Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger
This Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger recipe will rock your world! These veggie burgers are full of flavor and texture. You’ll want to make a double batch and freeze some for later.
Serve these burgers with homemade Vegan Buns and some Vegan Guacamole for topping.
I love these black bean sweet potato burgers. I make them nearly every day in the summer. They definitely fit into my easy vegan lifestyle. Simply stated, I don’t want a lot of complicated recipes in my life.
These sweet potato bean burgers fit that easy vegan recipe to a tee!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Using dehydrated onions minimizes the moisture that can cause bean burgers to be gummy, while still adding delicious flavor
- Adding walnuts contributes healthy plant-based fats
- Using oats instead of breadcrumbs keeps this recipe gluten-free while adding binding that keeps this veggie burgers firm.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here’s what you’ll need for this sweet potato burger recipe:
- Sweet potato — You’ll need a medium sweet potato, roughly 5 inches long and 2 inches wide.
- Oatmeal — We’re using oatmeal instead of bread crumbs to keep these burgers gluten-free. If you prefer breadcrumbs substitute it in the same quantity.
- Walnuts — A great, healthy fat option
- Black beans — You’ll need one 15-ounce can of black beans or 1 3/4 cup cooked black beans.
- Dehydrated onions
- Garlic powder
- Nutritional yeast flakes
- Seasoning — I like adding taco seasoning to give the burgers a zesty flavor, but you can use any of your favorite seasonings here.
- Ground flax seeds
- Corn — You can use either canned or frozen
How to Make Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger
It’s pretty easy to make these sweet potato burgers, so let’s get started!
- Cook the sweet potato in a microwave until tender.
- Pulse oats and walnuts in a food processor until a coarse flour forms.Â
- Add the sweet potato and remaining burger ingredients (except the corn) to the food processor. Pulse in short bursts to create a batter with some texture.
- Stir in the frozen corn and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- Form patties and place them in a heated skillet and cook until browned on both sides, around 5 minutes.
- Place the cooked burgers on a baking pan and bake for about 10 minutes.
- Serve on toasted buns with your favorite toppings.
Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions:
Step One: Prepare the Sweet Potato
The first step is to cook your sweet potato.
- Wash the potato to remove any dirt.
- Prick it with a fork several times.
- Place it in the microwave and cook it for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender.
Step Two: Create the Burger Batter
- Place the oats and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until a very coarse flour is developed. It’s ok if you see bits of oatmeal; it will add texture.
- Chop up the cooked sweet potatoes and pulse that until smooth.
- Drain the beans and add them to the food processor along with the seasonings.
- Stir in the frozen corn to distribute them equally throughout the batter.
- Let the mixture sit for a few minutes for the oats to soak up the moisture.
Notice I don’t add any salt. Canned beans have salt already, so no need to add any extra.
Step 3: Cook the Patties
- Form the sweet potato veggie burgers dough into patties (6 thinner patties, or 4 larger patties).
- Cook them in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned on both sides (about five minutes each side).
- I like to sprinkle salt pepper on the uncooked side of the burgers.
- Place the browned burgers in a heated oven and cook for around 10 minutes to help the burgers set and become firm.
Marly’s Tips
Here are some tips for making this sweet potato black bean burger recipe perfect every time:
- You may need to use a spatula to help stir the ingredients in the food processor.
- You can freeze sweet potato and black bean burgers. Cook the burgers and allow them to cool and then transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months.
- If you’re using a low salt taco seasoning, you can add additional salt to the burger batter, up to a 1/2 teaspoon.
- Use different seasonings for variety, such a mesquite-grilled seasoning or spicy chipotle.
- To grill these burgers, skip the skillet and bake the patties for about 10 minutes, and then grill them. This helps them firm up so they will grill nicely.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Are black bean burgers good for you?
Yes, the majority of black bean burgers are good for you. That’s because they’re made with black beans, vegetables and grains. Black beans are loaded with fiber, potassium, folate, and a whole host of other important phytonutrients.
Can I freeze black bean burgers?
Freezing black bean burgers is one of the things I love about making them homemade. I prefer to make a double batch and then freeze half. The recipe below yields 4 to 6 burgers (depending on the size of the burgers), so you can expect anywhere from 8 to 12 from a double batch.
Black Bean Burger Toppings
These are my favorite bean burger toppings:
- lettuce/greens
- tomato slices
- sliced onions
- creamy vegan coleslaw
- vegan mayo
- homemade BBQ Sauce
- vegan cheese
- tempeh bacon
There’s no end to delicious toppings for veggie burgers. What’s your favorite veggie burger topping? Is it onion rings? Something unusual? Leave it in the comment below!
Gluten-Free Bean Burgers
It’s great that these bean burgers are gluten-free. Even if you don’t have sensitivities, it never hurts to give your body a break from gluten.
In fact, the wheat consumed 50 years ago is different than the wheat we eat today. Wheat was re-engineered so it would produce larger yields. As a result, some people claim that today’s wheat is harder on your body.
I’m not celiac, I do consume some gluten, but my priority is to minimize it in my diet.
That’s one reason I used oatmeal in this recipe instead of bread crumbs. And it’s a good thing I experimented with that because it’s my new favorite gluten-free veggie burgers ingredient.
More Vegan Burgers
This sweet potato black bean burger recipe is a go-to favorite. Here are more vegan burger and sandwich recipes that we love!
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 cup oatmeal
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 15 oz black beans (canned) rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon dehydrated onions
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (See note on salt)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- ¼ cup frozen corn
Instructions
- Scrub and wash the outside of a sweet potato. Use a fork to stab the potato several times and then place it in the microwave and cook for two minutes. Use oven sits to remove from the oven and allow it to cool. After it's cooled, chop into large cubes.
- Place the oatmeal and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until a coarse flour is formed.Â
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes, drained black beans, onions, garlic powder, taco seasoning, nutritional yeast flakes, and ground flax seeds. Pulse for a couple of seconds and then use a spatula to push the ingredients back down. Pulse again for several seconds. It's good to leave some texture in the burgers so don't puree it down to a paste, just creating a cohesive mass.
- Add the frozen corn and use a spatula to stir it throughout. Let that mixture sit for about 5 minutes.
- When you're ready to cook the burgers, turn your oven to 200°F and spray a skillet with vegetable cooking spray. Place the skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Form patties and place them in the heated skillet using a spatula.
- Cook patties for about 5 minutes on one side. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the uncooked side of the patties. Flip the patties and cook on the other side until the patties have firmed up and are brown on both sides.
- Place the cooked burgers on a baking pan and place that pan in your heated oven or toaster oven. Repeat cooking any remaining veggie patties using the process described above until all the burgers are cooked, allowing each about 10 minutes to stay in the oven before serving.
- Serve on toasted buns with dairy-free mayo, pickles, onions, and sliced tomatoes.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
How much miso?
Hi Maggie. See above. The word “miso” has been removed from the text of the recipe. The ingredients are correct.
This sounds so delicious! I noticed miso is listed in the directions but not in the amounts.
Hi Rebecca! Thanks for pointing that out. I removed miso from the text of the instructions. Hope you love this recipe!
This was a great burger!!! Had a white sweet potato (Japanese) already cooked so used that and omitted the corn. (not a fan in a burger). Pan fried for dinner and stored the rest for later. Better warmed the next day even!! Thanks Marly!!