Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Salsa made me truly believe that sweet potatoes are delicious. This is hands down my favorite appetizer I have ever made.

This recipe was the first experience I had with sweet potatoes outside of eating them baked with some butter and brown sugar. It is still my favorite way to eat this sweet tuberous root. While these cakes are delicious, they also have the most beautiful presentation.

Sweet potatoes are so diverse and fun to use in recipes. In fact, two of my favorite recipes have sweet potatoes in them, Sweet Potato Focaccia Bread and these Sweet Potato Cakes.

I also love these recipes, Skillet Scalloped Sweet PotatoesMaple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bars, and Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Focaccia Bread!

Sweet Potato Cakes topped with sour cream and black bean salsa

With several contrasting colors, dark black beans playing against a dollop of sour cream with accents of green and yellow from the cilantro and pepper. Served great as an appetizer, I have also been known to serve this as a main course with a spinach and mango salad. Easy to prepare in advance and made with simple and fresh ingredients, your menu has just been elevated to a whole new level.

Enjoy! XOXO San

How do you make Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Salsa?

Sweet Potato Cakes
  • Steam the sweet potato chunks for 15-20 minutes until completely tender, and then transfer to a colander and allow to drain until dry.
  • Once very dry, place sweet potato chunks in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher to break up chunks. Add flour and finely chopped green onions, and mix with your hands to form a smooth batter. Using your hands here is best so that it doesn’t become over mixed. In a food processor, the sweet potato mixture could quickly become gummy. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Once the mixture is smooth, and the flour and green onions are mixed in, you’re ready to fry. Note: the mixture should be sticky but not wet, so more flour may be needed.

  • In a non-stick skillet, heat two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Form round, flat cakes from about two tablespoons of batter per cake, and fry four or five at a time for three minutes per side until golden. Transfer finished cakes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool. Add more oil and butter to pan between batches as needed, and continue frying a few cakes at a time until all are ready for their toppings

Black Bean Salsa
  • Combine all salsa ingredients, starting with one chipotle, in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste for chipotle heat and add more if desired, and taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Salsa can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
  • Place sweet potato cakes on a serving platter and add a small dollop of sour cream to each. Top sour cream with a small spoonful of black bean salsa, and enjoy.

My favorite kitchen tools used to make Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Salsa:

This post may contain affiliate links. See my Full Disclosure for further details.

MIXING BOWLS: I love having a variety of sizes of mixing bowls. From small to large, I find that having at least 3 bowls of different sizes have been essential in my kitchen. I prefer Pyrex because of the durability.

KNIVES: A good set of kitchen knives is essential for preparing any meal. I just recently invested in some Cutco knives and I have not regretted it one bit. These are hands down my favorite knives I have owned.

CUTTING BOARD: For me, this is a kitchen must-have and kitchen counter saver. While we have countertops you can cut on, I find that this extra step will preserve my counter. I also find that using a cutting board makes for less clean up afterward. I love this cutting board because it has a groove all the way around the board prevent juices from running all of the counters.

Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!

Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Salsa

Prep: 35 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 36
Calories: 66 kcal
Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Salsa made me truly believe that sweet potatoes are delicious. This is hands down my favorite appetizer I have ever made.

Ingredients
 

Sweet Potato Cakes

  • 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 5 green onions both white and green parts, finely chopped
  • 4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4-6 tablespoons butter

Black Bean Salsa

  • 16 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1-2 chipotles in adobo finely chopped
  • 1 small yellow bell pepper diced
  • 1/4 cup red onion finely minced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

Sweet Potato Cakes

  • Steam the sweet potato chunks for 15-20 minutes until completely tender, and then transfer to a colander and allow to drain until dry.
  • Once very dry, place sweet potato chunks in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher to break up chunks. Add flour and finely chopped green onions, and mix with your hands to form a smooth batter. Using your hands here is best so that it doesn’t become over mixed. In a food processor, the sweet potato mixture could quickly become gummy. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Once the mixture is smooth, and the flour and green onions are mixed in, you’re ready to fry. Note: the mixture should be sticky but not wet, so more flour may be needed.
  • In a non-stick skillet, heat two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Form round, flat cakes from about two tablespoons of batter per cake, and fry four or five at a time for three minutes per side until golden. Transfer finished cakes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool. Add more oil and butter to pan between batches as needed, and continue frying a few cakes at a time until all are ready for their toppings

Black Bean Salsa

  • Combine all salsa ingredients, starting with one chipotle, in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste for chipotle heat and add more if desired, and taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Salsa can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
  • Place sweet potato cakes on a serving platter and add a small dollop of sour cream to each. Top sour cream with a small spoonful of black bean salsa, and enjoy.

Notes

Adapted from Lisa is Cooking Blog
Calories: 66kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 159mgPotassium: 138mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 3665IUVitamin C: 5.7mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

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20 Comments

  1. G’day Sandra and yum!
    I actually picked your recipe this week, but because it did not include a link back or a badge on the site, another recipe had to be picked! If there is something I missed, please pm or email me!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Cheers! Joanne
    Viewed as part of the Foodie Friends Friday Potato Lovers Party!

  2. Can the sweet potato patties be made in advance? I live 30 minutes from my family and thought about making this for Thanksgiving but wasn’t sure if this recipe was good for a quick reheating.

    1. You can definitely make the salsa up to a few days ahead of time and store in the fridge. The potato cakes are best served fresh, so they don’t dry out and stay crispy on top like they’re supposed to be. You may be able to get away with making the batter the day before and fry at room temp the next day. If you have to make them ahead of time, let them cool then store in an airtight container and toast for just a minute to crisp the outside before serving.

    1. There is lots of spice in the chipotle peppers added to the salsa! There is also some pepper in the sweet potato cakes. You can definitely adjust this as you’d like if you prefer more or less spice! Cayenne or red pepper would be a good addition as well. Enjoy!

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