Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

This is hands down without a doubt the BEST black bean sweet potato burger I have ever tried. I microwaves my potato because it was a spur of the moment decision to have burgers. It was still excellent. I will try it next time by roasting the potato because I am sure that it adds another layer of flavor.
I also used flax seed meal as I did not have a nut meal. I used a grain medley that I had in the fridge leftover from a previous meal. It contained brown rice, farro,and red quinoa. Everything else followed the recipe other than I made them into larger patties.
This one is going into my favorites and will become a “go to” for me!!

Sooo good! I used red quinoa, and ground flax seed for a low-fat version… Wow. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!

If I make a bunch and freeze them, how long should I cook them for and what temp? And how long on the stove if frozen?

Great taste and smell, pre patty. Instead of green used some sauteed yellow onion and added mushrooms, needed to use them up. Used a packet of Seeds for Change rice mix. Added a lil garlic powder and ancho chile powder instead of chipotle. Only tsp of coconut sugar. Yum!

What?! Made this today. These were so good I think I may have teared up a bit. I used what I had on hand and to taste- I had one large, one small sweet potato (microwaved) and used extra black beans in place of the rice. I used cornmeal instead of the nuts and added diced green bell pepper, green onion, a teaspoon of honey ground mustard, a packet of taco seasoning (yeah), garlic powder, salt, white pepper, lots of red pepper flakes for spice and about a teaspoon of raw honey. Drizzled foil with EVOO and baked for 45 minutes total. The edges were so crispy and yum- I wonder if it was the cornmeal? Ate one using a toasted whole wheat bun, sliced avocado, romaine lettuce, sliced white onion, ketchup and mayo. Went back an hour later and ate one by itself. Drool worthy. Can’t wait to try this using different spices, veggies and toppings. Like…tomorrow!

Made these for my whole family! They absolutely loved them. Thanks! It’s a great recipe to double or triple to make for burgers for everyone for a whole week!

Love this recipe- had some cooked lentils so used them, purple rice, 1 sweet potato,
Black beans, oatmeal, . I ground up carrots, red pepper and onion in my nutri bullet. Such a versatile recipe. I am sure it will be a little different each time-but great taste and texture. Threw in siracha,soy,garlic, peanut butter,mustard. Formed them in a small saucer/dish covered with Saran. Thank you.

I adore these burgers. I went vegan a few months ago and have already made these three times. Absolutely addictive. Thanks for the recipe!

Hi! I have used several recipes from here and loved them all. A new mama, but I love to cook, do I made these yesterday.
Only thing I did differently was I added brown rice flour.

So it’s summer. Super hot, had the oven on for a while. Decided to put them in muffin tin, bad idea, too mushy.

I just flattened then and renamed at 400, they were amazing, so much that I had four Mini burgers.:))

It was yummy and my aunt and beat friend had one too.
Going to make again!!

If made and baked according to your instructions, could you later grill them? I’m wondering if they’d hold up. I’m going to a BBQ and would love to have a healthy burger to take with me. Thanks!

I make these regularly – they’re great!

I’ve found they’re also good in wraps at lunchtime. I bake them, cut the pattie into thirds, let it cool then use as a filling with lettuce and some barbecue sauce. My eldest son loves them in his school lunchbox. Thank you for another delicious (and really useful) recipe!

Thanks Dana.
Please advise. I will bring these to the cabin next week.
Should I bake, freeze, then reheat?
Or freeze raw, then bake for first time at the cabin…?
Appreciate your thoughts.

I made these last night I wanted a burger. This really hit the spot. I served it on lettuce with and avocado slices. I did not use the brown sugar or the BBQ sauce. I froze the rest of the patties, next time I want to try with guacamole on top. Thank you so much

I’ve successfully used oat flour as a nut-free/seed-free subtitute for the nut meal. Great recipe!

Okay friends so I didn’t have the nut meal on hand and decided to just go for this recipe sans that ingredient. It worked out great! I also just made the patties with my hand similar to those made with hamburger :) I will definitely be making these again, so good and so healthy!

Could I use coconut flour instead of nut meal?

I made these for the first time today and they were delicious and a big hit with my family. I used oat flour as that’s what I had and yellow sweet onion instead of green. I will definitely be making them a lot this summer: Thank you for sharing such amazing recipes.

Thanks so much for this easy and delish recipe. My 11 month old loved it!

Wow Dana! These are delicious! I had sweet potatoes on my mind last night and googled “sweet potato black bean burger” and this recipe came up. I had almost all the ingredients on hand, so I dove in. I subbed white onion for the green onion, and since I didn’t have cumin, I added some ancho chili powder and cayenne pepper for a kick. I also mixed quinoa and brown rice. I over-cooked the burgers by a few minutes making them a tad dry, so in addition to the avocado, spinach, and onion, and slathered on some honey mustard dressing (bbq sauce would be better, but I didn’t have any and the mustard dressing worked!) and finally, making it vegetarian but not vegan, some crumbles of goat cheese. The goat cheese made this already-great burger unreal! Yum! Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!!

I was disappointed by this recipe. The burgers didn’t gain any texture to the outside during the baking process so I think this recipe would be better of pan fried. Also the burger paired with the bbq ketchup was too sweet so I wouldn’t suggest the two together. Overall the mushy texture with the overall sweet flavor makes this a mis-step for me. I liked the burger by itself but would suggest going with 1.5 cups rice and pan frying!

Taught the Making if these sweet potato black bean burgers at a Cooking Class.

Never made until the class.

Big hit.

Use a high heat sear to lock burgers together before baking in oven.

Ginger is a great substitute for smokey paprika.

Served with a Rosemary Chives Chili Dressing. My concoction.

Good eating!

I made these yesterday for my dad’s birthday and they were delish!! My family and I did find that they were on the loose side and would’ve liked them a bit more dense/held together. I did use a bit more than one cup of quinoa (and flax meal instead) and they were perfectly moldable when preparing them. Although, I did bake them on parchment paper. Do you have any suggestions for next time?:) Thanks for the recipe!

This is my 2nd time making them! We love them because they are veggie and easy to make! We don’t want to eat all of the patties, do we freeze before or after cooking? Thanks!

These are so good! I left out the sugar and subbed 1/4 c. each of oats and spelt flour in place of walnut meal and I maaaybe just went back for thirds. Thanks, Dana!

I make these about once a week! They are the bomb! The only thing I add is some liquid smoke to give that “BBQ” taste without the actual grill.

Nice flavor and fun recipe! I used all the flavoring ingredients (minus the sugar) and the full amount of rice. But, I wanted to place these on the BBQ to give them that extra grilled, smokey flavor so I added 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten to the sweet potato mixture. Then, I shaped the dough in to 8 patties & misted them on each side with bit of Trader Joe’s canola oil spray. Without the vital wheat gluten the dough seems to wet/loose to grill them right on the BBQ rack. The vital wheat gluten worked like a charm!

So delish! Made this tonight with the things I had in hand and we topped with fresh guacamole, AMAZING!!

I absolutely love this recipe! I usually substitute in quinoa for the rice and flaxseed meal for the nut meal and they always turn out very well. I like to add a few extra spices, like red pepper flakes to make it a bit more spicy and i just tried adding in some applewood rub, and it was delicious!

Hi Dana – I found your recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean burgers on Pinterest and I have to tell you these are THE best BB burgers I’ve ever had. I love that your recipe doesn’t have bread crumbs or eggs! I’ve made these several times and they are always perfect! This is now my favorite go-to BB burger recipe and I’ve added it to my ‘favorites’ collection. Thank you so much for sharing, you’ve got great taste. I signed up for your newsletter as I love to bake and I am looking forward to finding many more favorites from your site. Thank you! -Malinda

Dana, I wanna give up my career and become a housewife only to cook everyday- all day long. I’m so in love with everything you do. I made these burgers for lunch and dinner today. Haha, in the evening we weren’t even hungry but I could just not leave these babies alone overnight. Thanks again!!

These are amazing! Used oats instead of nut flour, and turned out perfectly. The best veggie burgers!!

Wowsers!! that looks so good, will be giving this ago on the weekend. that’s for sure. Thanks.

Simon

I made this for the family last night and it was amazing with my daughters vegan hamburger buns (she’s in pastry training at CIA). I have to say I wasn’t surprised though, EVERYTHING I have made from your blog over the last year has been wonderful. I got your cookbook last week for my daughter and myself (well, I preordered as soon as it was available) and we have loved reading and making your amazing dishes. Thank you for all you do.

Making them as we speak! I can finally enjoy a hearty vegetarian meal at home. No sugar added, no nuts. Garnish: homemade guac + bruchetta + lettuce. Kamut flour buns. Thanks!

I was just wondering are the black beans the Latin American Black Turtle Beans or the Chinese Fermented Black Soy Beans? The recipe looks great, I can’t wait to try it!

Can I sub the pecan meal with ground flax meal instead?

Has anyone tried to cook these on the grill? Just wondering if they would hold up.

These are so awesome! I’ve made them numerous times. I want to make them tonight, and I have butternut squash I need to use up. Think I could sub for the sweet potatoes, or would it change the texture too much?

These were delicious. I used panko in place of the nut meal and added corn. I had them with roasted peppers avocado and mozzarella cheese. Perfect to take for lunch.

DAAAAHM!! Knocked this out of the park!!!!! Thanks for posting

These look so yummy!! I notice it serves 12 and we are s family of four, would these freeze ok? Should I cook them and then freeze or freeze uncooked? Thanks!

I’m trying to,make this on the stove top but I’m having problems with the consistanci I want to be able to flip them but they become to soft as they cook should on par cook them in the oven then finish in a pan to get that super crispy out side in looking for

Can you leave out the pecan meal and rice? Trying to stay very low fat on these.

hi, do you freeze them cooked ? thank you!!

I am allergic to nuts. What can I use in place of the peacan/walnut meal?

I just finished eating my second burger! My 7 year old daughter loves them too. The flavor a were delicious. But rice in my burger was a bit too crunchy. Maybe I didn’t cook the rice long enough?

Any sub you can think of for the sweet potato? My son is sensitive to all potatoes. Thanks so much

This is the BEST veggie burger that I have ever made and I’ve made a few. I didn’t have sweet potatoes so I steamed carrot coins and used them instead. And, I substituted toasted finely ground pepitas
as my son is allergic to tree nut. Absolutely delicious. I’m making it tonight with sweet potatoes and am curious how the results may differ. Thank you!

Amazing! Says it all!!! I used almond meal (because it’s what I had) and coconut sugar (because it’s what I had ?) I cannot wait to eat my left overs!!!

Thank you so much for this. Me and my girlfriend just made these and they were great. Will be sharing this page on my Facebook.
Terry (and Naomi)

Just made a batch of these today for the first time and oh my – amazing! I topped the burgers with some fresh home-made guacamole and added some green chilli’s and it was so refreshing. Definitely the best vegan burger I’ve had.

PS. If anyone can’t find walnut/almond meal like I was unable to, I just took walnuts and put them through a food processor until it came to a flour-like texture. It worked just as well.

These burgers are the BOMB diggity !!!!! I made some on Sumday and they were almost all gone on Monday. Just finished making another batch – I skipped the nut meal and added a bit more rice and the texture was perfect. Love the cumin and green onions !! I have been on a Daniel diet since the new year and this recipe makes me want to go on.. Thanks for a creative and delicious veggie burger !!!!!

Delicious recipe, thank you! I didn’t have nut meal so I used 1/2 ground roasted flaxseed and 1/2 panko in place of the nuts. Also subbed barley for the brown rice. Really tasty!

For those worried that the shape isn’t holding, just put it all into a casserole dish, smooth it over and cook in the oven. Then call it a veggie bake (or roast). You can still serve it with ketchup etc. and it will taste delicious. I like bakes as they are not meant to be sliced (just dole out with a spoon) so can be more moist than a loaf but just as tasty. I am having burgers tonight (in oven as I speak) but tomorrow I shall serve up as a bake and serve with some nice vegetables. I shall drizzle with a little olive oil before cooking.

Would it be possible to use almond meal instead of walnut/peacan meal? Its all I have at home and I want to make these burgers now!

i am thinking of doing these for a vegan nutrition class that i teach. if you make ahead, but not freeze, do you undercook slightly since you will be heating again? and what is the best way to reheat?? bake? thanks!!

I’m trying to expand my eating options and decided to try this even though I don’t like sweet potatoes. I’m so glad I did! Smokey, spicy, a tiny hint of sweet…all work to make this one of the best veggie burgers I’ve had! This definitely goes into regular rotation.

I think I just found my dinner for tonight! ??

These patties were amazing. I made them for my mom and we loved them.

I’m having a problem with getting the same consistency you are describing. When I tried flipping them at the same time you recommended, they were complete mush. I then tried to cook the same recipe on the stove and same result, mush. I followed your instructions for the quinoa recipe. Could that be the problem? I need to add rice? Any advice would be helpful, It has a wonderful taste and fantastic aroma!!

These are so delicious! I made these tonight and use basmati rice instead because that was what I had left over. I only had two sweet potatoes on the smaller side so I added more black beans. So yummy.

SO delicious! I made these for my (very much carnivorous) family this week. Everyone wanted to take one for lunch the next day :) I subbed the BBQ sauce with a lemony-avocado sauce that I made.

Thank you for sharing!!

My fiancé and I made these and I don’t think I could eat another veggie burger other than this one again. We didn’t have any walnut meal but they still turned out great (if you’re allergic to nuts). We also made a garlic aioli in sub for the bbq and it was great. Great recipe and pictures.

These were delicious. My meat eater husband and non-super fan of sweet potatoes daughter both loved them.

Can you use packet rice for these? Would you add straight from pack to mix?

So this is the best veggie patty ever. Its one of very few things that my extremely picky toddler eats, so i make it quite often.
Not only it tastes AMAZING but its so versatile! I have to admit that i made it only with quinoa so far, haven’t tried with rice. I tried with steamed sweat potato and baked one, both times came out great. Purple onion works better than green here! i added oat flour instead of the nuts and flax seed “egg”. Smoked paprika is definitely the key here. I also add cumin and garlic powder. I even tried to make it with chickpeas becasue i didn’t have black beans and it came out great! Thank you so much for this recipe!

Can I use quinoa instead of rice?

I just made these as we recently discovered our toddler is allergic to dairy and gluten. He LOVES them (and that’s a huge compliment from a picky kid!). It is so nice knowing I have something in the freezer for him that he will happily eat as were adjusting to his new diet and finding more recipes. I’m off to search the rest of your blog as most things look like great options for him. Thank you :)

These were soooo good. I used Quinoa flour . I’m new to this way of cooking and loved this recipe!

Love these! If you’re short on ingredients for the ketchup, simply adding sriracha sauce to ketchup makes for a great flavor addition.

Hello!
I am from Ontario, Canada. Just wondering where one would buy walnut/pecan meal? Or what could I used instead?

Thanks,
Des

Let’s help each other…If you haven’t made a recipe, don’t review it. I see great reviews and think I have found a sure winner–then I find most of the review are “this sounds good,” not at all helpful! I read the recipe and agree that it sounds good. Posting a review for something you haven’t made is NOT helpful–and now I’m guilty of the same.

Fantastic recipe!! I subbed the blackbeans with chickpeas and added 1/2 tsp Cajun spice – oh my just all the yum! :)

I made these last night and they were fantastic. My whole family loved them. Thank you for the fabulous recipe.

After reading this I can’t decide if I just want to go straight to Beer Kitchen and try a veggie burger or make your veggie black bean burger! I think I’ll do both!

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law this was my Thanksgiving surprise! In the previous years our menu was mashed potatoes and a roll. This year everyone else fought over a 22 pound turkey while my husband and I devoured these very happily. Suckers!! This will be a new staple in our home. Thank you!!!

Wow, these are insanely good. Hands down the best black bean burgers ever!

These way exceeded my expectations! I’ve had too many veggie burgers in my life to count, and these are some of the best I’ve tasted. I only subbed cornmeal for the nut meal and made regular-sized burgers since I couldn’t find slider buns where I live. He devoured two double-stack burgers and I had one double-stack. Went perfect with white wine :) definitely going in my “favorites” Dropbox recipe folder. Thanks so much for a great recipe that was easy to follow and delivered all the way!

Hands down the best sweet potato black bean burgers yet! Made some mods based on what I had on hand (beans from scratch, 2 day old white rice, oatmeal instead of nuts, no onions, added liquid smoke..). The texture is superb. Definitely a keeper!

Hi there, could you suggest what kind of mold to use? ;-) TIA

Hi! Can I use almond flour or flax seed meal instead of pecan or walnu flour?

Lovely, will make these tonight, it’s been raining all day so perfect for supper.

These are beyond delicious and so easy to make! They’re so good I mashed up a leftover burger and fried it up with eggs for breakfast this morning! So good!

This was delicious! Hearty and satisfying, perfect for fall or winter. I could also eat that ketchup with a spoon (I made sure to taste everything A LOT)!

Nice recipe – thanks for sharing!

This sounds soooo delicious and I’m definitely going to make it but I was wondering if there is a substitute for the nut meal? Maybe I could just use more rice or oat flour?

My boyfriend and I LOVE this recipe. Sometimes we modify by adding in some minced & sautéed carrot, garlic, celery, red pepper. We use bibb lettuce as our “bun” and we’re set!
Our food allergies makes finding solid recipes difficult, but this is the best vegan/gf veggie burger recipe we’ve found. Yahoo!!!

Never used black beans before but soo good. Burgers look delicious in the oven and love the smell…whohoo.

Half the mix disappeared while tasting. Ha-ha.
What a great tip about measuring and shaping. Thanks again for another great recipe.

Looks gorgeous and in the UK we are definitely short of good tasty burgers. I don’t like nuts though so could I substitute the pecan/walnut ingredients or would it be okay if I left it out? I just don’t want leaving it out to affect the texture.
Thanks in advance.

This recipe looks amazing! Just one question from a newbie to cooking – is there a way to make these on the stove instead of the oven? How would I go about it? I’m dying to try this but my oven is out of commission. Thanks!

We make these weekly with a side of (white) sweet potato fries. We try our hardest to avoid sugar in our diet so we make the patties without added sugar and serve with no BBQ Ketchup. Even without the added sugar these are SO GOOD!

Pretty simple to make, and deliciously addictive! I topped with a spicy mesquite bbq sauce and no bun…Mmmmm!!

YUM! Baked into burgers or just straight from the bowl super delicious bean burger recipe. And I always have these staple items. Thanks

Im just happy you said “when available” next to organic. SO many food blogs make me feel guilty for not using organic.. I do prefer it, but can’t always afford it. Cant wait to try this!! Ive been searching for meatless type foods to pack for hubby lunch.

Plan is to bake these patties and serve them in an open “sandwich” accompanied with hummus, pita and cucumber for lunch.

What can I use instead of walnut or pecan meal? My son has an allergy

I am so looking forward to making these! Thanks so much for your recipes, they are fabulous. Do you think I can substitute sprouted red jasmine rice (trader joe’s) for the brown rice? Thank you!!! :-)