3 cups cooked mashed sweet potato (about 2 large)
1-1/2 cups plain panko breadcrumbs, divided
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, toasted
1 egg
1/4 cup pepitos (pumpkin seeds), toasted if desired
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
2 green onions, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT 1 cup panko bread crumbs. Divide mixture into 6 balls, flatten and coat with breadcrumbs. (The mixture will be very wet so you will need to handle gently: place 1 ball of mixture at a time into a bowl of panko bread crumbs. Flatten slightly, then turn over with a spatula to coat the other side.)
Arrange burgers on lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once halfway through cook time. If you use a dark baking sheet, the burgers will brown nicely.
Serve with peach salsa (or your favorite salsa) and sauteed kale or serve on buns or sandwich thins with fresh spinach and peach salsa.
Pepitos add a nice crunch to the burgers, but can be left out if you don’t have them.
These burgers can easily go vegan. Simply leave out the egg and queso fresco and be sure to use vegan bread crumbs.
