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    Home » Recipes » Burgers and Patties

    Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties

    Published: Jun 10, 2016 · Modified: Aug 28, 2020 by Jenn Sebestyen

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    Eat these Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties with a fork or pile them on buns, burger style. Either way, pair them with your favorite BBQ sauce and enjoy!

    Stack of 4 Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties drizzled with BBQ Sauce.

    Is it just me or do you want to dive head first into that drippy BBQ sauce? This post is not about BBQ sauce though, it’s about the vehicle to get that sauce to your mouth.

    The perfect compliment for your favorite sauce are these Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties. They’re tender and moist on the inside, but the outside has a nice crunch – especially if you bake them, which is my preferred method.

    Lots of flavor and veggies packed into these pinto bean patties, but if you’re feeding a veggie-hater, no worries, they won’t know they’re in there.

    BBQ sauce being poured from a bottle onto veggie burgers

    If you’re not familiar with millet, it’s a gluten free whole grain – technically a seed, but it’s used like a grain. It’s high in protein, fiber, magnesium, and phosphorus.

    Millet is versatile and can be used similarly to rice. I like to make a large batch of millet (or any grain for that matter) at the beginning of the week so I have enough to use in several different recipes that week. Cook once, eat twice (or more!).

    Check out these other delicious millet recipes:

    • Lemon Millet with Chickpea and Dill
    • Millet Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Avocado Salsa and Spicy Chipotle Sauce
    • Apple Pie Mixed Grain Cereal
    Pinto Bean Patties with BBQ sauce on a white and red plate

    I like to eat these pinto bean patties with a fork, but my kids prefer to eat them burger style with all the traditional burger toppings.

    They are delicious either way.

    Pinto bean patty on a white plate with BBQ sauce and a fork.

    This recipe makes a big batch of patties, but don’t let that scare you – they freeze beautifully! Like I said before, cook once, eat twice (or more!).

    No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen – especially in the summer, so, make the big batch and freeze any leftovers for another day (directions in the recipe card below).

    More vegan burger recipes

    • Falafel Burger
    • Autumn Burger
    • Spicy Bean Burgers
    • Vegan Mexican Burger
    • Chickpea Veggie Burger
    • Spinach Artichoke White Bean Burgers

    I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.

    Be sure to sign up for my FREE Newsletter to be the first to get my NEW recipes! You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.


    For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!

    Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties

    Eat these Smoky Millet Pinto Bean Patties with a fork or pile it onto a bun burger style. Pair them with your favorite BBQ sauce.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Rate
    Course: Burgers and Patties, Entrées
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 10 People
    Calories: 113kcal
    Author: Jenn Sebestyen

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons flaxmeal
    • 6 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons warm water divided
    • ½ of a red onion peeled and diced
    • 2 carrots peeled and diced
    • 1 rib celery diced
    • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
    • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
    • pinch of cayenne
    • 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans rinsed and drained (or 1 ½ cups cooked beans)
    • 1 ½ cups cooked millet
    • 4 scallions sliced
    • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
    • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
    • dash of liquid smoke
    • ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free if necessary)
    • BBQ sauce for serving (your favorite or check out my recipe for tomato free BBQ sauce.

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
    • Stir together the flaxmeal and 6 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken. This is your flax "egg."
    • Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons water in a skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion, carrots and celery and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes until starting to soften. Add an additional tablespoon or 2 of water if the veggies start to stick.
    • Add the thyme, smoked paprika and cayenne and sauté another 1 to 2 minutes to cook through. Take off heat.
    • To the bowl of a food processor add the sautéd veggies, pinto beans, cooked millet, scallions, parsley, salt, liquid smoke and flax "egg" that you set aside earlier. Pulse until combined, but not completely smooth – you still want to see small bits of the veggies.
    • Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add the panko breadcrumbs. Stir to combine. The mixture should easily come together to form a patty when molded in your hand. If it seems to wet, add a little more panko.
    • Form the mixture into patties with your hands and set on the baking sheet in one layer.
    • Bake the patties 30 to 35 minutes, flipping them over half way through.
    • Serve with your favorite BBQ Sauce (or my tomato free BBQ Sauce). They are also great on a bun, burger style.

    Notes

    ~ I think about ½ cup dry millet would yield 1 ½ cups cooked. I usually make a big batch when I’m cooking it so I can work with leftovers later in the week. I suggest you do this too! If you need ideas for using up any leftover millet, just do a search on my site for “millet.”
    ~ Alternately, you can pan fry these patties for about 4 to 5 minutes per side. You’ll need a  1-2 tablespoon(s) of grapeseed oil (or your oil of choice) for the skillet.
    ~ This recipe makes a large batch of patties. But, fear not because they freeze beautifully. After baking, let them cool and then place them on a large plate or baking sheet in one layer and place the plate in the freezer. Once the patties are frozen, transfer them to a plastic freezer bag for easy storage. Be sure to label your bag so you don’t forget what’s in there. To reheat, bake from frozen 20 to 30 minutes flipping halfway through or defrost and pan fry.
     
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2400IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.4mg

    Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.

    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @Veggie_Inspired or tag #VeggieInspired!


    More Burgers and Patties

    • Spicy Bean Burgers
    • Vegan Mexican Burger
    • Chickpea Veggie Burger
    • Falafel Burger
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    Comments

    1. Gin says

      June 14, 2016 at 2:32 pm

      Ha yes, I’m _totally_ diving into that sauce! Awesome ingredients, lovely seasonings, practical…you’ve done it again Jen! You really need to write a cookbook lady. <- 🙂5 stars

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 14, 2016 at 10:30 pm

        Gin, you are so sweet!! It’s on my wish list for one day. Fingers crossed! 🙂 Thank you for your kinds words. Let me know if you try them!

        Reply
    2. Alisa Fleming says

      June 13, 2016 at 10:54 pm

      Honestly, I’d be attracted to just about any main dish with barbecue sauce drizzled over it like this, but these millet patties make it guilt free too!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 14, 2016 at 8:14 am

        I’m the same way, Alisa! Love the stuff! Thanks!

        Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 14, 2016 at 8:15 am

        Me too, Alisa! I love the stuff. Thanks!

        Reply
    3. Lucie says

      June 13, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      Millet is my favorite veggie pattie ingredient! 🙂 I love the pinto beans in there too – such an underused legume but they taste awesome!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 13, 2016 at 10:51 pm

        Thank you, Lucie! I think we’ve talked about our mutual love of millet before. 🙂 And, yes, pinto beans are awesome!!

        Reply
    4. Christine | Vermilion Roots says

      June 12, 2016 at 7:24 pm

      I’m so happy to see a recipe using millet. It’s such an underrated ingredient. Would love to give this a try!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 12, 2016 at 10:03 pm

        I agree – it’s not just for the birds! 🙂 Thanks, Christine!

        Reply
    5. Jacqueline Meldrum says

      June 12, 2016 at 6:51 pm

      Oh yes please. I think I will have mine nursery style with mashed potatoes and baked beans,5 stars

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 12, 2016 at 10:03 pm

        Sounds like the perfect plate to me! Thanks, Jac!

        Reply
    6. Vanessa says

      June 12, 2016 at 4:25 am

      I love millet! I can imagine it tasting super delicious in these patties 😉 I also need to make your BBQ asap. It looks insanely good! Yum!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 12, 2016 at 3:25 pm

        Oh, that’s not my BBQ sauce. LOL! I do have a BBQ sauce on the blog (Sweet & Smoky Lentils), but I used store bought here. Thank you though. If you love millet, you will love these!

        Reply
        • Vanessa says

          June 12, 2016 at 4:46 pm

          Oh No! I thought that was your tomato-free BBQ sauce. My bad! Looks delicious either way ?

        • Jenn S. says

          June 12, 2016 at 5:19 pm

          I know, I probably confused people by suggesting to use that…which I do think would be excellent with this. I just didn’t have any made at the time, so for pics I just used bottled.

    7. Aimee / Wallflower Kitchen says

      June 11, 2016 at 5:28 pm

      I have a bag of millet flakes that I’ve not used yet, I’m assuming they would work? This sounds so delicious, I’m obsessed with smoky flavours so I know I’d love these!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 11, 2016 at 7:22 pm

        Hmmm, I don’t know. I’ve actually never heard of millet flakes. I’m imaging them like potato flakes that you rehydrate and make into a “mash.” I could be totally off base on that. If it is like a mash, the ratio of dry to wet might be different…the whole cooked millet is sticky like rice. Sorry, I’m so not helpful on that! If you try it, let me know!

        Reply
    8. Uma says

      June 11, 2016 at 2:49 pm

      Last week we made black bean pattie! This sounds similar 🙂 looks great!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 11, 2016 at 7:20 pm

        Can never have too many veggie burger recipes! Thanks, Uma!

        Reply
    9. Linda says

      June 11, 2016 at 12:23 pm

      I love anything with a smoky flavor. These sound delicious, Jenn. Alex turned me on to millet a few months ago so I have some in my pantry. Need to make these soon!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 11, 2016 at 2:27 pm

        I love it – has a nice nutty flavor. Let me know what you think when you make them! Thanks!

        Reply
    10. Molly Kumar says

      June 11, 2016 at 10:20 am

      This looks so yummy and crispy! I love the fact it can be frozen for later use too – Nothing like make once and eat multiple time recipe 🙂5 stars

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 11, 2016 at 11:29 am

        Absolutely! Why make cooking harder than it is, right? Thanks, Molly!

        Reply
    11. jill says

      June 10, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      How do you cook the millet? How much water and how long? I’ve never made it. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 10, 2016 at 5:29 pm

        Hi, Jill. You cook it just like rice. 1 cup of millet to 2 cups of water (or broth). Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Fluff when done. You can also toast the millet first in a dry pot – about 3-4 minutes – then add the water, boil, simmer, etc. Super easy! I hope you love it!

        Reply
    12. Strength and Sunshine says

      June 10, 2016 at 6:49 am

      I kid you not, I have a killer pinto bean burger recipe that I need to post….
      Haha, and I’m totally out of homemade burgers (I have some frozen pre-made) but I need to stop being lazy and make a new batch of FRESH homemade burgers for the freezer!

      Reply
      • Jenn S. says

        June 10, 2016 at 8:27 am

        Well, I’d love to see your version too! It’s always good to have the veggie burgers stocked away in the freezer!

        Reply

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    Jenn Sebestyen of Veggie Inspired

    Hi, I'm Jenn! This is where I share delicious plant based recipes for the whole family. I love to cook; I can read cookbooks like novels; and I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen by making standard American favorites healthier.

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