.wordpress.com Stef

    such a creative burger, i think i’d LOVE those flavor combos! nice work, as always

  • http://www.pure2raw.com Pure2Raw Twins

    What that burger looks amazing :) Love it!

  • http://happyveganface.blogspot.com jessy

    i LOVE me a tasty bean burger, Tasha – and yours looks ammmmmmazing! the quinoa and sun-drieds sound like tasty touches, and i’m all over your aioli! mmmmmmmm! those lemony potatoes sound perfect with your burgers, too. thanks so much for the recipe! yay!

  • http://prideandvegudice.com Nora

    don’t apologize for posting what looks to be a to-die-for recipe!

  • http://veganmindedblog.com Jessie (Vegan-minded)

    Yum, these look delicious and so simple! This post reminds me that I need to make home-made burgers more often. And the red onion aioli looks perfect to me! :)

  • http://bittsblog.blogspot.com bitt

    for a minute i thought that was real meat! for afar it looked like charbroiled meat. very convincing.

  • http://glutenfreewelshy.wordpress.com Sarah

    Btw, do you think it would work without the liquid smoke? Can’t find any. Good luck with you work, hope it’s not too stressful xxx

    • thevoraciousvegan

      Sure it would! Try subbing in some soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, or even a few pinches of cumin. Even without anything it will still work.

  • http://www.vegansoulpower.blogspot.com t

    This looks like such an amazing flavor combo! I’ve been missing burgers too much in Europe, I have got to make some soon. And those buns look delish!

  • http://cupcakepunk.wordpress.com Jes

    I’m oh so hungry now! The quinoa as texture does sound perfect–what a great idea!

  • http://www.choosingraw.com Gena

    This burger looks AMAZING! I love that it’s not loaded with TVP or soy. Yay! I can’t wait to try it — thanks for a lovely, lovely dish.

  • http://myadventuresinveg.blogspot.com Aoife – Adventures in Veg

    They look amazing! Love that there’s no TVP or wheat gluten (we can’t get the latter here). Yum yum! Anything with quinoa in it’s gonna be a hit.

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  • http://happyhearthappymind.wordpress.com/ Jen Sanders

    This looks absolutely heavenly!!! I can not wait to try it! I think I could even convince my carnivorous husband to eat one!!!

    One question though… where do you find chickpea flour???

    • thevoraciousvegan

      I live in Saudi Arabia and chickpea flour/besan/garbanzo bean flour, can be found at almost all the grocery tores since it is a staple in local cooking.

    • cricket07

      we can find it here in small town canada at our local health and bulk food store.

  • http://www.makinggoodchoicesblog.com Nicole @ Making Good Choices

    Wow, these burgers look so good. I tried to make black bean burgers a couple of weeks ago and they failed miserably. I will have to try your recipe!

  • http://www.veganintennessee.blogspot.com Alicia B.

    Mmmmm, looks good. I am always looking for more veggie burger options that are not processed. I’m going to try this one. Thanks.

  • http://www.thegluttonousvegan.com Naomi Rose

    OH MY GOODNESS. You are killing me with this! Must make!!!

  • http://onlymomentalone.wordpress.com/ lance

    Wow, that burger looks absolutely stunning! Can’t wait to try this recipe out.

  • http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com Marla

    What a goddess you are! I know that the flavor and texture combination will be amazing. Thank you for sharing. Yum! These are definitely on my “must make soon!” list.

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  • http://www.amandajohn.com Amanda

    This sounds superb, dried tomatoes rock, but can’t get liquid smoke either, so what is your opinion of substituting aromatic bitters(Angostura) for the liquid smoke? Do you use/know of the bitters I’m talking about?,they use it in England too.

    • thevoraciousvegan

      I am not familiar with aromatic bitters, but if you think it tastes good then it will probably only make the burger taste better so give it a try.

  • Dave

    I made THESE burgers TONIGHT! I put BEANS and stuff into a bowl and WADDED it up and smashed IT into flippers then I FRIED them!

  • Tonie

    Now I know what’s for supper tomorrow.

  • http://www.dadpages.com Jon

    Make your own delicious Vegan Cashew Aioli.

    ½ cup raw cashews
    3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (O.K., sometimes I cheat and use bottled.)
    1/4 cup water
    ½ cup canola oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
    pinch of salt
    3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (use more or less depending how garlicky you like it)

    Makes 1 cup. Place the cashews into a blender. Process until the cashews are ground as finely as you can get them. Add the lemon juice and water and process until smooth. Add the oil slowly, and process until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add the salt and process a minute longer. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.

    • thevoraciousvegan

      Thanks for that, sounds delicious!

  • http://frugalglutenfreekids.blogspot.com Jen

    WOW! I am so trying these! With Celiac’s and two kids in the house I am always looking for healthy, gluten free ideas! This sounds fantastic! Thanks!

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  • Bonnie

    I made this the other week and it was absolutely the best black bean burger recipe I’ve had to date!

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  • http://cchronicle.com/author/kenda-swartz-pepper/ Kenda Swartz Pepper

    Looks fantabulous! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! Thanks!

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  • http://www.vegadeli.com VegaDeli – 100% Vegan Cafe

    I added sun dried tomatoes to this burger. Delicious.
    VegaDeli.com

  • Spaghett

    Would you say that if you’re eating this you KNOW your gonna be having a good time?

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  • Gigi

    Mmmm, these look delicious! If I was unable to get quinoa or flax seed, what would you (or anyone?) think I might substitute for them..? Thanks :D

    • thevoraciousvegan

      Those are two really important ingredients, but if you can’t find them maybe substitute couscous or barley or millet for the quinoa, and for the flax seed you could try vegan egg replacer, can you get that? Flax seeds when ground up and heated up in water create a very egg like consistency and they bind the mix beautifully, so it is hard to think of a substitute. If anyone else has any ideas please share!

      • liz

        hey – ground chia seeds gel up when mixed with water, just like flax seed. no need to heat them up though.

  • provencal

    Great recipe, but you can’t just call anything having to do with mayonnaise “aioli” to make it sound fancier.

    • thevoraciousvegan

      Thanks. And seeing as how aioli is a sauce made of mayonaisse and garlic I think I was being pretty accurate. There’s nothing fancy about aioli, although I’m flattered you would think so.

  • http://twitgift.me Jerome

    This is wonderful. It looks like a meat burger :) … (Thinking about adding catsup on it) :D

  • Matt

    Made these twice now and they are a hit! They hold together really well (a common fault I find with veg burgers) I didn’t have any liquid smoke, so I used smoked paprika instead. They are definitely going into the regular recipe rotation!!

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  • gazella

    I made these last night. I thought the flavouring was excellent, and I especially liked the basil mayo sauce, and the addition of sun dried tomatoes. However, I didn’t find the texture was all that much better from just regular beans. My burgers still were mushy, and lacked chewiness, even after sitting in the fridge overnight. I thought about doubling the flour/quinoa/flax but I’m not sure if that will make much difference.

    • thevoraciousvegan

      Sorry about that! I’m not sure I have any advice, can’t figure out what went wrong. The chewy texture is my favorite part of these burgers. Glad you liked the taste, at least! :-)

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  • Barefoot

    They are beautiful! I’m going to make them tomorrow night for a dinner gather of friends. Just to clarify, from my understanding aioli is a mayonaise-like thing that doesn’t have egg in it. Most mayo’s do contain egg… But I’m pretty sure that is the only difference!

  • http://www.goodnessbakeshop.com goodnessbaker

    Hi, I included your burger in my list of 50 favourite vegan recipes :) Thanks!

    http://www.goodnessbakeshop.com/2011/04/goodness-bakers-50-favegan-recipes.html

  • angie

    made this last night, & it was super good. especially love how the aioli just tops off the flavors. yum!