cover of the ambitious kitchen cookbook
The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook
A New York Times Bestseller

Spicy Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers with avocado-cilantro crema + sprouts

These vegetarian black bean burgers are slightly spicy and super tasty. They’re made with sweet potatoes and quinoa, and topped with the best sour cream avocado-cilantro crema plus sprouts. Easily made gluten free!

Prep Time
55 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
1 hr 5 min

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you. Please read my policy page.

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rating:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Show comments Hide comments
  • says:

    I love this recipe I’ve been making it for years minus a few of the spicy vegetables due to stomach issues. Thank you for sharing it also I was wondering how long would these last in the freezer and would you recommend cooking them in the frying pan first then freezing them or just forming them into patties and freezing them I did about sometime back in 2015 and can’t remember how I did it when I froze them, now I’m a little older and more conscious of food safety even though we are talking about pre-cooked vegetables I just don’t want to heat and cool heat and cool too many times. Thank you and looking forward to your response.

    • replied:

      Amazing! Feel free to freeze them cooked or uncooked – either will work, and you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

  • says:

    5 stars
    I made these last night! They were so flavorful and delicious!
    My burgers didn’t bind very well. I used some bread crumbs and all purpose flour because it’s all I had in hand. Do you recommend using anything else to help bind them better? I typically do not buy gluten free flour.
    Also, has anyone tried to freeze these? I made too much!

    • replied:

      So glad they were delicious! These burgers are particularly soft, but bread crumbs should do the trick (maybe try adding a bit more next time). They should freeze well, too!

  • says:

    5 stars
    So so good!! I topped mine with some guac and sriracha plus some baked potato wedges! Will make again!!

    • replied:

      Ooh love those additions! Glad you’re a fan 🙂

  • says:

    hi,
    i am looking forward to making your Sweet Potato Black Been Burgers, but want to know if they freeze well? should i cook them all and then freeze and reheat, or leave the ones i want to use later raw and cook them once they have thawed? thank you

    • replied:

      Hi! Yes, they will freeze well. You can do it either way. I prefer to cook mine and then freeze 🙂

  • says:

    5 stars
    I second the comment, can these be frozen?

    • replied:

      You bet!

  • says:

    5 stars
    Ahhh! Im excited to try this delish dish!! This is awesome!!!!

    • replied:

      Hope you love it!!

  • says:

    Could these be freezed?

  • says:

    Can I grill these? Will they stay together?

  • says:

    Thank you so much for posting this recipe, my family loved them, and they are pretty hard to please. I pan fried them after refrigerating them for about 30 minutes they stayed together well, and are very tasty. I will make them over, and over again.

  • says:

    HELP!! The Jalepeno in the ingredients is not in the recipe????

  • says:

    I love this recipe! One of my staples now, so I thought it deserved a comment. I’m trying a mango crema tonight with this instead of avocado–mainly because I’m out of avocado and I love mango. Also, I agree with the poster above who suggests baking. I suggest flipping them half way through. Also make the patties fairly thin if you want a less “mushy” center. I also suggest upping the jalapeno to a whole one if you like spice!

  • says:

    Can I sub oat flour for spelt or whole wheat?

  • says:

    Here is a tip: If you do not want mushy inside the burger do the following. Shape the burgers and place on a non-stick cookie sheet or parchment paper. Preheat oven on 350 degrees. Place pan in the center of oven. cook for 30=35 minutes. Midway in time, rotate cookie sheet. Towards the end of baking the burgers, use a skillet with one teaspoon of your choice of oil. Place burgers in pan and cook until burgers are crisps to your taste. enjoy! Note: I have a convection oven. It works for me.

  • says:

    Just mixed these up and they’ve been in the fridge for 15 minutes … and I realized I forgot to add the quinoa, LOL! So … we’ll see how they cook up minus an ingredient. *face palm*

  • says:

    I followed this recipe word for word today. Sorry, but mushy raw burger is not really a burger…it crisped up nicely on the outside but a sloppy Yucky mess on the inside. I love all the ingredients but I will have to do my own spin on it next time so it is edible

  • says:

    This was incredible, the best sweet potato/bean burger I have yet to make, and I have made a few. Thank you 🙂

  • says:

    Made these yesterday-shaped them into patties-fried one up today-is very good -but is mush like-outside of burger is crisp-but insides are like very soft-just ate it with the avocado side-no bun-not sure it would hold up in a bun…did I do something wrong? Very tasty though!

  • says:

    I can't wait to try this…..I have sweet potatoes in the garden, but haven't peeked at them yet. I might use some I canned last year. Now waiting for the zucchini brownies to cool.

  • says:

    sounds great! can’t wait to try them.

  • says:

    Can these be baked instead of fried? They look so goooood!

  • says:

    Would these hold up on a grill?

  • says:

    Def making this!

  • says:

    Good luck with the juice cleanse! I know I couldn’t do it–I like chewing too much! I absolutely love the idea of sprouts on a burger. I’ll have to try that next time!

  • says:

    They look so delicious and flavorful. I love sprouts on veggie burgers. I just did a vegan chickpea burger with sprouts. But then I covered it with mayo and cheese. Whoops. So close. I’ll have to try the crema, that sounds like it would be good on so many things.

  • says:

    My wife and I have gone vegetarian during the week – ethical reasons and a little bit of frugal necessity. We still eat meat at the weekend, but I’ve been struggling trying to find really good looking recipes and substitutes for my old favourites – like burgers. These were absolutely fantastic. Thanks very much!

  • says:

    I could have a love affair with these. Its like my favorite things rolled into one. oh my.

  • Looks incredible! I just started making my own sprouts, and this looks like the perfect thing to do with them 🙂

  • says:

    Wow this looks like the PERFECT veggie burger! I cannot wait to try these out. And the crema. Homemade veggies burgers are so much better!

  • says:

    That avo crema is calling my name! I want to try veggie burgers and I really like all the different things you have in this one – I bet all the flavors blend so well. Mm yes, I am daydreaming and drooling over here!

  • says:

    I would make this!

  • says:

    Burgers must be popular today, great minds think alike! The avocado cream sauce sounds amazing! 🙂

  • says:

    Looks good.

  • says:

    Yes, please! I would so devour these!!

  • says:

    Love the idea of sweet potato in this veggie burger!! Hope your Suja cleanse is going well. 🙂

  • says:

    I can’t wait to make these!

  • says:

    These look great! Question: I'd like to make these without the Avocado-Cilantro Crema. Could you send along the nutrition information for just the burger? Thanks! Love your site.. have made almost everything you've posted!

  • says:

    These are filled with so much goodness!! LOVE this recipe.

  • Monique I am loving this!! I just made my first homemade veggie burger a couple weeks ago using quinoa. I told myself that my next one would be a black bean burger and then you go ahead and post one. PERFECT timing! 🙂

  • says:

    My mouth literally just watered. Where'd you get the buns? TJs? Whole Foods?

  • says:

    These look amazing! Saving this recipe!

  • says:

    These sound aaaaaaaaMazing! Thanks 🙂

  • says:

    OMG…. I’m making these stat!!

  • says:

    The perfect simple Monday meal. I freaking LOVE sprouts. Whenever I remember to buy them I seriously put them on everything!!

You might also like

brown butter sage orzo with butternut squash and sausage in a pan with a spoon
Get 5 REALLY good weeknight dinner recipes
Get 5 REALLY good weeknight dinners

Enter your email to get 5 flavorful dinner recipes, plus a grocery list, straight to your inbox!

Sign up below to get all 5 dinner recipes, plus a grocery list!