Spicy Black Turtle Bean Burgers
The other day I came across a bag of black turtle beans that had recently gone out of date at the back of my cupboard. I’d been sent them last year and at the time I created some delicious Flavours of Brazil Turkey Burgers with Bacon and Pineapple. So a huge wave of guilt came over me for allowing the beans to languish unloved for all this time.
They looked in pristine condition so I decided that the best course of action would be to cook them all and then I could used them to make something and freeze the rest for another day.
So after a 12 hour soak I boiled the beans up and after a busy day really didn’t feel in the mood for cooking but knew I had to do something so I decided to make Spicy Black Turtle Bean Burgers as I’d made chickpea ones before which were delicious.
I started Googling recipes and just grew a little frustrated as they all seemed to mention frying onions first for 10 minutes and adding them to the burgers. I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of faff (tell the truth I don’t think I ever am) so decided to work on the principle that these were like Frikadeller which use grated onion. Then I just needed to add some flavour which came in the form of sweetcorn, sriracha sauce (a new favourite here), cayenne pepper and some chopped coriander.
To make these burgers extra yummy I decided to add some grated mature cheddar.

Honestly, who needs beef burgers!
I was tempted to taste the raw mixture but as it contained raw egg I decided against it so had to wait until the burgers had cooked to know if they were any good.
Well I needn’t have worried as my family absolutely loved them. My hubby even said he preferred them to beef burgers (a closet vegetarian perhaps)?! I was going to put the rest of the beans in the freezer but I’ve been asked if we can have them again tonight which suits me as I have the rest of a large tin of sweetcorn to use up.
These burgers are so easy to make and so much healthier than a beef burger I know we will be having these a lot. Using a bag of beans is much cheaper than buying them tinned and I would advise cooking the whole bag up and freezing what you don’t use which saves on your fuel bill.
I do hope you make these quick and easy burgers as I can’t recommend them highly enough and if you do cook up a whole bag of black turtle beans then here are some ideas of how to use the rest:
- Flavours of Brazil Turkey Burgers with Bacon & Pineapple
- Veggie Packed Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
- Chipotle Black Bean Burgers
- Barbecue Beef Feijoada with Spicy Sweetcorn
- Vegetarian Encheladas
As this dish is so frugal I’m entering it into Credit Crunch Munch which is run by myself and Fuss Free Flavours and this month hosted by Jen’s Kitchen. Also as these burgers are meat free I’m entering them into Tinned Tomatoes Meat Free Mondays challenge. I’m also entering Extra Veg which is run by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy. Finally as I used up my black beans I’m entering Elizabeth’s Kitchen’s No Waste Food Challenge.
Spicy Black Turtle Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 400 g Cooked black turtle beans 200g raw weight (or just under 2 tins of black beans)
- ½ Egg lightly beaten
- ½ Red onion large, grated
- 2 Cloves garlic crushed
- 165 g Tin of sweetcorn
- 1 Slice of wholemeal bread whizzed into breadcrumbs
- 2 tblsp Chopped coriander leaf I used frozen
- 50 g Extra mature Cheddar cheese grated
- 1 tbsp Sriracha Sauce or to taste hot chilli sauce
- ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
- Flour for dusting
- 125 mls Rapeseed oil
Instructions
- Put 300g of the beans in a bowl and blend to a paste with a stick blender (or use a food blender).
- Next mix in beaten egg and grated onion to loosen the mixture.
- The add all the other ingredients (except the oil) including the rest of the black beans and mix well with a wooden spoon until you have a large ball of paste.
- Divide the paste into 4 equal portions and make into patties on a well floured surface to coat the burgers.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry for 5 – 8 minutes per side until cooked through and golden.
- Serve with extra sriracha sauce, burger buns and a salad.
Amanda
Wondering the nutrition factor
Camilla
I’m afraid I don’t provide that service but there are websites where you can plumb in the ingredients list and it will work out the calories etc.
Alison
Hello, can you make recipe and refrigerate and fry burgers off later in evening?
Camilla
Hi Alison, yes that would work perfectly:-)
Seep
Hello,
I loved this recipe and made it too❤️but what can I replace egg with if i want to make it vegan?
Camilla
Hi Seep, I haven’t tried this but have heard about chia egg which you can find here: https://minimalistbaker.com/make-chia-egg/
Sue
I bought some black turtle beans in a store that were reduced but had no idea what to do with them until I found the recipe for spicy black turtle bean burgers. I made them at the weekend and they were really easy an tasty. Great tip to soak and cook the whole packet. I made double the quantity so that I could freeze them. I actually cooked them in the oven as I already had the oven on for something else. 15 minutes and they were done. Next time I would add double the quantity of egg to bind the mixture a bit more but otherwise I would give it 5 stars.
Camilla
Excellent Sue, glad you enjoyed them.
Maya Russell
I’m trying to eat less meat. These burgers look great!
Amy Fidler
Ideal for veggie guests at summer BBQ’S x
Camilla
Yes, good idea:-)
Lisa Williams
I love a vegie meal sometimes I prefer them to meat and this looks so good 🙂
Camilla
This is actually my favourite burger over beef now:-)
Martina Evans
Fantastic recipe and idea, can’t wait to try it. Thanks Camilla!
Camilla
Thanks Martina, I’m sure you’ll love them. I just bought some more black turtle beans in order to make them again:-)
GeorgeW78
These look & sound lovely and great value too! Definitely one to add to my list of recipes to try, thanks 🙂
Camilla
Thanks, such a hit here, I’m sure you’ll love them:-)
Maya Russell
I will be calling black beans black turtle beans from now on. Great recipe – I always seem to have packets of beans to use up. I’d add chopped onion for myself – I keep a bag of chopped, frozen onion in the freezer which is nice when you want to make a quick meal.
Camilla
Good idea Maya;-)