Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers with a Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce

When I go out, I try not to order meat, usually because I am very picky about the quality of meat that I eat, and it is very hard to find places that serve that quality (grass-fed, organic). So instead, I will choose the veggie wrap or black bean burger. In these cases, I not only get to avoid the hormone-filled meat products, but I get to eat some more veggies than I would have if I had opted for the former. The result is usually quite surprising: delicious sandwiches, wraps, and burgers that have no meat whatsoever. And I end up feeling better physically and emotionally from that decision. Recently, I was out on the town in the city of Philadelphia, and came across a food truck which sold burgers. There were two options: a beef burger and a veggie burger. Instead of choosing the classic beef burger, I opted for the the veggie black bean burger. It was topped with smeared avocado and a spicy mayo. The whole thing was a disaster. It was falling apart in my hands as I was eating, dripping everywhere. Nonetheless, it was one of the most delicious veggie burgers I have ever had. It was seasoned perfectly, and cooked to perfection. It changed my mind about burgers; and from that point I knew I had to give my own version a try. This recipe was inspired by that black bean burger I had that night, and I must say it came pretty darn close. The toppings here were a bit different, but feel free to experiment with it. I’d like to try this with a chipotle mayo and some crisp lettuce next time for a change. Here we added sweet potato, tons of spices and topped it with a refreshing yogurt sauce to compliment. I wish I made it a tad spicier, something I will definitely do in the future. I wasn’t able to find a good bun to put this on, so I enjoyed just as is, and that worked just as well.

Have you ever made your own veggie burgers? What did you put in them?

Enjoy!

What You’ll Need

for the burgers:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed (or 15 oz. cooked from scratch)
• 1 small sweet potato, cooked and peeled
• 1/4 c. almond meal
• 1 pastured egg
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced (mild)
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• sea salt and pepper

for the yogurt sauce:

• 1/4 c. yogurt
• 1 T freshly chopped cilantro (could use parsley instead)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 T lime juice
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

for topping:

• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 large handfuls of spinach, steamed

What to Do:

1. If your sweet potato is not already cooked, skin it, cube it and cook either steamed, boiled or baked for roughly 20-30 minutes. Ours was left over so this step was eliminated.
2. Preheat oven to 375 °.
3. Mash together your sweet potato, black beans, almond meal, and egg. Add onions, garlic, jalapeno, lime, olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Refrigerate to harden (not necessary).
4. Divide your burger mixture into 4 patties and place on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes or until they are nicely browned.
6. Serve on bun, or without, topped with a liberal amount of yogurt sauce, avocado and spinach.

Makes 4 burgers