These gluten-free sweet potato black bean burgers combine mashed sweet potatoes and black beans with sweet corn, spicy jalapeno and pantry seasonings for a flavorful vegan burger even meat eaters will love! Cook and enjoy them right away or form and freeze for a future quick and easy lunch or dinner.

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front view of sweet potato black bean burger with avocado, tomato, and bun on a white plate.

If you're a regular follower of Watch Learn Eat, what I'm about to say may shock you...

These burgers are NOT made with chickpeas!

Gasp

I know. I couldn't even believe it myself. I mean, my world (OK, just my kitchen) revolves around chickpeas.

two hands holding a veggie burger up over a plate.

But today, I'm making room for another legume to take center stage...the black bean!

So without further ado, let's make some vegan burgers!

veggie burger with avocado and red onion on a white plate.

Ingredients you'll need

Medium Sweet Potato
Canned Black Beans
Corn (canned or frozen)
Jalapenos
Oat Flour
Nutritional Yeast
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika
White Pepper
Salt
Olive Oil (for pan frying)

burger on a bun with lettuce on wooden board waiting for toppings

How to make these sweet potato black bean burgers - step by step

First, microwave your sweet potato. Pierce the skin of the potato in multiple places with a fork and then wrap it in a paper towel. Place it in the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Use the fork to poke through the potato skin to see if the potato flesh is soft. If it is not, continue to microwave in 30-second intervals until soft.

Allow the potato to cool down for a few minutes before handling.

Then, add the cooked sweet potato and 1 cup of black beans to a large bowl. Mash the beans and sweet potato together using a large fork or potato masher.

Mashing black beans and sweet potato together with a fork in a mixing bowl

Add the remaining black beans, corn, jalapeno, oat flour, nutritional yeast, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper and paprika.

Use a spoon to combine ingredients until they are well incorporated.

Form into 4 burger patties about ½ inch thick. If you make them too thick, they won't brown as well and may not cook evenly throughout.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is heated, place the burger patties in the pan. Cook for 6-8 minutes.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers cooking in a skillet with olive oil

Carefully flip each burger and cook on the other side for another 6-8 minutes until both sides are browned and burgers are heated throughout.

Cooking the sweet potato black bean burgers on the other side after they were flipped

Ideas for serving

Serve on gluten-free, vegan buns with your favorite toppings such as sliced tomatoes, red onion, avocado and lettuce.

burger on bun with lettuce topped with sliced avocado on a wooden board with avocado and tomato slices in the background

You can also top them with our vegan mayo or guacamole, or try them with our vegan cheese sauce, or vegan nacho cheese sauce.

Instead of a bun, try serving over a bed of lettuce or in a lettuce wrap.

These burgers pair well with fries, chips (potato or tortilla), hummus pasta salad, Southwest lentil pasta salad, avocado pasta salad, vegan potato salad, and stovetop vegan mac and cheese.

burger on a but with lettuce topped with avocado and tomato on a wooden board with more of the toppings in the background

Storing and reheating leftover burgers

Store leftover cooked burgers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Alternatively, you can also freeze leftover cooked burgers.

Reheat leftover burgers in a nonstick skillet with a little bit of olive oil over medium heat until warmed throughout.

Can I freeze uncooked burgers for later?

Yes! You can form and freeze some or all of the uncooked patties for future use.

I often do this so that I have an easy meal on hand in a pinch.

Once formed, place the patties in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least one hour.

formed sweet potato black bean burgers on a parchment-lined baking sheet after freezing for one hour

Then, transfer the patties to an airtight container or zip top freezer bag (I like these reusable bags) in a single layer and freeze for up to 6 months.

Formed frozen burger patties in a freezer bag for future use

You can then cook the burgers from frozen following the pan frying instructions above. Please note that you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time when cooking from frozen.

Can I bake these burgers instead of pan frying?

Yes. Spray both sides of each burger with olive oil spray or use a pastry brush to coat each side with olive oil.

Then, bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 400° oven for about 10-15 minutes per side or until warmed throughout.

If you are looking to make them oil-free, you skip the oil but please note that they will not get as browned and will have an overall drier texture.

Can I grill them?

You can grill the burgers when they are frozen. They will not hold their form on the grill otherwise.

I recommend freezing them overnight before grilling.

Lightly spray both sides of the frozen burgers with olive oil spray.

Then, grill the frozen burgers over medium heat until browned on both sides and heated throughout, carefully flipping in between.

Substitutions

Jalapeno: You can use 3 tablespoons of canned jalapenos or green chiles in place of the fresh diced jalapeno. Just be sure to thoroughly drain them first.

Oat Flour: You can use 4 teaspoons of chickpea flour in place of the oat flour, if desired.

veggie burger with toppings and bun on a wooden board.

More meatless burger recipes

close-up of veggie burger with toppings and bun on a white plate.

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5 from 6 votes

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Keyword beans, gluten free, jalapenos, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian, veggie burger

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Total Time 22

Servings

Calories 220kcal

Author Sherri Hall

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato (yields approximately ¾-1 cup cooked sweet potato flesh)
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, divided (drained and rinsed)
⅓ cup corn kernels (drained if canned, thawed if frozen)
2 medium jalapenos (or 1 large), seeded and diced (approximately 3 tablespoons diced jalapeno) *See notes below for substitution
2-3 tablespoon gluten-free, whole-grain oat flour *See notes below for substitution
2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
⅜ teaspoon onion powder
⅜ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
⅛ teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Pierce the skin of the sweet potato in multiple places with a fork and then wrap it in a paper towel. Place it in the **microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes, turning once halfway through. Use the fork to poke through the potato skin to see if the potato flesh is soft. If it is not, continue to microwave in 30-second intervals until soft. Allow the potato to cool down for a few minutes before handling.
Add cooked sweet potato and 1 cup black beans to a large bowl. Mash the beans and sweet potato together with a large fork or potato masher.
Add the remaining black beans, corn, jalapeno, 2 tablespoons of oat flour, nutritional yeast, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper and paprika. Use a spoon to combine ingredients until they are well incorporated. If the mixture does not seem firm enough, you can add another tablespoon of oat flour.
Form into 4 burger patties about ½ inch thick.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When oil is heated, place the burgers in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side until browned and heated throughout, carefully flipping in between.

(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)

Notes

* Substitutions: You can use canned jalapenos or green chiles in place of the fresh diced jalapeno. Just be sure to thoroughly drain first. You can substitute 4-6 teaspoons of chickpea flour in place of the oat flour, if desired.

**To bake the sweet potato instead of microwave it, preheat the oven to 400° F. Pierce the sweet potato in multiple places with a fork and then wrap it in aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until soft.

See the post above for freezing instructions as well as baking/grilling instructions.

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Accuracy is not guaranteed. Information shown should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition was calculated for the burgers pan-fried with olive oil without any toppings.

Nutrition

This post originally appeared on Watch Learn Eat on December 6, 2018. It has been republished to reflect both recipe and photo revisions. Changes to the story were also made.

©Watch Learn Eat. All content and images are copyright protected. Recipes and images are not to be used or republished without prior permission. If you adapt this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, and link back to this post for the original recipe.