Perfectly hearty and loaded with southwest-style spices and creamy avocado, these sweet potato black bean burgers are so easy to make and amazing stuffed between a bun with all your favorite burger toppings.
We’re stepping your average black bean burger up a notch today! Tender sweet potato, creamy avocado, and lots of spices are officially invited to the party.
Just in time for cookout season with no shortage of options for making them up way ahead of time too. Those lazy summer days are so close you can almost taste them.
The real win is that these burgers are completely vegetarian-friendly with the option of making them vegan as well! Nobody’s missing out on this deliciousness today.
Guarantee it, even meat-lovers won’t be able to resist these black bean burgers. We definitely don’t consider them a direct substitute for meat burgers, they’re kind of in their own delicious category.
These Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers feature…
- A perfect heartiness and lots of amazing texture from creamy sweet potato and tender black beans
- Creamy mashed avocado and your choice of burger toppings
- Vegetarian-friendly with the option to make them vegan
- Less than an hour to make with lots of make-ahead options
Making the Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Black beans
- Sweet potato
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Sweet pepper
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Cayenne pepper
- Ketchup
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Vegetable oil
- Avocado
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Burger buns and toppings
Alternative Cooking Methods
Our preferred cooking method for this recipe is pan searing the burgers on the stove, however, you have many options!
- Air fryer – spray the basket of a 4-qt air fryer well and arrange burgers in a single layer. Air fry at 375F for 6 minutes, flipping burgers halfway through cooking.
- Oven – place burgers on a medium parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 400F 10-15 minutes until burgers are golden brown and heated through.
- Grill – if you want to grill these burgers, we recommend cooking them over medium heat on either a greased grill pan or nonstick aluminum foil to prevent sticking.
Tips for Perfect Black Bean Burgers
- Roast black beans and sweet potatoes on sheet pan – this will dry out the beans and cook the sweet potatoes to a perfect tenderness.
- Saute veggies, then squeeze out liquid – saute the pepper, onion, and garlic on the stove until tender, then gently press liquid through a sieve to remove as much of it as possible.
- Mash beans and sweet potatoes to a semi-chunky paste – use a fork for this part, you want the beans and sweet potato mashed fairly well with just a few chunks for texture.
- Allow beans and sweet potatoes to cool before adding egg – you don’t want to accidentally scramble the egg, so make sure you allow time for cooling.
- Pan sear black bean burgers – we like this cooking method because it’s fast and gives the burgers a nice golden sear, but see notes above for alternative cooking methods!
Recipe Variations
Want to put a new twist on these burgers? Try these ideas!
- Make them vegan – replace the egg with a flax egg (see recipe notes for how to make it) and skip the cheese for a vegan-friendly black bean burger.
- Adjust the spice level – you can easily adjust the heat level in these burgers by increasing or decreasing the amount of cayenne pepper.
- Add a sauce – a spicy ranch or your favorite barbecue sauce would be an amazing addition to these burgers.
- Serve burgers in a wrap – this is one of our lunch favorites! Crumble a burger into bite-sized pieces and assemble in a tortilla with your favorite toppings.
Storing and Freezing Black Bean Burgers
Follow these instructions for how to store and freeze burgers!
- Storing uncooked burger patties in refrigerator – wrap the patties in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator up to 6 days. Cook the patties per recipe instructions.
- Freezing uncooked burger patties – wrap the patties in plastic wrap and freeze up to 1 month. When ready to cook, thaw patties in refrigerator or add an extra few minutes to the cook time if cooking directly from freezer.
- Storing cooked burger patties – store cooked patties in refrigerator up to 6 days or freeze up to 1 month. Reheat patties in air fryer or microwave several minutes until patties register 165F.
These black bean burgers definitely don’t hold back on the bold flavors! The patties have the most perfect creamy-to-chunky ratio of textures with an amazing level of spice.
Paired with the creamy avocado spread, toasted buns, and your choice of toppings and it’s just the burger everyone wants to be.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More ways to use black beans that you will love!
- Air Fryer Black Bean Burgers
- Black Bean Salsa Verde Chicken
- Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
Southwest Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-in cubes (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely-chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup finely-chopped sweet pepper
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg (use flax egg if vegan*)
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil for pan searing
Burger Toppings
- 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted and diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Toasted buns, pepperjack cheese slices, sliced tomato, and pickled red onion for serving
Instructions
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper and spread beans and sweet potatoes out in a single layer. Bake beans and sweet potatoes at 400F 20-25 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender. Allow to cool.
- Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper and saute 3-4 minutes until tender. Add garlic and saute 1 additional minute until fragrant.
- Scrape vegetables into a fine-mesh sieve and gently press on vegetables to drain out liquid. Set aside.
- Place beans and sweet potatoes in a large bowl and use a fork to gently mash to a paste (you will want several chunks) Add sautéed vegetables, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, ketchup, breadcrumbs, and egg. Gently fold black bean mixture until just combined.
- Form black bean mixture into 4 patties. Wrap well and refrigerate until ready to use (patties may be refrigerated up to 6 days and frozen up to 1 month)
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add burgers and sear 3-5 minutes on each side, flipping once until burgers are golden brown and heated through. Repeat cooking with remaining patties, adding more oil to pan as needed.
Burger Toppings
- In a small bowl, mash avocado with lime and cilantro until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble burgers by placing burger patties on toasted buns, spread mashed avocado on patties, and top patties with pepperjack, tomato slices, and red onion. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Leave a Reply