These vegetarian burgers are packed with black beans, sweet potatoes, and spices for a super flavorful and healthy veggie burger recipe perfect for camping trips, tailgating, or an easy weeknight meal at home.

A sweet potato black bean burger stacked between two buns, avocado, and spicy mayo on a plate with a natural backdrop.

Camping lunches can be tricky. Who wants to prepare another meal when you’ve barely finished cleaning up breakfast? That is why it’s nice to have a lunch that can (at least partially) be prepared ahead of time.

And for that, these Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers hit the spot!

We shredded the sweet potato, mashed the black beans, beat the egg, and mixed in the panko out at our campsite just to prove that it can be done. However, the smart move is to do all those steps at home, put the mix into a resealable container, and just take it out of your cooler when lunchtime rolls around. Form the patties, cook, and you’re done!

Megan is forming black bean burger patties at a camping table.

How to make Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

There are two tricks to getting this recipe – or any homemade veggie burger for that matter – to work properly.

The first is to reduce moisture in the raw ingredients. When heated, all that moisture is released, resulting in mushy patties. So after shredding the sweet potato, bundle it up in a cheesecloth and give it a squeeze to wring out any excess water. Or if, at a campsite, just ball it up into your palm of your hand and make a fist.

It’s also a good idea to thoroughly rinse and drain your black beans. This is most easily done with running water and a colander (i.e. at home) but can be accomplished at a campsite with a pot of water and a barely cracked open lid. The goal is for the beans to be as dry as possible.

Black beans, sweet potato and panko getting mixed with spices.

The second trick is knowing that all panko is not created equally. We’ve tried a few different brands when making bean burgers and our results can vary quite a bit.

In the recipe below, we give measurements for the most common type of panko – Kikkoman panko, but your best bet is to go by feel.

These black bean burgers should have the texture and structure of a ground beef burger.

Firm without crumbling, moist but not wet. Add panko until you reach this ideal texture.

Megan is transferring black bean burger patties from a cutting board into a skillet over the campfire.

Three black bean burger patties cooking in a cast iron skillet over a campfire.

How to cook black bean burgers

While it is possible to grill these bean burgers over charcoals or embers, the abysmal state of most campfire grill grates definitely gives us pause. We prefer to sear them in a cast-iron skillet. This gives the patties more support, less chance of sticking, and the opportunity to be fried with a little bit of oil to form a delicious crunchy exterior.

Black beans and shredded sweet potatoes in a bowl.

Cracking an egg into a red bowl with other black bean burger ingredients.

Ingredients to make black bean burgers

Sweet Potato: Use a box grater to finely shred. Remove excess moisture.

Black Beans: Thoroughly rinse and drain. Remove excess moisture.

Egg: Do not skip this ingredient. This is your binder and it’s literally holding the whole burger together!

Panko: We made this recipe with Kikkoman panko, which can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores. If you’re NOT using Kikkoman then add slowly until the desired texture is achieved.

Essential equipment

Cast Iron Skillet: One of the most versatile pieces of camp cooking equipment you can own, there is no substitute for a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.

Box Grater: We use this collapsing box grater from OXO because it’s easy to pack along with the rest of our cooking gear.

Resealable Containers: As mentioned previously, making the burger mix at home is the smart play – as you can avoid a lot of cumbersome prep work. Transport the mix using a resealable container with a locking lid. This will prevent them from getting wet from the inevitable melting ice sloshing around in the bottom of your cooler.

→ Learn everything you need to know about how to pack a cooler!

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