Mung Bean Burgers
Crispy on the outside, meaty on the inside, and sturdy enough to actually eat like a burger. These mung bean patties are freezer friendly and the best vegan patty for any garden burger!
These mung bean burgers are smoky with a satisfying chew that holds together bite after bite. It’s made with oven roasted broccoli, caramelized bell pepper, and earthy cremini mushrooms for the most delicious veggie burger for any summer BBQ!
If you’re looking for more vegetarian summer cookout recipes , give the following recipes a try.
- Chipotle black bean smash burgers
- Prep friendly summer bean salad with corn
- Protein packed vegan potato salad with chickpeas
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Crispy outside, tender inside – the frozen-then-seared method gives these patties a deeply caramelized, crackly crust while keeping the center moist, chewy, and packed with texture from whole roasted vegetables.
- Smoky, savory flavor in every bite – smoked paprika, cumin, and balsamic vinegar work together to create a rich, complex flavor that pairs well with any burger topping
- Freezer-friendly and meal-prep ready – shape a batch, stash them in the freezer, and have a delicious garden burger ready to eat in 10 minutes!
What are Mung Bean Patties?
Mung beans are small, green legumes that have been a staple in South and Southeast Asian cooking for thousands of years. They’re mild and slightly nutty in flavor, high in plant protein, and more easy to digest than heavier legumes like chickpeas or kidney beans You’ll find them in everything from Indian dal to Vietnamese desserts.
For burgers, mung beans are genuinely one of the best legumes you can use. When cooked just right (read recipe card below), the beans process into a sticky, cohesive mixture that holds its shape under high heat without turning gummy or dense. This cooking technique is what gives these patties their satisfying, meaty chew rather than the soft, pasty texture that are often found in veggie burgers.
How to make mung bean patties
Step 1. Roast the garden vegetables in spices
Step 2. Add the boiled mung beans into the oven
Step 3. Process everything together
Step 4. Shape into mung bean patties and freeze
Key ingredients & substitutions
- Whole mung beans – the chewy, protein-rich base. Cook them until just tender with only about 25% splitting. Use whole rather than split mung beans for better texture. You could substitute with different types of beans or even lentils.
- Rolled oats – blitzed into a coarse, nutty meal, they add structure and a subtle heartiness without making the patty dense. Quick oats should also work but skip the initial food processing.
- Garden vegetables – pick a mix of garden vegetables such as bell peppers, broccoli, and mushrooms. I highly recommend any type of mushroom since it has it’s own umami flavors after cooking.
- Cornstarch – a second binding agent that holds everything together through freezing and high-heat cooking. Arrowroot powder swaps in 1:1 without changing the flavor or texture.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t overcook the mung beans – you want them firm but cooked. Mushy beans create a soft, wet mixture that won’t hold its shape or develop that satisfying crust when cooked.
- Oven-toast the beans after boiling – Spreading them on a tray for 5 minutes in the oven evaporates the surface moisture.
- Freeze the patties before cooking – Freeze for at least 4 hours in the freezer firms the patties up so they sear rather than crumble when they hit the pan. It also means you can stash a batch and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Mung Bean Burger
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Roast the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 375℉. Wash the vegetables and roughly cut the bell pepper into large pieces, removing the seeds. Slice the mushrooms in half. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the bell pepper, mushrooms, and broccoli with the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin and salt. The vegetables will be heavily coated with lots of spices. Spread the vegetables out on a baking try lined with parchment paper and roast for 25 minutes.
- Boil the mung beans. In a small sauce pan, add the rinsed mung beans and water up to 2 inches above the mung beans. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more time if necessary
- Toast the mung beans. After the mung beans are done boiling, drain the water and spread the mung beans on a separate baking tray with parchment paper. Add into the oven for the last 5 minutes of your vegetable roast so that the heat can help evaporate the excess water.
- Create the garden patty mixture. Blitz the rolled oats until broken into a coarse meal. Add the cooked mung beans, roasted vegetables, and parsley. Pulse until just combined, keeping the texture chunky. Transfer half the mixture to a bowl and set aside. Process the remaining half with the balsamic vinegar until smooth, then fold it into the reserved mixture. Stir in the cornstarch until evenly combined.
- Form the patty. Weigh out 4 oz of the mixture and shape into a tight ball. Press gently to form your desired size patty. Place the shapped patties on top of parchment paper and wrap in plastic wrap before placing into the freezer. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
- Skillet or grill. Defrost the mung beam patty for 30 seconds. Heat the skillet or grill and lightly oil the surface. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. If using a grill, close the lid as you cook each side.
