Vegan Spicy Black Bean Burger recipe with Sweet Potato

This vegan spicy black bean burger recipe is the easiest vegan gluten-free sweet potato black bean burger recipe with delicious Mexican spices.

How to make black bean burger vegan patties?

To make eggless black bean burgers patties, you need to use a few starchy ingredients to bind the black bean patties together. This recipe uses a combination of cooked sweet potatoes and rolled oats to create flavorsome, vegan burger patties that hold perfectly together. Plus, these sweet potato patties are vegan gluten-free and full of Mexican spices to create a delicious spicy vegan black bean burger.

Ingredients

Let’s see the 6 simple ingredients you need to make these sweet potato bean burger:

• Black beans – one of the best plant-based protein with 13 grams per 100 grams cooked (22g/100g raw). It also covers 28% of your daily needs in iron and 44% of magnesium DRI.
• Sweet potatoes – this is your binder, and it replaces eggs to make black bean patties vegan while adding vitamins A and fibers.
• Rolled oats – this adds texture to the patties, fiber, and protein.
• Flour – you can use any flour. Brown rice flour or all-purpose gluten-free flours are great alternatives.
• Onion
• Spices – this is a Vegan Spicy black bean burger recipe, so there are lots of dry spices involved, including:
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Ground cumin
  • Smoked paprika
  • Salt
  • Chili powder
  • Cilantro

Of course, you can make this recipe without any additional ingredients, but boosting your vegan black bean sweet potato patties with veggies makes it even better! It adds texture and protein to your meal. The ingredients I like to add in this sweet potato black bean veggie burger are

• Peas 
• Corn 
• Red peppers

These vegetables create a rainbow patty that not only looks delicious but tastes amazing with real bites and chunks of food. You can add these vegetables raw or stir-fry in a saucepan with a splash of olive oil under medium heat. 

Bake the sweet potato 

First, you need to cook the sweet potato to turn its flesh into a puree. The most flavorsome option is to roast the sweet potatoes in the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400F  (200C). Cut the sweet potato lengthwise and place it on the prepared tray, flesh down. Bake until fork-tender, then cool completely before scraping out the sweet potato flesh.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor

Next, add the sweet potato puree, cooked black beans, spices, onion, rolled ats, and flour into a food processor. Process all the ingredients on medium/high speed until it sticks together and forms a sweet potato burger batter that can be shaped into patties easily.

Add more veggies if you like!

Finally, add some crunchy vegetables if you feel like it into the batter. Use a spatula to stir in corn, peas, diced capsicum into your vegan black bean burger recipe. Don’t process the added veggies using the S blade attachment of the food processor. It would turn the vegetables into a mash. 

How to shape black bean patties?

A black bean burger patty batter is slightly sticky but pretty easy to shape with your hands into balls. First, divide the entire batter into 6 even balls. Then, place each ball onto a baking sheet covered with oiled parchment paper and press each ball into a flat patty (about 0.4 inches, 1 cm). Don’t press the vegan patties too thin, or they can be dry.

How to bake the patties?

Baking – oil-free option

This is my favorite option because the patties come out crispy, they hold perfectly together, and are not greasy. You can bake the patties onto a lightly oiled baking sheet covered with parchment paper. This is the best way to minimize oil and create a crispy patty. I still recommend greasing the piece of parchment paper, or the patties are difficult to flip.

Frying 

This option can break the patties, so it’s not my favorite. But if you don’t have an oven, you can fry these black bean patties in a large frying pan in healthy hot oil. I recommend avocado oil for frying food since it has a higher smoke point. Fry on one side for about 3-5 minutes, then flip on the other side and cook until crispy. 

Black bean burger patty vegan toppings ideas!

You can serve this Vegan Spicy black bean burger recipe with some of the ingredients below : 

• Avocado slice
• Lettuce
• Tomato slices
• Vegan burger sauce – some sauce are naturally vegan like Dijon mustard or ketchup, but you can also find
• Vegan cheese – there are delicious dairy-free cheese slices available at the grocery store. They melt really well onto hot vegan burger patties.

How to make-ahead? 

You can cook the sweet potato the day before and store your sweet potato flesh in the fridge to make the patties the next day. Another idea is to make the burger patty batter the day before, store it in a sealed container in the fridge, and shape/bake the patties just before serving. 

How to store your homemade vegan patties?

This recipe makes 6 burger patties that you will most probably cook all together. 

You can store the baked black bean patties in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze. I recommend freezing the patties individually into silicon bags, for example, making it easier to thaw just one patty at a time. You don’t have to thaw the frozen patties before using them. Simply warm olive oil in a medium saucepan and cook on low heat until hot in the center and crispy on the sides.

Ingredients swaps

We all have different dietary restrictions or ingredients shortage at home, so below, I listed some options to adapt the recipe regarding your needs

• Black beans – the recipe also works with cooked, can red kidney beans. I didn’t try other bean options in this recipe
• Rolled oats – if you can’t tolerate rolled oats, you can use quinoa flakes or millet flakes in this recipe. Both options are gluten-free
• Flour – the recipe works very well with all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or brown rice flour if gluten-free
• Onion – brown or red onion taste great in this recipe. They are less spicy but still delicious
• Cilantro – some people don’t appreciate the flavor of coriander or cilantro. You can swap this with dried parsley or basil 

More vegan meal recipe ideas

I love creating easy vegan dinner recipes that everyone loves. Below I listed some other delicious vegan recipes you may want to try.

Easy vegan chickpea curry

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An easy vegan chickpea coconut curry with a creamy sauce and delicious healthy vegan dinner served with basmati rice or cauliflower rice.

Check out this recipe

Vegan Potato Salad

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A creamy vegan potato salad with creamy cashew cream perfect as a side to vegan summer BBQ.

Check out this recipe

Tempeh Meatballs

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Tempeh meatballs are easy 1-bowl vegan meatballs with delicious Greek flavors. They are delicious gluten-free vegan meatballs to make Greek gyros or salads.

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Love this recipe? Share a review or comment below or join me on Instagram for more vegan recipe inspirations. 

Your friend, Carine

Pin Print Review

Vegan Spicy Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

An easy black bean burger patties with sweet potatoes to create delicious healthy vegan, gluten-free burgers at home.

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 patties

Calories: 118 kcal

Author: Carine

4.89 from 204 votes

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Black bean patties

• ▢ ½ cup Baked sweet potato - about 1 small orange sweet potato
• ▢ 1 ½ cup Black Beans - cooked, drained, rinsed (15 oz, 400 g), divided
• ▢ ¼ cup Gluten-free rolled oats - or millet flakes
• ▢ ¼ cup Flour of choice - All-purpose or gluten-free all-purpose or brown rice flour
• ▢ 1 small Onion - finely diced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Garlic salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon Chili Powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Dried cilantro - (aka coriander) dried – optional if you don't appreciate the flavor

Vegetables – optional

• ▢ ¼ cup Corn kernel - canned or frozen
• ▢ ¼ cup Green peas - fresh or frozen
• ▢ ¼ cup Red peppers - cubed

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)

Bake the sweet potato

• Cut the sweet potato in half lengthwise, place onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, flesh down. Use a fork to pick holes all over the sweet potato skin. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until soft.  
• Carefully remove from the oven using oven mittens and scoop out the sweet potato flesh. Wait until it is fully cool down before using it in the recipe. You can also prepare the mashed sweet potato a few days before and store it in the fridge.

Make the black bean sweet potato patty batter

• Add the cooled and cooked sweet potato flesh into a food processor, 3/4 cup black beans, and process for 15-30 seconds on medium speed to combine and form a mash.
• Add rolled oats, flour, onion, all dry spices, and process again for 30 seconds until it forms a thick and sticky batter.
• Transfer the burger mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the remaining black beans and some additional vegetables if you like: corn, peas, red bell pepper.
• Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper, lightly oil the paper with avocado oil.
• Split the patty batter into 6 even balls and place each ball on the baking paper leaving 4 inches of space.
• With your hand palm, press/flatten each ball into burger patty – thickness of your choice. I love mine 1 cm, 0.4 inches thick. The thinner, the crispier, and the faster they cook.
• Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 25-30 minutes or until crispy on the sides.
• Remove from oven, and serve as a burger patty into a vegan burger bun. I recommend tomato ketchup and Dijon mustard sauce along with avocado slices, tomato slices, and lettuce.
• Store in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Rewarm in a lightly oiled frying pan or the oven for 8 minutes at 150°C (300°F).

Freezing

• Freeze your vegan black bean patties in an airtight container. Make sure they don't overlap, or it gets difficult to thaw individually. Otherwise, place a piece of parchment paper between each patty to prevent them from sticking together. Rewarm in a hot frying pan or the oven.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1patty | Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 270mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1990IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg