An explosion of umami, these mushroom and kidney bean burgers can be served with your favorite condiments, yet are tasty enough to eat on their own or over greens. Isn’t it great how everyone’s fallen back in love with beans these days (or embracing them for the first time)?
Joe Yonan’s book, Cool Beans, couldn’t be more timely. Here’s what Joe has to say about his kidney bean burger recipe:
Tips for making great vegan burgers
- “The key to such good texture: mushrooms and beans, chopped and mixed by hand (the food processor can make things too mushy).”
- “I up the proportion of beans (of course) from his original, add walnuts for even more texture, and bake them first, let them cool, then fry or grill them.”
- “If you’re short on time, you can fry them immediately after forming; they’ll still be good, just not as perfect.”
Reprinted with permission from Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes by Joe Yonan © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photography credit: Aubrie Pick © 2020.
Cool Beans by Joe Yonan is available wherever books are sold.
Joe Yonan is the Food and Dining editor of The Washington Post, supervising food coverage in the features department. He is the author of Cool Beans (Ten Speed Press, February 2020), the editor of America The Great Cookbook (Weldon Owen, 2017) and has written two other cookbooks for Ten Speed: Eat Your Vegetables (2013) and Serve Yourself (2011). He writes The Post’s Weeknight Vegetarian column. Visit him at JoeYonan.com.
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Mushroom and Kidney Bean Burgers

An explosion of umami, these mushroom and kidney bean burgers can be served with your favorite condiments, yet are delicious enough to eat on their own or over greens.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 11/2 cups cooked or 15-ounce can no-salt-added red kidney beans (drained and rinsed), lightly mashed with a fork
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 tablespoon liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or tamari
- 3/4 cup chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for oiling the measuring cup
To serve
- 6 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
- Condiments and accompaniments of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When it shimmers, add the onion and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the chipotle, cumin, and salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the cremini and shiitake mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms exude their liquid. Continue cooking until the liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
- Add the kidney beans, walnuts, liquid aminos, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, and lime juice and stir to thoroughly combine. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Lightly oil a 1/2-cup measure. Use it to scoop out six portions and use your wet hands to form them into large patties, about 5 inches across and 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Place the patties on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake until firm and dry on the outside, about 30 minutes, flipping them over about halfway through. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
- At this point, you can wrap the patties in plastic wrap, seal them in zip-top bags, and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw them thoroughly before proceeding.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add as many patties as will fit without overcrowding.
- Fry until browned and crisp on the bottom, about 5 minutes, then carefully flip them over and fry until browned and crisp on the other side, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
- Serve on buns with your preferred condiments and accompaniments.
See lots more easy recipes for vegan sandwiches & wraps.
Best bean burger recipe ever. The flavours, the way the burgers hold, the wonderful idea of baking then frying the little gems.. it’s all brilliant.
I had run out of chickpea flour so used 1/2 cup gluten and 1/4 oats. That worked very well too.
Thank you So Much for sharing! 🙂
Thank you, and kudos to Joe Yonan, food editor of the Washington Post, who contributed this recipe. Glad you liked it!