Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
on Oct 25, 2023, Updated Mar 13, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links.
This vegan sweet potato black bean burger recipe holds together and is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
The burgers have the perfect blend of sweet, spicy and smoky flavors, plus hold their shape wonderfully making them ideal for baking, pan frying, grilling or air frying.
They’re also vegan, gluten-free and nut-free so cater to a variety of dietary needs and are perfect served on a ban, added to salads and bowls or enjoyed as a nutritious snack.
For more popular veggie burgers, this Mushroom Veggie Burger, Quinoa Beet Burger and Spicy Chickpea Veggie Burgers are all excellent.
The combination of sweet potatoes and black beans is always a classic. You can also try them together in Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos, Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili.
Ingredients
- Black Beans: Canned works great, just drain, rinse and you’re ready to go. Kidney beans or white beans also work here.
- Sweet Potato: You’ll need about 1 cup cooked, use this method for baking sweet potatoes beforehand.
- Corn: Canned, fresh or thawed frozen both work fine.
- Oats: Quick oats are best for their fine texture but rolled oats or old-fashioned oats are ok too. If needed, use certified gluten-free oats.
- Flax: Helps to bind the recipe. Make sure you use ground flaxseeds, not whole flax seed.
- Jalapeno: Adds a bit of heat and flavor, make sure you de-seed it otherwise they’ll be very spicy. You can omit the jalapeno if you’re sensitive to spice.
Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements.
Variations & Additions
- Spicy Kick: Add diced 1-2 chipotle peppers, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tsp chili powder, or 1 tbsp adobo sauce or hot sauce to the burger mixture for a fiery twist.
- Umami: You can add up to 1 tbsp soy sauce or gluten-free tamari for added umami flavor.
- Herb Infusion: Mix in fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, or chives for a burst of freshness.
- Cheesy: Integrate up to 1/2 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese or 2 tbsp nutritional yeast into the burger mixture.
- Nutty: Add up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans for more texture.
- Quinoa: Add up to 1/2 cup cooked quinoa for additional protein and texture.
- Extra Veggies: You can add up to 1 cup shredded carrot or 1 red or green pepper. Cut the pepper into small chunks before adding to food processor with the onion and jalapeno.
- For an appetizer option make them meatball or nugget-sized and serve with dipping sauce. This also works for making sliders.
- Slaw: This Apple Beet Slaw, Spicy Carrot Slaw, Quick Pickled Red Onions or the sesame slaw from this Peanut Chickpea Tacos recipe are all good burger toppings.
- Bowl: Crumble the burger over a grain bowl with quinoa or brown rice, mixed greens, roasted vegetables, and a drizzle of tahini dressing.
- Breakfast: Serve the burger patty with avocado and this Tofu Scramble Recipe for a hearty breakfast.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Quick Tip: You will need 1 medium or 1 cup of cooked sweet potato for this recipe. If you don’t have that prepared, start that first. You can use this tutorial for how to bake sweet potatoes or prepare them any way you normally would.
Step 1. Add the jalapeno and onion chunks to a food processor and pulse a few times to process into a rough chop.
Step 2. Add the cooked sweet potato and black beans, reserving 1/3 cup of the beans. Process until mostly smooth.
Step 3. Add the food processor mixture and the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved beans, to a bowl and mix well. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes. If baking, preheat the oven to 400 F.
Step 4. Shape 6 burger patties and place on a lined baking tray. If baking, bake for about 10-15 minutes per side. If frying, cook in a nonstick skillet for 3-5 minutes per side over medium heat. I recommend using a bit of cooking spray or olive oil to cook.
Recipe FAQs
For a low-carb option, serve in a lettuce bun. Try topped with roasted red peppers or quick pickled red onions. Try this vegan tzatziki, spicy vegan mayo or vegan caesar dressing for a burger sauce.
Serve with baked parsnip fries, arugula peach salad or something like this Greek pasta salad, Mediterranean orzo salad or avocado corn salad.
Cooked patties can be frozen in a resealable container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. You may want to place a square of wax paper or parchment paper between the patties to prevent sticking, or freeze them on a baking sheet before tray to a bag or container.
Reheat leftover burgers in a pan or in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 F until heated through. They can be reheated in the microwave but get a bit soggy. You can also enjoy them cold for a snack or added to salads.
Cooked patties can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Raw patties can be prepared 1 day in advance and stored in the fridge in a sealed container or covered on a plate until you’re ready to cook them.
Preheat the air fryer to 350 F and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, flipping after 5 minutes.
If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the veggies by hand and mash the cooked sweet potato with a potato masher, then mix everything in a bowl until you have a smooth, combined texture.
More Recipes to Try!
Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- ½ of a medium red onion
- 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed
- 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium sweet potato, cooked, peel removed (about 1 cup cooked, approx. 300 g)
- ⅓ cup corn kernels, canned or frozen
- ¾ cup quick oats, 75 g
- 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Slice the onion into wedges; the jalapeno in half and remove seeds, and add both a food processor. Pulse a few times to roughly chop.
- Add cooked sweet potato and the black beans, reserving ⅓ cup beans. Process until mostly smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients, including reserved beans, to a medium mixing bowl. Add processed potato mixture to bowl and stir to combine.
- Place the bowl of burger ingredients in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 400 F if baking, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once chilled, divide the mixture into 6-8 “patties” and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes each side, spraying with oil if desired. If not baking, burgers may also be pan-fried for 3-5 minutes on each side in a good non-stick pan, using non-stick cooking spray or a touch of oil to cook, if needed.
- Serve on a bun with your favourite burger toppings such as mustard, ketchup, onion, lettuce and tomato.
Made these today and they were super yuuummy!! I also substituted the oats for millet flakes and everything held well together 🙂 Will definitely make it again, thanks for this lovely recipe.
I have tried other recipes.
This is the best so far !
Holds together well….awesome flavors!
Freezes well.
Thank you
From a happy family in New Zealand !
You’re welcome, from Canada! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I love peanut butter however my granddaughter has a severe allergy to it so we don’t have it our house. I wanted to try the other recipe you had but it has peanut butter so I will try these are they sound delicious. If you have other recipes that are peanut free, I would love to try them.
You can use almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter in the other one, and more or less make that substitution for any of my recipes that use peanut butter. I also have this quinoa burger if you’re looking for burgers.
Mmmmm!
So good. Love the recipe.
I am seriously getting hooked on Deryn’s recipes. They are so simple, easy and delicious! I am new to plant-based cooking and have been looking for a great burger recipe for some time now. I loved the south-west flavours and all of the vegetables! Another amazing recipe – I can’t wait to try another!!
We can’t do corn – what would you suggest in substitute? Extra black beans?
You should be able to leave it out or maybe do some diced bell peppers. Enjoy!
I love the simple and healthy ingredients, the straight forward way of making i, the texture and the final product.
My daughter has celiac, and she was so excited to eat it and said it is the best GF, vegan patty we have made so far at home.
One thing I will add is maybe ginger or curry or another spice to balance the sweetness from the sweet potatoes.
Thanks, Deryn, for sharing this amazing recipe with us!!
These sound so good! Would luv to make them but OATS are not my friend anymore! My digestive system isn’t having it. lol Any thing else I could use??
You could try quinoa flakes or breadcrumbs. Let me know if you try it!
I made these with regular potato cos my family doesn’t like sweet potato and they turned out lovely.
Excellent! Full approval from all at dinner last night. Don’t skip chilling in the fridge step. I think that helps with shaping and keeping them from falling apart. PLan to make more to stick in freezer and would like to try BBQ for cooking. PS. spicy chickpea burgers are also a favourite.
So glad you enjoyed them!