These simple black bean burgers are packed with flavorful ingredients to make them stand out. They’re seasoned with sautéed green peppers and onions, garlic powder, jalapeno and 2 surprising ingredients: sweet potato and chia seeds! What? That’s right! The sweet potato and chia seeds help keep this burger moist and I promise you won’t even know they’re in there. Give it a try! You won’t be sorry!
So back to these chia seeds. In a burger? For real? I know it sounds strange, but while cooking and making other recipes with chia seeds, I thought why not?!? They are pretty much flavorless and absorb any liquid around them, creating a gel-like substance, which lead my brain to thinking “I could use chia seeds to help my veggie burgers “gel together!” Results: It may help some, but I think the sweet potatoes are what really help to keep this burger moist and bind it all together. Enjoy these delicious burgers on a bun, or without a bun OR my personal recommendation- stack it between 2 cruncy lettuce leaves. Yummmmmy!
What you'll need to make these burgers
- Canned or cooked beans: I used canned beans, drained and rinsed. Canned beans are a quick and easy. Just make sure you drain the liquid and give them a good rinse.
- Onions, Green Bell Pepper, Jalapeño Pepper and a Sweet Potato.
- Jarred jalapeños can be used in place of fresh ones. Dice 5-6 sliced peppers. If you have these in your fridge you know they have a slightly different taste and texture than fresh.
- A cup of shredded carrots can be substituted for sweet potatoes.
- Chia seeds: You can omit the chia seeds or try hemp or flax seeds if you had those instead.
- One large pasture raised egg
- Seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika (or regular paprika, if you don’t have the smoked) and salt & pepper to taste.
- Ketchup
Good for you ingredients
Black Beans
Black beans are full of nutritional goodness! Just one cup contains 15 grams of protein so it is a sustainable food choice for vegetarians or vegans. These beans are also a great source of many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help our bodies ward off disease. Black beans also promote heart health, since they are loaded with fiber (also 15 g in 1 cup serving) and do not contain any cholesterol. Fiber helps lower the amount of cholesterol in your blood and the vitamins found in the beans could prevent the build-up of homocysteine, which can cause damage to your blood vessels. Go black beans!
Chia Seeds
I’m always looking for ways to sneak in nutritious ingredients and because I know chia seeds absorb liquid and could help act as a binding agent, I went for it. I promise you won’t even know they’re in there, but you’ll get the added health benefits! Chia seeds are packed with fiber, protein, Omega 3 fats (the heart healthy kind) and other micronutrients that our bodies need. The recommended amount to reap health benefits is about 3 TB a day…so while there’s a minimal amount in 1 burger, it’s a start to introducing your body to a new superfood ingredient! As we like to say around here, E for Effort!! Adding superfood ingredients into recipes is a great way to introduce them to your body in small amounts…and sneak in extra nutrition for picky eaters (that will have no idea they’re in there- insert wicked, sneaky bwahahahah laugh).
Other Options for cooking
Once patties are ready you can cook them several ways.
- For this recipe I grilled them in a cast iron skillet at 400 for 5 minutes on each side. They will stay soft, but firm up slightly on the outside. You do not want to place burgers directly on the grill because they will crumble slightly and fall through the cracks.
- You can pan cook the burgers over medium heat, 5-7 minutes or so per side. Make sure you spray or coat your pan with some oil to prevent sticking.
- Or you can bake these burgers in the oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes; flipping over midway through.
How to Store & Reheat Burgers
- To store: Place leftover burgers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. I recommend eating within 3 days. (Time Saver tip: Need a quick & tasty lunch for work tomorrow? Try a leftover burger on top of a quick salad of greens, tomatoes, and corn. Pack a side of chips & salsa to go with it! Go ahead and toss it together now…you’ll be glad you did tomorrow morning).
- To freeze: Place each burger in a sandwich bag to prevent the burgers from freezing together, then place in a well sealed freezer bag and store up to 2 months.
- To reheat: Burgers can be reheated in a skillet over medium heat, with a bit of oil in the pan to prevent sticking. You can also microwave them.
Try these tasty burgers with...
All burgers are best served with a side of salty fries, am I right? Any of these tasty, crispy, salty, irresistible fries will partner great with these savory burgers.
- Crispy Parmesan Carrot Fries
- Grilled Sweet Potato Fries
- Irresistible Zucchini Fries
Black Bean Veggie Burgers
These simple black bean burgers are packed with flavorful ingredients to make them stand out. They’re seasoned with sautéed green peppers and onions, garlic powder, jalapeno and 2 surprising ingredients: sweet potato and chia seeds! What? That’s right! The sweet potato and chia seeds help keep this burger moist and I promise you won’t even know they’re in there. Give it a try! You won’t be sorry!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 burgers 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cans of black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 small jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 cup grated sweet potato
- 1 TB chia seeds
- 1 large pasture raised egg
- 1 TB onion powder
- 1 TB garlic powder
- 1/2 TB smoked paprika
- 2 TB Ketchup
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Cook onions and green peppers until soft, about 1 minute. Stir in jalapenos and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add grated potatoes and 2 cans of rinsed and drained black beans. Using a hand masher, or your hands, mash the sweet potato and beans together until well combined. I don’t like to mash all of the beans down because I prefer the texture, but you can mash as much or as little as you like.
- Add in cooked onion and peppers once they have cooled, along with chia seeds, egg, seasonings, ketchup and salt & pepper to taste.
- Mix all ingredients together until well combined, then form into patties. I was able to make 6 burgers with this recipe.
- Place 2-3 patties in your skillet, depending on how many will fit (with enough room to flip).
- Grill at 400 degrees for 5 minutes on each side.
Notes
Helpful tips:
- Warm up the grill and cast iron skillet before you prepare ingredients. Place your cast iron skillet directly on the grill rack.
- Separate the mixture into the amount of burgers you need before forming into patties. For example, if I need to make 6 burgers, I will portion 6 even sized balls of mixture to know that I will have enough and that the burgers will be relatively the same size.
- Grating Sweet Potatoes: Peel the skins from the sweet potatoes first. Place a grater over a clean plate or cutting board then grate the potato until you have about 1 cup of gratings. *Note: Most hand graters have 2 sides, I prefer to use the side with the larger holes. Warning: As your potato gets smaller be careful not to skin your knuckles while grating. Ouch! Been there, done that. Stay focused!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: American
