These easy Vegan Beet Burgers with Brown Rice and Chickpeas are sweet, earthy, and flavorful. They’re great for a weeknight dinner with fries and perfect for a summer BBQ.
*This post was originally published on Aug. 24, 2014. I’ve updated and republished it here with new photos and text. The recipe is the same as the original but is not served with tahini sauce or crispy kale.
Summer isn’t officially here yet, but we’ve been having perfect weather lately, and it’s time to start planning those BBQs and outdoor parties. These Vegan Beet Burgers are healthy, flavorful, and colorful!
I like to roast my beets for these burgers because roasting adds much more flavor than raw beets offer.
Vegan Beet Burger Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beets – I recommend using fresh beets for this recipe. I’ve tried it using packaged, cooked beets and their texture didn’t work well and added more moisture than needed to this beet burger recipe. I’ve seen beet burgers made with raw beets, but for this recipe, I like to roast them for the added flavor and nice texture.
- Chickpeas – I use one can of cooked, rinsed chickpeas. If you don’t have chickpeas, white beans can be substituted.
- Brown Rice – I like to use brown rice for these burgers because it holds the burgers together and adds some bulk. I have not tried the recipe using white rice or quinoa, but both should work well.
- Fresh Herbs – I added fresh thyme and parsley to these beet burgers. Thyme complements the earthy flavor of the beets, and parsley is an affordable herb that adds freshness. You can also add fresh or dried rosemary if you like.
- Balsamic Vinegar – Balsamic vinegar and beets go together so well! Balsamic adds some acid and complements the sweetness of the beets. I add just one Tablespoon, but it helps make these vegan beet burgers amazing!
- Garlic – I love garlic, so I added about three cloves. You can use as much garlic as you life. Garlic powder can be used in place of fresh garlic if desired. I suggest about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon granulated garlic.
- Salt and Pepper – I season both the roasted beets and the beet burger with salt and pepper to taste.
- Olive Oil – I used olive oil to roast the beets and cook the beet burgers. You can use your preferred oil.
- Hamburger Buns – Use whatever kind of hamburger buns you prefer; bread would work, too. If you’re doing low carb, you could also go bunless and make a veggie burger bowl with these.
- Burger Toppings – You can use any toppings you like for these beet burgers. A few that I recommend are lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, vegan mayo, ketchup, mustard, tahini sauce, goat cheese, etc.
How To Make Easy Vegan Beet Burgers with Brown Rice and Chickpeas
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Wash, peel, and dice your beets into bite-sized pieces. Add diced beets to a large sheet pan, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast beets for about 40-45 minutes until they are cooked through and fork tender. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a food processor, add the chickpeas, brown rice, thyme, parsley, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper.Pulse a couple of times to start breaking up the ingredients. Then, add the roasted beets and lightly pulse until the burger mixture has come together, but you can still see a couple of chunks of the rice. You don’t want it to be a complete puree.
- Form the mixture into patties; depending on how big you make them, you will get about six burgers. If you want a firmer burger, you can either cook your burgers right away or place them in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. I usually cook them right away and don’t mind the texture at all.
- To cook beet burgers, place a large pan over medium heat and coat the bottom with olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the beet burgers and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. They may look burnt, but it’s just because the beets turn that color when heated in a skillet. They shouldn’t taste burnt at all!
- Assemble your burgers on a bun with all your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Looking For More Delicious Veggie Burger Recipes?
Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers with Curry Cilantro Mayo
Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Veggie Burgers
Black Bean Fajita Veggie Burgers
Vegan Chicken Patty Sandwiches
Let’s Make Vegan Beet Burgers Together, Check Out My Video Below!
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Vegan Beet Burgers with Brown Rice and Chickpeas
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Vegan Beet Burgers with Brown Rice and Chickpeas are easy to make and great for a weeknight dinner or a weekend BBQ!
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups peeled and chopped beets, once baked it will be about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1–15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Wash, peel and dice your beets into bite sized pieces. Add diced beets to a large sheetpan and drizzle with a little bit if olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast beets for about 40-45 minutes, until they are cooked through and fork tender. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
- To a food processor, add the chickpeas, brown rice, thyme, parsley, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse a couple of times, just to start breaking up the ingredients. Then, add the roasted beets and lightly pulse until burger mixture has come together but you can still a couple chunks of the rice. You don’t want it to be a complete puree.
- Form the mixture into patties, you will get about 6 burgers, depending on how big you make them. You can either cook your burgers right away, or place them in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, if you want a firmer burger. I usually just cook them right away and don’t mind the texture at all.
- To cook beet burgers, place a large pan over medium heat and coat the bottom with olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the beet burgers and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. They may look burnt, but it’s just because the beets turn that color when heated up in a skillet, they shouldn’t taste burnt at all!
- Assemble your burgers on a bun with all your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- These beet burgers hold together well, but aren’t super firm like a regular burger, or some veggie burgers. If you want them a little bit firmer, you can add an egg (if not vegan) or some walnuts or oats to the mixture in the food processor.
- You can also refrigerate the burger mixture overnight for an even firmer veggie burger.
These roasted beet burgers would also be really good topped with a tahini based sauce or some goat cheese (if not vegan)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Category: Vegan, Dinner
- Method: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
These burgers look amazing… I am totally loving all the flavours and vibrant colours. I definitely will be recreating these burgers for my vegetarian household. Thanks for the great recipe and idea.
Thanks Thalia! I hope you guys love them 🙂
I made a double batch and I am glad I airfried half of them – they tasted delicious but I could not get the first batch to hold together – perhaps because I used dried and cooked chickpeas not canned … the second batch I threw back in mixing bowl with a tablespoon of tahini paste and made a flax egg using one tablespoon of flaxmeal and 3 tablespoons of water – absolute success then 🙂
Hi Karen, so sorry you had trouble with them holding together, but glad you figured out a solution that worked! And so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Issy!! I finally read this blog post. It made me laugh so much to remember us trying to dye our hair with beets, but I don’t think it was a successful effort on my blond hair either! I remember that it kept rubbing off on things. Love that you incorporated that story in here though.
P.S. The burgers look delicious (of course).
Sho!! Haha, I do remember it rubbing off on things! I also remember us trying to dye our hair with lemon juice and riding around in the car with your dad while trying to stick our heads out the window so the sun would help make the lemon juice set in! I think you dad might have convinced us that the sun would help, haha! Love you! xo
Wow, they are so colourful. If I had one word for them it would be ‘dense’! I can’t wait to try them 🙂
Thanks Tash! I love your word 🙂
These are just the coolest looking burgers! That color – I just can’t get over it! And they sound completely delicious as well.
And Cheeto! I missed looking at the Cheeto photos while I took some time off! hehe Cracks me up! I wish I could be a cat … or dog sometimes!
Thanks Ashley! Haha, it is a little shocking! I think it scared my husband a little! Aww, Cheeto missed you too! I would totally be a dog too! I’m jealous of pretty much anything that gets to lay around all day!
Look at these! Wow! I honestly would have never thought of this combo! They look amazing!
Thanks Annie! I was kind of surprised how brightly colored they were too, haha!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier or more colorful burger! And if you say kale + beets is as good as Ina + Jeffrey together, then you’ve got me hooked on the idea 🙂 I will definitely be trying out this recipe!
Thank you, Julia!! Haha, Ina and Jeffrey are the best, aren’t they?! I hope you love these burgers 🙂
Hahaha! Oh my gosh, I’m not gonna lie—I LOL’d at the thought of you attempting to dye your hair with beet juice! It makes sense though doesn’t it? Beets stain just about everything else so why not hair?!
And these burgers!! The color alone makes me want to reach through my screen and grab a few’a those gorgeous burgers. Beets are one of my FAV things in the world, so I could definitely see myself demolishing an entire batch of these burgers! I don’t think I would be interested in sharing them with my fam, either. 😀
It really does stain your fingers, and your cutting boards, and pretty much anything else you happen to touch! I’ve been eating them for lunch everyday with only a bun on bottom and I keep staining my fingers when I pick it up to eat it! I used to really hate beets, but I’ve come to love them in the last few years and pretty much demolished this batch in a few days! You should totally eat them all yourself 🙂
I really love the vibrant color that most fruits and vegetable have. When I see beautiful colors like this I wonder why on Earth would anyone want to use artificial coloring. Nature is handing it right to you and it is good for you. 😀
This burgers look so amazing! Such a great idea.
I totally agree, Cindy! Sometimes I just can’t believe that fruits and vegetables can be so pretty! Thanks so much 🙂
I am a huge fan of beets and absolutely love these gorgeous burgers! Especially since you won’t need to add any breadcrumbs too! The color is so so pretty and it sounds amazing with the crispy kale and thyme, tahini dressing!
Thank you, Kelly! I honestly don’t know if I like the taste of beets or the color of them more!
This looks so amazing! I am having a massive crush on Kale these days, and have always loved beets! must make these burgers soon!! Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂 Gonna sneak in some vegetarian meals for my husband!
Thanks Dini!! I have a big crush on kale too and beets and kale just seem to go so well together! I’m always trying to get my husband to eat more vegetarian meals and I think I am slowly but surely wearing him down! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Your cat is too cute! I love the color of these burgers, I would’ve never thought to incorporate beets. Such a fabulous idea!
Thanks Danielle! He is pretty much the best cat ever 🙂
Good to know that beets can’t dye your hair completely pink! 🙂 You are so creative with your recipes, Izzy! These burgers not only look beautiful, but sound amazing, too. The tahini sauce sounds like it compliments these so well! And I’m ready for fall and all the pumpkins and baked goods, but not ready for cold weather just yet! 🙂
Thank you so much, Gayle! The tahini sauce really goes so well with them, but goat cheese would also be amazing! I’m so ready for cold weather, but in Arizona cold weather means about 50 degrees, haha! But, bring on the squash and pumpkins and baked goods!
LOVE beets! I just can’t get over how pretty these burgers are! That color is SO vibrant!!!!
I was kinda surprised at how bright they were too! It almost seemed fake, but I promise it is all real beet color 🙂
Izzy, this is seriously one of the most beautiful, creative recipes you’ve come up!!! I feel so proud to have you as my friend! Your talent is BEYOND. Not just saying that. You have some serious skill. HA! I can’t believe you went to such extremes to dye your hair. That’s hilarious! My sister, who has the same red hair as me bleached her hair and dyed it blue when she was a teen -BIG MISTAKE. I love that you used beet juice to add some highlights. I may have wanted to take a bite of your hair (in the least creepy way possible). Kind of hippie-ish!
I am SOoooooo with you on the Halloween decorations. In fact, I’ve already decided on my costume lol. Yesterday at the market, I bought 2 acorn squash and a spaghetti squash -they’re starting to come out in my town!!! I pretty much died and went to squash heaven. Come join me in squash heaven! It’s pie-tastic.
Love you my darling xoxoxoxox!
Al
PS. Brown rice in a burger is my favourite. Adds such a great texture! Brown rice is one of my most loved foods, oddly. I could eat bowls upon bowls of that stuff!
PPS. Hey “Cheetos” 😉 !!!! I want to be a cat with you. I <3 napz.
Al!! That is seriously the nicest thing anyone has said to me!!! Thank you so much, you so sweet and awesome!! 🙂 Haha, would it be weird if I said that I used to chew on my hair? Haha, I think I liked the way it felt on my teeth! I was a very strange little girl!
Ohhh, I can’t wait to see what your costume is! I need to get started on mine soon! I just saw a bunch of acorn squash for sale a few days ago and I’m trying to hold out a little bit longer to buy them, but I’m not sure I can wait much longer! I just want to be in squash heaven now!! We’ll be cats together in squash heaven 🙂
I used to hate brown rice when I was a kid, but I’m loving it these days and I especially love putting it in my veggie burgers! Love you and hope you are having a great week!!!! XOXOXO
Those beet burgers are so gorgeous! What a vibrant change from brown brown brown! Love these! And the tahini dressing sounds perfect.
Thank you, Monet! The tahini dressing complements them so well! Goat cheese would also be really nice!
I’ve been thinking about making beet burgers. These look so delicious, I got to try your recipe.
You totally should make them, Kathy! You will love them and they are so pretty 🙂
Can a burger really be beautiful? I think you managed it. So trying to incorporate beets into my diet, they’re just so good for you! And kale, amazing, wonderful kale, how healthy you make me feel! What a great combo. This burger is just popping pink. And you snuck some chickpeas in there too. But ditto on the pumpkins and squash and fall. And it’s been cold here and I still long for winter squash and fall. Can’t wait to start seeing squash recipes crop up.
Aww, thanks so much, Laura! I’m trying to eat more beets these days and these burgers really are the perfect way to incorporate them into your diet! I’m so jealous of your cold weather! I think it might be time that I move away from the desert and head to the northeast! I’m so excited for squash recipes too!