Heart healthy sweet potato veggie burger recipe

Last night I wandered into the kitchen pondering what exactly to make for dinner. Eh, that loaded question we face each day that often leaves us disjointed. A veggie burger sounded good, but I usually get discouraged because they turn into mush patties and do not hold their shape. That, or the recipe calls for a million ingredients that no real person ever has on hand. Can you relate?

Veggie burgers are tricky like that.

What’s a girl to do? Well, I decided to give it another shot. Just like you might do, I Googled “quick and tasty veggie burgers” and found a sweet potato veggie burger recipe online that sounded too good to be true since I miraculously had almost all of the ingredients chillin’ in my kitchen waiting for me to use. Score!

Now that I had my recipe, I decided to do what I do best and that is to use it as a base or a starting point to make it my own. What I mean by making it my own is that I make it most convenient for me. Who has time to go to the grocery store everyday? Not this girl. So I deconstructed the recipe and used what ingredients I had on hand that were interchangeable with what the original called for. This simple embellishment saved a lot of time.

This post will show you how easy it is to make recipes your own at home.

The end result was more then satisfying. The veggie burgers tasted great and actually held their form. Below you can find the original recipe I used as a base.  I made italicized comments next to the ingredients that I changed and noted how you can save time and make this recipe your own (and take full credit of course).

Heart Healthy Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

Makes 7-8 large patties

Vegan (Can be made Soy Free and Gluten Free-see below)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Adapted from Lunchbox.com

 Ingredients

• 2 cans cannellini white beans, drained (you can use any white bean that you have on hand. I had garbanzos, so that is what I used)
• 1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups) (make sure you allow at least an hour or two to cook the potatoes)
• 2 T tahini (seriously? Who has tahini on hand?? I just threw in some whole toasted sesame seeds and called it a day)
• 2 tsp maple or agave syrup (I had agave, so used that. You can use honey if you are down with that).
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning or Cajun seasoning (or another favorite spice!) (Like she said, use whatever spices you want, just remember you can always add but cannot subtract-I used Harissa powder and Marash chile flakes since I like things spicy!)
• 1/4 cup wheat flour (wheat flour is great, but if you only have white or need to use a gluten free version, use it. I did! This helps absorb moisture and aids veggie burgers in holding their form)
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt to taste- (I had Tamari on hand (high quality gluten free soy sauce), so I added a few tsp to the mash for a little “Umami”). If soy free, use salt.
• A lot of Panko bread crumbs (or gluten free bread crumbs)  (this, I found was the key to having these veggie burgers hold their form while cooking and after-do NOT skip this step. Coat generously before pan frying)
• Safflower oil for pan (again, most people have never heard of safflower oil. I had olive oil, more common then Safflower oil. Canola oil or vegetable works too, but are not as good for you)

Burger toppings: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, Vegenaise, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper (put whatever you normally put on your veggie/regular burgers, but don’t skip on the avocado! I loaded mine up with the entire produce bin and condiment shelf )

Directions

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl. (This will take time. So allow 1-2 hours for this. All dependent on the size of your sweet potato)
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs – or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil (or olive oil) in a pan over high heat
5. Add pressed garlic clove to the olive oil
6. Form a patty from mixture and generously coat in Panko crumbs
7. Dop the patty in the pan
8. Repeat until the pan is filled with veggie burgers
9. Cook until browned on both sides
10. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel, let cool
11. Serve on toasted buns with lots of toppings

*Note: you can also bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes on each side, if baking, use less Panko.

Sometimes I do not want a large, filling bun, so I made a veggie burger “slider” and served with a beautiful side salad (see below).

These veggie burgers hold well in the fridge. So, for lunch the next day I opted for a heart healthy veggie burger salad. It was a delicious and fun way to enjoy leftovers!

*Helpful hint: Leftover veggie burgers can be frozen if made in large quantities. So, you may want to consider doubling this recipe for future time savings. Now, there is no excuse for why you shouldn’t try making your own quick and easy custom veggie burgers for dinner tonight!

What are your favorite Veggie Burger toppings? Give me a shout below!