This burger has become my new best friend! Not just because of the fact that it is so darn good, but also because we have been spending a lot of time together lately.
I’ve been wanting to make a veggie burger for a long time now, but I was convinced that it would be really complicated to make and I would have to go through a lot of trial and error over it either being too dry or too wet. Because of that, I put it off for a while, a really long while. This veggie burger has been on my to-do list for a few months now and I can finally cross it off!
To make things less intimidating for myself, I decided I was going to start out really simple with just some sweet potatoes, black beans, and brown rice. I would mix them up and then check the consistency of the mixture and decide how much bread crumbs and/or other binder ingredients I would need. I was trying really hard not to have to use eggs in these so that they could also be vegan.
I roasted the sweet potatoes, cooked the brown rice, and added them into the food processor with the black beans and a few herbs and spices. I gave it a whir, as Ina would say, and to my amazement when I tried to form the mixture into a patty it worked perfectly! It wasn’t crumbly, it wasn’t too soft, and it stuck together in a patty shape perfectly. I guess sometimes less is more!
When I said before that I have been spending a lot of time with these burgers lately, it is because I made them three times in one week. I not only wanted to make sure I was giving you a delicious, fool proof veggie burger recipe, but I also couldn’t get enough of them. And, my husband loved them too, which is always a big plus when it comes to the food I cook on this blog. As you can see below, you will get 6 nice sized burgers out of this recipe. Not all my burgers were equal sizes, but you can easily make 6 that are all equal sizes and they will be the perfect size to fit on a bun. I just wanted to make a few huge ones and a few tiny ones!
I have experimented in all different ways with these burgers and each time they are equally amazing, if not better than the first time. I have added cheese to the mixture, I have grilled them (Yes, these veggie burgers are grill-able!), I have crumbled them up and added them to taco salad, and I have also eaten them raw, without heating them at all, and you can do that too because they don’t have any egg in them. Feel free to put your own spin on them if you would like, this version that I am sharing with you today was my absolute favorite and the smoked paprika really took them to another level, as did the curry cilantro mayo!
Smokey Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Brown Rice Veggie Burgers with Curry Cilantro Mayo {gf+v}
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 3 cups roasted sweet potatoes, see recipe below
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 6 hamburger buns, gluten free or regular
- Burger toppings of your choice: lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, etc…
- Jalapeno, to taste. I used pickled jalapenos
Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
- 3 cups diced sweet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Curry Cilantro Mayo:
- 1 cup veganaise or mayonnaise
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 – 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the mayo: add all of the mayo ingredients to a medium sized bowl and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a large sheet pan, place the diced sweet potatoes, olive oil, and all the spices. Toss until sweet potatoes are coated and place into the pre-heated oven. Roast for about 25 minutes, flipping once, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Let cool for a few minutes.
- Place all of the veggie burger ingredients into a food processor and process for about 3 – 5 seconds until everything is mixed together but still has some texture to it. Form patties (you should get about 6 of them depending on the size you make) and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.*
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and coat the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. Place burgers in the hot pan and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once, until burgers are heated through.
- If grilling the burgers, grill over medium heat and rub a little bit of olive oil on the grill to ensure that the burgers don’t stick.
- Top veggie burgers with curry cilantro mayo and enjoy on a bun with toppings of your choice!
Notes
*This step is especially important if you are grilling the burgers, you want them to be as firm as possible before you put them on the grill.
- Category: Entree, Sandwich, Gluten Free, Vegan
Great burgers! The only thing I wish I would have done was wait until all ingredients were completely cool, then mash by hand (not in processor, since they came out a bit too soft/mushy even thought I only pulsed 10-15 seconds). But the ingredients I followed exactly and the taste was fantastic!
Thank you, Lori!! Yeah, they do get a bit mushy if they are pulsed too long, I love the idea of mashing them by hand instead! I will have to try that next time! Thank you for the feedback 🙂
These were delicious but mine came out too mushy too. I will do as you suggested and mash by hand next time. Thanks for the tip.Serves with chipotle mayo that I made by just mixing in a chipolte pepper with mayo. Delicious!
I’m sorry to hear they came out mushy, they definitely aren’t as firm as store-bought veggie burgers but hopefully it will help to mash by hand!
Absolutely fantastic! My favorite homemade veggie burger by far!
Yah!! Thank you so much for your nice comment! And I’m so glad you loved them 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and the photos. I just made it, and it was delicious. I calculated the nutritional information per serving (six total from one batch): 142 calories; 26.5 grams carbs; 4.8 grams carbs; 3.5 grams protein; 4.9 grams fiber; sodium 37 mg; potassium 185.6 mg; calcium 2.9 %; vitamin C 1.2%. Sending friends your way to see the recipe.
Hi Marie! I’m so glad you made these burgers and that you loved them! Thanks so much for commenting and letting me know! I also really appreciate the nutritional information, that is awesome that you figured it out!
Do you know how long they will stay good for prior to grilling them? I do all of my batch cooking on the weekends, and I figured these would dry out with reheating. If they’ll stay good for a while uncooked then I can just grill two up each evening.
Hi Tory! When I made these, I only cooked a few for me to eat and then I put other uncooked ones in containers and refrigerated them for about 3-4 days until I wanted to eat more of them. The raw ones held up really well in the refrigerator until I was ready to cook them! I also ended up eating a few of them without heating them at all because I was lazy and they were good that way too!
Hi. I’m totally excited about trying this burger. My son comes for dinner often, and doesn’t eat meat, so I’m always looking for different recipes that I think we both would like. This one does it for me. I’m wondering if anyone has tried freezing these? Just curious as to how they hold up in the freezer, if anyone has any info? Thanks!
Hi Jamie! I haven’t tried feezing them myself yet because I always eat them all up and don’t usually have leftovers! But, I would recommend freezing them for up to a month and thawing them completely before cooking them. I hope that helps!
Ya know, my girlfriend and I just tried out first veggie sandwich today, and I am so surprised as to how filling and delicious they are… I have been craving a veggie burger and after reading this post, I definitely am going to try and make this one!
The burger looks absolutely delicious and I wouldn’t mind serving this up to me and my girlfriend =D
Hi Kevin! They really can be filling! My husband is a huge meat eater, but he loves all the veggie burgers that I make. I hope you guys like this one 🙂
I’m sitting here at work with my mouth totally watering! You ue everything I am in love with cilantro. onions, garlic, cumin seasonings lime flavor flavor, flavor! AMAZING you out did yourself on every recipe! I’m trying two this weekend bravo! Who said you can’t eat healthy and it actually is good! 🙂 Thanks for all the recipes!
Thanks so much, Gynger!! These burgers are one of my favorite things that I’ve made, they are all my favorite flavors too! I’m so glad you like my recipes!! Your comment just made my day! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Aww I’m so happy it made you smile ( I meant every word) people complain all the time that its impossible to eat healthy and it actually taste GOOD lol. I just want to prove that wrong! I had my first BB burger about 1 month ago and im hooked! lol def trying this one! Thanks!! 🙂
People who think that healthy food can’t taste good must just not know how to cook it well, haha! Veggie burgers are the best and I’m totally hooked on them too 🙂
I just made these tonight and they were awesome! Thanks for the recipe. I’m looking forward to trying more of the recipes on your blog!
Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know you enjoyed them 🙂 That made my day!!
Hands down ( or actually hands up to hold this bad boy), this is the best veggie burger I have ever eaten.
I have tried so many black bean burgers, veggie burgers, quiona burgers, chickpea burgers, etc. & this burger is by far the BEST!
My husband too is a meat burger connousour & he loves & asks for this burger.
I have officially printed this recipe for making this as our family OFFICIAL burger.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe…
PS. The smoked paprika rocks this burger!! YUM YUM
Hi Lori!! Your comment just made my day, maybe even my week or month!! I’m so glad you and your husband loved this burger!! My husband is a huge meat eater too and I was able to get him to eat them two nights in a row! I think it is the smoked paprika that really makes it! That is awesome that you are making it your official family burger! That makes me so happy! Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out 🙂