This Vegan Spicy Black Bean Burger recipe is a flavorsome homemade black bean burger patty packed with sweet potatoes, walnuts, and oats. It’s filling, high-protein, super firm, and juicy.
Black beans are our favorite canned beans in the house, and when I don’t make black bean brownies or Mexican black beans, I love a good, juicy, firm black bean burger patty. The thing is, bean burgers are dry, but since I added my air fryer sweet potato cubes to this black bean mixture, the result is amazingly moist and juicy, and you will love the light, sweet flavor of the roasted sweet potatoes.
Why You Will Love These Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- Ready in 30 minutes
- Quick and healthy veggie burgers
- Packed with plant-based proteins
- Firm, moist bean burgers
- Baked and not fried
- Packed with vegetables
- Kids friendly
Ingredients For Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger Patties
These delicious, juicy black bean sweet potato burgers are easier to make than you think. All you need are a few wholesome ingredients that you probably have in your pantry right now.
- Canned Black Beans – I like to drain and rinse the canned black beans to remove the liquid they are stored in. Simply rinse in a sieve under cold tap water and let them drain for a few minutes before using to avoid added water in the burger mixture.
- Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes – This binds the ingredients in the burger mixture and also adds moisture and flavor.
- Rolled Oats – This adds texture to the patties, and it also binds the ingredients together.
- Walnuts – They add healthy fat and flavors and act like flour in the recipe.
- Flour – You can use any flour like all-purpose flour or gluten-free equivalent.
- Onion – Red onion or finely chopped onion.
- Dried Spices – This is the key to flavor the patties. I like a combination of Garlic powder, Onion powder, Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and Paprika or Smoked Paprika for a smoky flavor.
- Tomato Paste – This adds moisture and flavor to the black bean patties.
- Tamari Sauce or Soy Sauce is the secret ingredient to add umami flavor to vegan meals.
Roasting Sweet Potato Cubes
First, you need to roast the sweet potato, and you can use your oven or an air fryer.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Peel the sweet potato, cut the orange sweet potato into cubes, and place it on the prepared baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Spray with cooking oil all the cubes and roast for 15 minutes, shaking halfway, or until tender. Or, use my air fryer sweet potato cube recipes minus the spices, for a faster method.
Making Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- In a food processor bowl, add rolled oats and walnuts (photo 1).
- Process on high speed until fine, like flour (photo 2).
- Then, add the remaining ingredients: roasted sweet potato cubes, canned, drained black beans, dried spices, diced onion, flour, tomato paste, and tamari sauce (photo 3). Process all the ingredients on medium/high speed until they stick together and form a sticky, moist sweet potato burger batter that can be shaped into patties easily.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and lightly oil the paper. Divide the sweet potato black bean burger mixture into 4 balls – about 1/2 cup each (photo 4).
- Use a cooking oil spray to oil the top of the balls, then flatten them onto the baking sheet (photo 5).
- The thinner, the wider and crispier the patties are (photo 6).
- Bake the sweet potato black bean burgers for 15 minutes, then glaze them with vegan barbecue sauce (photo 7).
- Flip the patties and glaze the other side. Return to the oven for 15 minutes until baked through (photo 8).
Serving Black Bean Burgers
The best toppings to make black bean burgers are fresh, juicy, and crunchy ingredients like:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Mashed avocado
- Red onion
- Vegan burger sauce or vegan aioli
- Vegan cheese
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
Chef Tips To Making The Best Black Bean Burgers
- Adjust The Mixture If Too Wet – Sometimes, the black bean mixture is too wet. This depends on how well you drained the black beans and the method used to roast the sweet potatoes. Oven-baked sweet potatoes release more moisture than air-fried. To fix the batter, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process between each addition. I sometimes add up to 3 tablespoons of extra flour.
- Glazing Your Burgers For Extra Moisture – Black bean patties tend to be dry, so glazing the burgers halfway through baking adds a sweet, smoky, moist texture to the black bean burgers.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 300°F (150°C).
You can absolutely freeze them! Keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Meal Recipes
I love creating easy vegan dinner recipes that everyone loves. Below I listed some other delicious vegan recipes you may want to try.
Did You Like This Recipe?
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Sweet Potato - peeled, cubed, equivalent 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 can Black Beans - rinsed, drained (15 oz, 400 g cooked black beans)
- ¼ cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- ¼ cup Walnuts
- 1 small Onion - finely diced, about 3 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Garlic
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon Tamari Sauce - or soy sauce
- 5-6 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
To glaze patties
- 3 tablespoons Vegan Barbecue Sauce - to glaze the patties
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Oil paper with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
- Cook sweet potato cubes – I use my air fryer sweet potato cubes recipe to cook them. But you can also lay the cubes in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets. Spray cubes evenly with cooking oil, and bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Cool down the roasted sweet potato cubes at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the rolled oats and walnuts until they look like flour.
- Add all the remaining ingredients except the vegan barbecue sauce used for glazing.
- Blend on medium-high speed until it forms a paste with no chunks. If too wet, blend in extra tablespoons of flour, adding one tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Split the batter into 4 balls of about 1/2 cup. The mixture is sticky, so grease your hands with oil to handle it easily, then place each ball on the prepared baking sheet, leaving two thumb spaces between.
- Spray the balls with cooking oil, then press with lightly oiled hands into a 1-inch burger patty.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes. Flip the patties, brush vegan barbecue sauce on both sides of the patties, and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
- Serve in a burger bun with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, vegan burger sauce, vegan cheese, and mashed avocado.
Hi, I just found this recipe and it looks so yummy, but I am allergic to walnuts. Is there a different nut I can use or something else I can substitute?
Thanks!
Almonds should probably work fine! Maybe even lentils.
Could you add a little grated raw beet to the mixture?
Absolutely, it’s a great idea!!
Can you substitute brown rice flour?
I made this delicious burger recipe on the weekend. It was quick to prepare and was so good that I made it the next day as well. Will definitely be keeping this recipe in the rotation.
Oh thank you for leaving a comment on this burger recipe. I am so glad you love them. See you soon on the blog! XOXO Carine.
Thanks for the recipe. I love a good black bean burger.
Hello Carine! I just made those burger today and it was amazing. I added a pinch of chili powder to make a spicy burger. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for this lovely feedback and my first comment on this blog, so exciting to have you here ! Enjoy the vegan recipes. Carine