When prepping my food for the week, I always make at least one “batch” item.  Something that will last Brian and me a couple of meals.

Last week, I mentioned that I was in a food rut and I can’t thank all of you enough for sharing your ideas with me!  It definitely got my creative juices flowing 🙂

This week, I made my first ever batch of salsa chicken (literally you throw some chicken and salsa in a crock pot and let it cook!) but because I won’t be home to make dinner any night this week, I needed another “batch” item.

Black bean burgers to the rescue!

I have had some issues in the past with my veggie burgers not really sticking together, so this time I started thinking about different binding agents that would keep my burgers all in once piece.  I absolutely LOVE Everyday Maven’s Paleo Salmon Cakes, which includes sweet potato, so I thought I would add a little sweet potato to the mix.  The sweet potato was a tasty addition to the burger and they held together!  Oh…and they taste great too!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

Yields:  6 patties

Cook time:  18 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 15oz can black beans rinsed, and dried (or 2 cups of home-prepared black beans)
• 1 baked sweet potato, smashed
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1 Tbsp flax seeds, ground
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. After your black beans are dried with a paper towel, place them in a large bowl. Smash the black beans with the back of a spoon or a fork until most of the beans are smashed.
3. Next, add in your mashed sweet potato.  Thoroughly combine.
4. In a smaller bowl, combine the flax seed and the 3 tablespoons of water.  Once combined, add to the sweet potato and black bean mixture.
5. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the black bean mixture.  Mix until completely combined.
6. Form the mixture into 6 patties and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  (You can grease the baking sheet if you don’t have parchment paper).
7. Place in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through.

These burgers are great to make ahead and store in the fridge for later in the week.  I would imagine that they freeze well, but I haven’t tried freezing them so I don’t have advice for you in that department.

I enjoyed eating my burger as a lettuce wrap with tomato and avocado, and in my lunch-time salads.

I hope you enjoy these sweet potato black bean burgers as much as we did!

Question of the Day:

• Do you “batch” cook on the weekends to help you through the week?