These vegan sweet potato and black bean burgers are smoky, spicy and a little bit sweet! A delicious crowd-pleasing veggie burger recipe that's super easy to make and perfect for everything from cookouts to busy weeknights.
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 chipotle pepper (canned), seeded and finely chopped (Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- salt, to taste (I use 1 teaspoon)
- 6 burger buns
- Toppings of choice, such as avocado, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, salsa or hot sauce
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Preheat the oven to 400°.
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Scrub the sweet potato and poke a few holes in it with a fork or sharp knife. Place the sweet potato directly on the oven rack and bake it until easily pierced with a fork, about 45 to 60 minutes (Note 2). Leave the oven on.
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Cut the sweet potato open and let it cool for a few minutes when it's done baking.
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Place the oats into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend them to a coarse powder.
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Scoop out 1 cup of the sweet potato flesh and place it into the food processor with the ground oats (Note 3). Add the beans, onion, garlic, chipotle, adobo sauce, cumin, cilantro, and salt.
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Run the machine for a few seconds at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula between runs. Continue until the ingredients are blended but still have some texture.
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Taste-test the mixture and make adjustments as needed, adding more chipotles, adobo sauce, or salt if needed.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Shape the mixture into 6 patties (Note 4) and place them on the baking sheet. The mixture will be very soft at this point, but the burgers will firm up when you bake them.
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Bake the patties for about 30 minutes, carefully flipping them halfway through, until lightly browned.
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Stuff the patties into buns and top them with toppings of choice. Serve.
- The chipotle pepper and adobo sauce will add some heat. Decrease the amounts for milder burgers, or increase for spicier burgers. For burgers with no heat, leave both out and add a teaspoon of smoked paprika.
- If you're short on time you can instead microwave the sweet potato. Poke holes in it with a fork or knife, then place it on a microwave-safe dish. Microwave it for 4 to 5 minutes, until fork tender. Let it sit for a few minutes before removing it from the microwave.
- Depending on the size of your sweet potato, you'll probably have some extra. Save it for another use or make a snack of it.
- You could also make 4 or 5 larger patties.
- Nutrition information includes 1 bun and 1 patty. It does not include toppings.