This month’s crazy ingredient challenge was to come up with a dish combining sweet potatoes and jalapenos. Nothing too crazy if you go a Southwest/Tex-Mex direction. I though of doing potato skins or some sort of play on jalapeno poppers – I guess I had game day snacks on my mind.

Instead though I decided to go with burgers. I got the idea after going to the zoo. Random. right?

On Veteran’s Day we took advantage of the husband’s day off and traveled to the Columbus Zoo. It was an incredible trip! It was a cool day and the animals were our to play! We saw a rhino rolling in the mud; lion cubs chasing their mama; the tigers and pumas were out in force, too; and we finally laid eyes on the red panda! The zoo wasn’t very crowded either on a Wednesday and we were able to let our toddler run around some.

But back to the dish at hand.

The food at the zoo is actually pretty good. This visit was our second one to the Columbus Zoo and my husband ordered their black bean burger for lunch. (I like their cranberry feta salad.) After two enjoyable black bean burgers I figured I ought to give veggie burgers a try at home. And why not add some sweet potato and jalapeno!?

I’m pleased to declare my veggie burger adventure a successful one. While it wouldn’t fool a carnivore, it will satisfy one! I was surprised at how filling the patty was. I assembled my burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Barbecue sauce or ketchup would also compliment the patty nicely.

BBQ Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
• 1/2 C mashed cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg
• 1 C panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp barbecue seasoning (I probably could have bumped this up to 1 tbsp)
• vegetable oil
• 4 buns
• toppings: cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc

Steps:

1. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, saute onion and jalapeno in olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Remove from heat.
2. In a bowl mash the black beans, leaving some texture. Mix in the sweet potato, sauteed veggies, egg, panko, and seasoning until combined. Form into 4 patties.
3. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with vegetable oil. Cook patties over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. Melt cheese, if using, on top of patties during the last two minutes of cook time.
4. Assemble burgers as desired.

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.