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.
Vegan Teriyaki Burgers
Ingredients
For the Teriyaki Glaze
- ⅓ cup tamari
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Burgers
- 1 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 1 scallion sliced
For Serving
- 1 teaspoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- 1 red onion sliced into rings
- 8 pineapple rings
- 4 whole grain burger buns
- 1 tablespoon spicy vegan mayo optional
- 8 lettuce leaves
- 1 large tomato sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the glaze thickens slightly. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water to thin it down.
- Place the oats in a food processor and pulse until resemble a coarse flour. Add the rice, black beans, chickpea flour, and scallion to the food processor along with ¼ cup of the teriyaki glaze and pulse until the mixture resembles a thick paste.
- Form the mixture into four patties and place them on the baking sheet. Brush on about half of the glaze and bake for 20 minutes. Flip the burgers, brush on the remaining glaze, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until golden brown and firm.
- While the burgers are cooking, heat the oil in a grill pan or large skillet over medium high heat. Place the onion and pineapple rings in the pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side. If you’re using a grill pan, you’ll want nicely browned grill lines. If you’re using a skillet, cook until the onions and pineapple slices are golden on each side. If you have an outdoor grill, you can use it to cook the onions and pineapple
- Serve the burgers on the buns along with the grilled onions and pineapple slices. Top with lettuce, tomato, and spicy mayo, if using.
Other veggie burgers you might enjoy include:
Sarah
I love teriyaki—these burgers look SO good! On my list to try!
Melissa @ Vegan Huggs
These burger looks scrumptious! The teriyaki and pineapple seriously have me drooling right now. 🙂
Dianne
Thank you, Melissa!
Dianne
Thank you, Sarah!
Mary Ellen - VNutrition
That's such a cute story with your Poppop! I can't actually remember where my first veggie burger was.
The teriyaki bean burger looks so good and I love the topping of pineapple! Can't wait to try it!
Dianne
Thank you Mary Ellen! I hope you enjoy it!
Cadry
Love the grill marks on that pineapple! I bet it tastes wonderful with the teriyaki flavors of the burger.
Kristina
these sound SO GOOD - I love pineapple on a burger! we are having an end of summer get together this weekend, maybe I'll make these!
Jenn
We make some kind of veggie burger at least once a week. I gotta add this one to our lineup. LOVE the teriyaki and pineapple!
Dianne
I hope you enjoy it!
Dianne
Thank you, Kristina! I hope you enjoy them!
Dianne
Thank you, Cadry!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
I always loved teriyaki sauce and pineapple on burgers! Looking at your photos makes my mouth water!
Dianne
Thank you, Amy!
Michelle
These burgers were incredible! The teriyaki sauce was super easy and added so much flavor. I used chickpeas instead of black beans. Can’t wait to make them again!
Dianne
Thank you so much, Michelle! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!