Vegan Teriyaki Burgers made with Black Beans

Vegan Teriyaki Burgers are a fun change from the standard veggie burger! They're made with black beans and topped with grilled pineapple, and are full of flavor. This recipe was inspired by the very first veggie burger I ever ate in 1992 at a burger joint in California. These easy to make burgers are vegan and gluten-free.

Teriyaki Veggie Burgers

Teriyaki has always had a special place in my heart.

When I was little, we ate out at fast food places often, but we only went to real restaurants when my Poppop visited. We would almost always go to a place called Charley’s Other Brother, and I would order chicken teriyaki and a Shirley Temple. I always looked forward to Poppop’s visits, and I loved going out to eat.

In my early 20s when I was transitioning to vegetarianism, Poppop and I went to visit my aunt in California. We went to a dinner that only served burgers. You could get a burger made pretty much any way you could imagine. They had peanut butter and jelly burgers, a chili cheese burger, and yes, even a teriyaki burger. Diners had the option of beef burgers, turkey burgers, or veggie burgers. I had my very first veggie burger there, and of course I ordered it teriyaki style, complete with grilled pineapple. I still remember it fondly, even though I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the restaurant.

Vegan Teriyaki Burgers with Black Beans

With that very first veggie burger in mind, I created my own recipe for Teriyaki Black Bean Burgers. These burgers take me back to that very first veggie burger, and enjoying the sunshine of California with Poppop. I'm sure those burgers were made with tvp or seitan, but I've opted for black beans here.

How To Make Vegan Teriyaki Burgers

These burgers are easy to make!

• First you whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. You cook the glaze, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken.
• Next you pulse the rolled oats in a food processor until it resembles a coarse flour.
• Then you add the brown rice, black beans, chickpea flour, and scallion to the food processor along with ¼ cup of the teriyaki glaze. You pulse until everything together until it resembles a thick paste.
• Now you form the mixture into 4 patties.
• You place the patties on a baking sheet that's been covered in parchment paper. Brush about half of the remaining teriyaki glaze onto the burgers and bake them for 20 minutes in a 400° degree oven.
• Now you flip the burgers and brush them with the rest of the glaze and then bake them for another 10 minutes.
• While the burgers are cooking, you grill the onion slices and pineapple rings on an outdoor grill or with a grill pan on your stovetop.
• Assemble your burgers by spreading the spicy mayo, if you're using it, on your buns. Place the burgers on the buns, and top them with the tomato slices, lettuce leaves, grilled onions, and pineapple rings.

Spicy Vegan Mayo

I like to use Follow Your Heart's Sriracha Vegenaise on these burgers. The spice complements the teriyaki nicely. If you can't find Follow Your Heart's mayo in your grocery store, you can make your own. Just add a little sriracha to your mayo until it reaches the heat level you prefer. You can use store-bought or homemade mayo.

Chickpea Flour

I use chickpea flour in this recipe as a binder, to help hold the burgers together. Other flours won't work the same way chickpea flour does. Chickpea flour is made from ground chickpeas, of course! It’s sometimes called garbanzo bean flour, besan, or gram flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes a garbanzo and fava combo flour that will also work in this recipe, if you can’t find garbanzo flour on its own.

How to Customize Your Vegan Teriyaki Burgers

You can easily make this recipe your own!

• Instead of black beans, you can use chickpeas or lentils.
• You can top your burgers with any of your favorite fixin's. I like to add coleslaw to mine.
• If you like your burgers spicy, you can add a teaspoon or two of sriracha to the teriyaki sauce.
• If you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure your buns are gluten-free.
• Instead of a bun, you can serve your burgers on a bed of brown rice with steamed veggies.

Other veggie burgers you might enjoy include:

• Chipotle Lentil Burgers
• Hajiki Tofu Burgers
• Hoppin’ John Burgers
• Walnut Lentil Burgers