Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice Classic Dish turned into burgers! These are so flavorful, filling and delicious! They are topped with a wonderful Cajun cream sauce!
I absolutely LOVE Cajun food. Red Beans and Rice is one of my absolute favorite dishes of all time and one that my mom made constantly when I was a child.
The love I have for that classic dish I decided to turn into some burgers. These are amazing and delicious. They are also super easy to make. I created a spicy Cajun cream sauce made from cashews to go on top of them and oh boy, Cajun heaven. This whole meal is bursting with flavor.
These are just 8 ingredients but are so loaded with flavor, you’d never know.
Do those look delicious or what?
I hope you love these Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice Burgers! Be sure to let me know what you think!
Cajun Red Beans and Rice Veggie Burgers
Only 8 ingredients (+salt & water) needed for these amazing Cajun veggie burgers. These are loaded with flavor and hearty texture. They are a breeze to make and will be loved by all.
Ingredients
FOR THE RICE
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine brown rice
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
FOR THE BURGERS
- 1 cup (140g) green bell pepper finely diced
- 1 cup (140g) finely diced yellow or white onion
- 2 15 oz cans of salt-free red kidney beans
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-3 teaspoons cajun seasoning (this is a blend from the store, with salt already added, start with 2 teaspoons and add more if desired. I used 3 for a strong flavor)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegan worcestershire sauce
Cajun Cream Sauce
- 1 cup (140g) raw cashews (140 g, soaked overnight if you don't have a high-powered blender, see NOTES below for sub)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
NOTE
- The reason why I added cayenne pepper to this sauce and not the burger is because the burgers had a lot of veggies and beans and rice that could handle a strong amount of the cajun seasoning and work well. However, this sauce is just liquid and adding too much cajun seasoning required to get a strong flavor would have made it too salty (because it includes salt), so that is why there is added cayenne and black pepper. It truly perfected it.
Instructions
- It is important to prepare the burgers right after making the rice, while it is still warm, as it helps to form the burgers.
- Add your rice, water and salt to a small pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir and cover and reduce to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until all the water is gone.
- Remove from the heat, stir again and cover and let it sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and leave the lid off.
- While the rice is cooking, cook your veggies. Add the bell pepper and onion to a pan with 3 tablespoons water over medium-low heat.
- Cook for about 8 minutes until the veggies are tender and all the water is gone. It's important all the water is gone before the next step.
- While the veggies are cooking, drain and rinse your beans. Add one can to a large bowl and mash the beans with a fork into a paste. Now add the other beans to the bowl, but do not mash them.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the cooked veggies and rice to the beans, just giving it one quick stir to mix.
- In a small cup, combine the garlic powder, thyme, cajun seasoning and worcestershire and stir well. Pour the spices over the bean/rice mixture.
- Now, you are going to need to stir and stir and stir this mixture for a good 5 minutes or more until it's all well mixed and all the spices are thoroughly blended into the mixture. You will need to stir and press the mixture with the back of your spoon. This will cause the starches to release from the rice and make the mixture become very sticky and thick. Keep stirring until it is very sticky, otherwise the burgers will not hold.
- Using a 1/2 measuring cup, scoop out the mixture and pack it in and level off. Plop the burger mixture on the parchment lined pan. Repeat with all the mixture. You should get 7 large patties.
- Press the patties down to 1 inch thick and smooth along the sides to help form the shape. This is important so they stick. Bake for 40 minutes on the first side.
- Use a thin metal spatula to carefully slide under the burgers and flip them. They will still be rather delicate, so be gentle when flipping them. Don't try to flip them with your hands or they will fall apart. They will be nice and firm by the time they are ready to eat though.
- Bake for another 10 minutes until they have a nice golden brown top and are slightly crispy. The rice forms a nice crispy coating which is so delicious.
- Cool 10 minutes before eating, as this is important so they firm up. If you make smaller burgers, you may need to adjust the baking time. I have only made these as large patties.
- Top your burgers with cajun cream sauce (see recipe below) and any other toppings of choice. I added sliced avocado, tomatoes and spinach leaves. So dang good I nearly died.
- FOR THE CAJUN CREAM SAUCE: The 1/8 teaspoon cayenne gives a nice spicy kick to this, just as a Cajun dish would have, but if you are sensitive, start out with 1/16th. Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend, scrape the sides and blend until completely smooth. If you don't have a high-powered blender, I recommend soaking the nuts as long as you can so they are super soft and blend the ingredients in a food processor, as I've found a regular blender doesn't work well.
Notes
If you don't want to use a store-bought Cajun seasoning because of the added salt, you can make my homemade salt-free seasoning here. If using this one, you will need to add salt to the burger mixture. I'd suggest 1/2-3/4 teaspoon and taste the burger mixture after mixing.
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We love this recipe! But I always forget how long it takes between cooking the rice and the burgers. Could you cook the burgers at a higher temp for less time? Delicious even though I have to be patient while I wait for them to cook!
I made these tonight, and absolutely loved them! They are so hearty and filling, and the Cajun cream sauce takes these burgers over the top! I made one change to the recipe: I cooked them in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil cooking spray, rather than bake them. My husband came home early while I was prepping the ingredients and was starving, and waiting for the patties to bake was not an option, lol! The next time I’m craving a veggie burger, I’m making these!
Yay, I’m so thrilled these were such a hit, thank you Coby!!