This post was sponsored by Grace Foods, who I love for their amazing jerk sauces, making this burger so incredibly flavourful and hearty, even my dad liked it.
There's a veggie burger, and then there's a VEGGIE BURGER. This is the latter. None of that wimpy, little brown patty thing going on here. These are some mean, hearty, spicy (if you are into spicy), flavour punch in the mouth, Jerk Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers, and I can't get enough of them.
Ok, let's take a step back and talk about jerk. Do you know jerk? I'm not talking about that person who scooted their grocery cart right in front of yours at the last second in the checkout line, jerk! I'm talking about the traditional Jamaican seasoning. Onions, scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, allspice, black pepper, salt... Jerk is like a magic potion of island flavours, that make your mouth do happy dances.
I have been lucky enough to visit Jamaica several times now, my first time I was just a wee baby. It's one of those places that has so much personality, you either love it, or hate it, and I am definitely in the love category. I have fond memories of stopping on the side of the road at a Rasta's homemade oil drum BBQ, and grabbing a pieces of jerk shhhhh chicken shhhhh, (before I was vegan), but let's pretend it was veggies. The smoky aroma, the spices, the hours of marinating, drool. Just perfect for BBQ season.
I want it! So I took the spicy and smoky jerk seasoning, combined it with creamy sweet potatoes, satisfying black beans, and made this hearty, flavour packed, summer loving, burger sensation. If you are hosting a BBQ, you need to make these now! If you are going to a BBQ bring these! They can be made fresh or in advance (I think they get even better the next day). Turn up the reggae, grab a Red Stripe, and get your jerk BBQ going. One love.
To make the burgers, bake some sweet potatoes until they are all delicious and soft.
Rinse some cooked black beans.
Then mash up the sweet potatoes and the black beans.
Add them to a bowl along with onions, oats, breadcrumbs, flax, and jerk seasoning.
Form the patties and bake to perfection.
Spread the hot patties with a thick layer of jerk BBQ sauce, then layer your burger high with all your favourite toppings. Irie.
Jerk Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes (enough to make 2 cups mashed)
- ¼ cup ground chia or ground flax
- 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1 19oz can black Beans (2 cups), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup large rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups onion (1 medium onion), chopped
- 1 cup bread crumbs (gluten-free if preferred)
- 2 tablespoons Grace Jerk Seasoning (mild or hot)
- ½ cup Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce (or to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
- Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork all over, put them on a baking tray, and then pop them in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, until you can easily pierce a knife all the way through the potatoes. You can bake the potatoes ahead of time if you like.
- When you are ready to make the burgers, preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Lightly grease a baking pan.
- Mix the ground flax with the water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Add the black beans to a large bowl and use a potato masher to smash them up. Add 2 cups of sweet potato flesh to the bowl along with the oats, onion, bread crumbs, Grace Jerk Seasoning, and the flax mixture. Stir to combine.
- Divide the mix into 8, and form 8 large patties, and put them on the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes flipping halfway through.
- To use the burgers right away: Brush the tops of the hot burgers with a thick layer of Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce. Pile on a bun with all of your favourite toppings and enjoy.
- To save for later: Let the patties cool completely, then store in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to use. When ready heat up a BBQ and toss the burgers on for just a few minutes on each side to heat through. Brush the tops of the hot burgers with a thick layer of Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce. Pile on a bun with all of your favourite toppings and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Featured Ingredient: Jerk.
Bon Appetegan
Sam.
Dhianna says
I want to make these but only have dry jerk seasoning. Any suggestion how much I use?
Thank you
Colleen says
Can I cook them on the bbq? And, I have grace sauce but not the herbs. Can you tell me the spices to make my own? I’m limiting trips to the grocery store during the pandemic. Thank you!!!
Bev Morrison says
These sound amazing, Can you freeze the patties for later?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes for sure! 🙂
Aneeta says
Can these be made with russet potatoes instead of sweet potato?
Linda says
I just made these and realized I didn’t have breadcrumbs. So i increased the oats. They turned out just fine. Really enjoyed the recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Linda 🙂
Kim R says
I have made these over and over again! They turn out perfect every single time and are SO DELICIOUS! My husband doesn't care for jerk seasoning so I use liquid smoke instead. Even meat eaters think they are great! I tried several recipes before finding this one and they were all sadly disappointing. Thanks for this AWESOME recipe! Love your cookbook too!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! So happy you love this recipe so much, Kim 🙂
Kayla Marie says
Hello,
I LOVE your blog and book and all your recipes :D!
I am hoping to make these for my brother's bday/going away party next weekend, but I haven't been able to find the jerk sauce anywhere. I live in San Francisco Bay Area. Any tips on where to find it without having to go online?
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kayla, yay!!!!! Hmmm I live in Toronto, Canada so I am afraid I don't know the stores in San Fran. Jerk sauce is in pretty much every grocery store in my city. Maybe try calling around?
ShortRound says
Hello Kayla,
I am also Canadian but I have found some BBQ Jerk sauce in-store at Walmart. Hopefully it is the same in the USA. Good luck!
Milla says
Another amazing recipe that we just tried from your blog. Thank you so much. By the way, you forgot to include in the instructions on what to do with the onions. So I just added them into the whole mix not pre-cooked. They turned out awesome and delicious!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved the recipe, Milla! Good call! I just fixed the missing onion problem 🙂
LaTalullah says
I can't tolerate oats (weird, I know). Can I use almond meal or brown rice flour? I wouldn't mind the almond flavor.
So happy to have found you <3
Sam says
I'm so happy you found me too!
Oats are used because they help suck up some of the moisture. I'm not sure almond meal or rice flour would work the same way. I would recommend just using more breadcrumbs. I hope that helps!
Angela @thechewylife says
I used to dislike black beans as a child, but they have definitely grown on me and now I love them! This recipe is also fabulous, I will be making this soon for sure!
Sam says
Haha thank you! I love black beans too, but if ever you wanted to try the burgers without, almost any other bean would work fine as well. I hope you enjoy the burgers!!
Catherine says
Oh I want to make these in the worst possible way. But in 105 degree heat I can't face turning the oven on. Does anyone have veg burger recipes that don't require an oven?
Sam says
I use an oven because it helps dry out the burgers and gets them a chewier texture (as opposed to mushy). I hope you are able to try them on a cooler day, 105! hot!
Catherine says
I am determined to make them, they look delicious!
Sam says
Thank you! I think they are 😀
Viki says
You can take a toaster oven outside if you have outdoor plug and cook them in your toaster oven
Lena says
What a brilliant idea to use toaster oven outside if it’s hot
Linda @ Veganosity says
I love jerk sauce! This burger looks amazing Sam.
Sam says
Agreed. Jerk is so yummy!! Thank you Linda! 😀
Jan Schneider says
When are the onions added? Many recipes say to cook the onions before adding to the burger mix so they won't add unwanted moisture to the burger, making it soggy.
Sam says
Welcome Jan!
In my recipe you mix in the raw onions in with all the other ingredients. I didn't find that it made the burgers soggy at all, and it saves the extra step of cooking the onions separately. Enjoy!
Kathy Sturr says
Yumma yumma lum, a yumma yumma lum ... I am craving home made veggie burgers ... summer ... the tropics ... how did you know?
Sam says
I know you so, so well Kathy ... wait that sounds kind of stalker-y. Whoops!
Delia says
These look awesome!! I look forward to making them soon. I love how your recipes sound so delish! while also being doable - too often recipes have hard to find ingredients and complicated or time consuming methods. I work FT and have small son so dinner can't take too long... as then it bumps into bedtime...
Sam says
So happy you enjoy my recipes Delia! That is exactly what I aim for, completely doable vegan recipes. These ones take a little longer than some of my recipes, but you can bake the sweet potatoes in advance, or you could really make the whole recipe in advance. I haven't frozen them yet, but I am sure they would freeze great. Enjoy!
Neil says
The jerk burgers were great. I liked the one with the HOT jerk sauce bst, but all the sauce choices were really tasty. Excellent post, beautiful photography.
Sam says
Thank you so much! I like the hot ones too, but they are hot! Omnomnom!
Katie says
Ohhh, this looks really good! I love jerk. I will be making these this weekend!
Sam says
Yay! I hope you enjoy them Katie 😀