I have really fallen in love with vegetarian patties, burgers, croquettes, etc. It is such a fun change of pace for dinner and as long as you don’t deep fry them in an ungodly amount of oil, they still satisfy that urge for crispy fried stuff while still being healthy. Honestly, I am not one for fried foods, never really have been – though sometimes it is hard to walk away from good crappy french fries. They are my weakness, I will admit it. Whenever I make these types of patties I cook them in just a tablespoon or two of really good extra-virgin olive oil, so they get crisp on the outside but they are still healthy and you get the wonderful benefits and flavors of olive oil. None of that deep-frying in gross oils that don’t have any health or nutritional value. These particular patties are great because they are not only gluten-free but they are also vegan. There aren’t any weird ingredients, replacements or gums. If you aren’t gluten-free, feel free to use regular breadcrumbs and your favorite all-purpose flour. That’s it.
These sweet potato and black bean patties might be my new favorite of the bunch. They have a delicious crispy crunch on the outside and are so perfectly tender and soft on the inside. They are so full of flavor and made a perfect dinner by serving two of them on top of some baby arugula. I just top them with a spoonful of fresh pico de gallo and cilantro. A delicious creamy and spicy yogurt sauce or sour cream would also be delicious. I only cooked up 4 of them for us for dinner the first night and then refrigerated the rest of the patties. They are so easy to just pull of out the fridge and heat up quickly for lunches. If you wanted these to be a smaller bite for an appetizer or snack, just make the patties a bit smaller, so they can be easily picked up with one hand, instead of requiring a fork and plate.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Patties
(Makes about 15 patties – more or less depending on how big you make your patties)
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks (this was about 3 medium-sized potatoes for me)
1 cup cooked organic black beans, divided into two 1/2 cup servings
½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs*
3 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour* plus more if you need it (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chile powder (I used ground smoked chipotle powder)
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 green onions, both white and green parts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, roughly chopped
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more if you need it
A small handful of fresh cilantro plus fresh pico de gallo for serving.
Fill a medium saucepan with water, add the sweet potato chunks and cover. Cook over a medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes until very tender. Drain in a colander until very dry.
Once dry, place sweet potato chunks in a large mixing bowl with 1/2 cup of the black beans and mash with a potato masher to break up the big bits. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of beans, salt and pepper, breadcrumbs, flour, garlic, cilantro and green onions, and mix with your hands to form a smooth batter. Make sure that the breadcrumbs and flour are mixed throughout and there are not huge chunks of potato. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour. It should be quite sticky though.
In a non-stick skillet, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over a medium-high heat. Form round, flat patties about 3-inches in diameter (this is about three tablespoons of batter per patty). Cook four or more at a time for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer finished patties to a paper towel-lined plate to cool slightly. Add more oil as needed to continue cooking the remaining patties. If you wish to save the rest to cook later, form the patties and place on a plate covered in plastic wrap. They can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Pull them out from your fridge and cook as mentioned above.
Serve the patties topped with some fresh chopped cilantro and a spoonful of fresh pico de gallo (or whatever favorite fresh salsa you have on hand). You could also top with a creamy chipotle yogurt sauce or whatever other toppings you wish.
* regular breadcrumbs and all-purpose flour will work just fine if you aren’t gluten intolerant.
Here are a couple of my other favorite patty, burger and croquette recipes:
Quinoa Croquettes with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Chickpea Croquettes (Gluten-Free) with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
17 Responses
The sweet potato and black bean patties look great! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture.
They are soo delicious. I made the last few today for lunch and I was a little sad to see them gone 🙁 I will definitely be making these a ton this fall and winter!
I shy away from deep fried recipes too. It’s a great idea to have a meatless day. I think I’ll try to incorporate that.
Is there a way to freeze these? I made them for dinner and I have so many leftover! Very delicious.
I would bet you could freeze them, I freeze those lentil burgers that I make all the time. They heat up fine. Just make sure they are sealed well in a freezer bag or something.
These couldn’t look any more delicious. Yum.
These look delicious! Did anyone ever try out freezing these patties?
Yours look amazing! I tried to make them tonight and failed miserably. I’m just wondering what I should do next time. Should I cool the mixture before I pop them in the pan? How mushy will they be when they are done? Help!!
Kate, oh no, I am so sorry that happened to you. I think that the problem with a recipe like this is that it will vary based on how much water gets into the mixture from your sweet potatoes. So if you don’t drain them as well or if they just happen to be a bit waterier or mushier, you may have to add more flour and breadcrumbs to compensate. If they aren’t holding together into patties and seem a bit too mushy, then add more before you put them in the pan. I didn’t cool the mixture myself, so I am not sure if that would help. Once cooked, they should have a nice crispy outside and be soft and tender (aka a bit mushy) on the inside, but they should hold up. I say make them again, making sure the sweet potatoes are as dry as you can get them (wrap them in paper towels if you have to) and fell the mixture in your hands first, if it feels too goopy just add more flour and/or breadcrumbs. That’s how I go about recipes like this.
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I made these last week and they were delicious, I fried the first batch, and bakes (brushed with some EVOO, baked in a 400 oven for about 20 min, turning once) and I preferred the baked version, less greasy. I also froze the left overs for our next week’s lunch 🙂 … thanks as always for your inspiring and delicious recipes.
-Mojdeh
I made these tonight and they were so good! The green onion really gives them good flavor. I didn’t have any bread crumbs, so I just added extra gluten-free flour and they held together just fine.
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These are soooo delicious !!
Thank you so much for your website — my college daughter has been instrumental in helping me eat “clean”, and with recipes like these, there is NO need to go back to eating JUNK … EVER !!
I used whole wheat flour, rather than all-purpose flour. Wonder if that is why my patties fell apart a bit (or if I just needed more flour).
Thanks again – I will be trying many more recipes, and definitely making these again !!
Becca
These were delicious! I made the vegan chipotle cream with them and it was perfect!
We love these. I make a bunch ahead and freeze them for when I want a quick meal