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Oh me, oh my! I’m a fool for these hearty vegan burgers. I had 1 for breakfast with sliced avocado, and 3 for dinner. Thankfully the recipe makes 12-14 burgers, because they are so good!
I’ve been making sweet potato burgers for some time, but have just now gotten around to writing down my recipe. For these burgers you’ll need a food processor to slice and dice the ingredients at each step. If you don’t have one, I’m sure you could mince and chop vegetables by hand, and mash the garbanzo beans with a fork. Keep in mind, the recipe calls for two cans of chickpeas (nearly 4 cups), so that would be a lot of fork mashing. Arm workout!
I’ve always been a burger fan. I can proudly say I have never in my life eaten a classic red meat burger (phew!), but I did grow up loving Nana’s turkey burgers. I thought salmon burgers were pretty good too. My first introduction to veggie burgers was in the form of a frozen patty. At some point my mom started buying Dr. Praeger’s frozen veggie burgers at Costco. They were so good. She really doesn’t enjoy cooking, so she’d stick them in the microwave, and voila! 1 minute later you’ve got a burger! Me, I’d cook them in a skillet with a little oil to make the edges crispy. mmmmm!
I’ve since moved on from frozen burgers, and now I’d rather make my own veggie burgers from scratch. I find it to be a deeply rewarding process, and it really isn’t difficult at all (as long as you’ve got a food processor). Homemade veggie burgers are extra amazing because the combinations are endless. I love Sweet Potato Burgers, but sometimes I’m craving a Black Bean Beet Burger. Sometimes I want to use cilantro, other times parsley. Black beans one day, chickpeas the next.
I gotta tell you, my favorite way to eat a veggie burger is without bread. Bread is fine, but sometimes it dilutes the flavor of the patty. Crumbled over a salad is a fabulous way to eat a burger too. Especially these. Or, you could serve these with shredded cabbage and romaine within a mini pita, with a generous dollop of green tahini sauce (made with fresh herbs). It’s really up to you!
What’s your favorite veggie burger recipe, and how do you like to eat it?
Sweet Potato Burgers with Green Tahini
Ingredients
Burgers
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 1 cup packed cilantro or parsley, or half and half
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 3 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, 1½ cup, steamed or baked, peeled and mashed
- ¾ cup quick-cooking oats
Green Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup water
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup packed fresh mint, cilantro, and parsley (or your favorite fresh herbs)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Burgers
- In a food processor pulse and chop the red bell pepper and red onion. Pour the chopped veggies into a large mixing bowl. Place the chickpeas and cilantro/parsley into the food processor and blend until the chickpeas are a thick mealy texture. Pour into the mixing bowl with peppers and onions. Place the garlic, almonds, and spices into the food processor and blend until the almonds are a crumbly texture. Pour into the mixing bowl.
- Mash the sweet potato with a fork, or place it in the food processor and blend until smooth. Pour it over the contents of the mixing bowl followed by the oats, and stir well to combine the ingredients. Season to taste with more sea salt and spice.
- Place the burger batter in the refrigerator to firm up for an hour or longer.
- Preheat oven to 375°, and line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the batter into your hands and form into a tight patty. Place the patty onto the baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining batter. Make sure that the patties are not too close to each other on the baking sheet (2 inches separating is good). Bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked through. After removing them from the oven, allow the patties to cool for at least 15 minutes before trying to remove them with a spatula or your hands.
- Serve with green tahini on bread, lettuce, or solo. Bon appetit!
Green Tahini Sauce
- Place the tahini, water, lemon, herbs, and sea salt into a blender. Blend until smooth, slowly add in the olive oil.
Can I use old fashioned oats instead of quick cooking if I grind them into oat flour?
Yes, you can do that! Keep a little texture in them though.
What is a good substitute for almonds? I’m allergic.
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds are great!
Oh, that makes me so crazy happy!!
I know how you feel when eating them 🙂
It was good, I added more seasonings, Thanks, I too had a salad with the burgerrs.
These are amazing! I found the prep time a bit long but so worth it. You get so many burgers out of it, lots for later. Was awesome with a fresh salad (all from our garden). I used dried chickpeas that I rehydrated for a few hours instead of canned.
Thank you Oceanna! I’m glad you enjoyed them. I love that you get so many burgers too 🙂
My boyfriend and I have just finished munching on these burgers for dinner and we absolutely love them! Great flavour!! And the dressing is a winner! I have set some aside in the freezer for another time (very soon) and once they’re gone we will definitely make more!
Thank you 🙂
Yay!!!! Wow, I bet they’d be great with those chocolate mousse tarts 🙂
Peace Jenne, our family just wanted to finally comment about these AMAZING burgers!! This is our second time making them. We love them, from our youngest daughter (21 mos.) to my 60+ yr old mom love the flavor. Thank you for your creative energy and cooking zeal! Peace “Family from Alabama”
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing Onile 🙂 Makes me so happy to hear you enjoyed them! Please tell the family I say hello!
Hi Jenne, Thanks for the recipe! I don’t own a food processor but would like to acquire one. Is there a particular one you recommend?
Hey Kim! I recommend any food processor by Cuisinart. I’ve had 3 of them. The only reason I’ve had so many is because I’ve had to upgrade in size. Now I’ve got the 12-cup. It comes with a smaller bowl for small quantity processing. The best!!
How do these freeze (before baking, of course)? Could you put it together ahead of time and save them for when you want to eat them?
They freeze and reheat very well! That’s one of my favorite things about making burgers 🙂
Those look so good! I pinned your recipe to try it later. I will substitute toasted pine nuts for the almonds due to an allergy. I can’t wait to make these for our family. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Mmmm!! Pine nuts are going to be great in these. Sunflower seeds also work really well. Thanks for pinning 🙂 Enjoy!