Sweet Potato Spinach Black Bean Burgers

Do you ever have those days where you just don't know what to make for dinner?  Ok, let's face it, every day is one of those days pretty much... Last night as I opened my fridge I was stumped.  I had lots of options, but that was the problem.  Nothing I had looked appetizing to me.  So I made one of my all-time favorite fall back meals - veggie burgers.

No, you most certainly do not have to be a vegetarian to eat a veggie burger.  For years straight in college I would buy the prepackaged frozen ones and eat them several times a week.  (My favorites still are the Veggie Masala from Trade Joes and Morningstar Black Bean).  Then one day I went to the freezer and realized I didn't have any premade ones.  Tragedy.  I did however have a can of black beans and some spices... so I started making my own.  Sometimes they would turn out great, other times I would be eating more of a pile of black bean mush.  It took me several tries to learn there are a few keys to making good home made veggie burgers.

First, they can't have too much liquid. Duh.  Too much liquid equals pile of mush.  Second, there needs to be some sort of binding agent to hold everything together.  Otherwise you they crumble all over the place.  Third, don't pulverize them.  Some texture is a good thing!  If you pulse the ingredients together some of the beans will end up ground, and others will be in chunks.  It makes things interesting.  Fourth, they probably won't look that great all ground up, but this doesn't mean they won't taste fantastic.  Home made burgers are messy, and sticky, and wonderful.  It's fun to get your hands dirty, but just don't waste your time trying to make them look like perfectly round flat disks that come out of the freezer. 

These particular burgers are a little sweet and a little spicy.  They are a little soft due to the sweet potato, but totally delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized sweet potato
• 1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 c spinach
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t chili powder
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 t minced garlic (or 1 clove minced)
• 1/2 c rolled oats

Method

-Peel and chop sweet potato into 1 inch cubes

-Put sweet potato into microwave save bowl, cover with plastic wrap, microwave for 3.5 minutes to precook

-Put oats into food processor, pulse until roughly ground

-Add rest of ingredients to food processor

-Pulse 20-30 times until you get a mixture that is chopped, but still has some texture to it

Don't you want to eat that????

-Wet hands and form patties, I used a 1/3 c measuring cup for each

-Heat skillet to medium and spray with cooking spray, cook burgers 7-8 minutes per side, or until they start to brown (I'm sure these can be baked too, if you try it let me know how it goes!)

-To serve place on bun or bread of your choice and add toppings.  I used Sandwich Thins and topped them with avocado and tomato.  I also really like these served on a bed of spinach.  The possibilities are endless.