Chipotle Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic Sauce

Mark really likes sandwiches and burgers, and I have to agree that food placed between bread can be fun to eat.  While we both love veggie burgers, it's nice to mix things up once in awhile.  These burgers are made with sweet potato and beans and spiced with chipotle chile powder.  They are topped with a roasted garlic yogurt sauce and avocado.  Lots of greats flavors going on makes these delicious!  We had these with a salad on the side, though kale chips would also be yummy.

These are time consuming to make in part because you need to roast the garlic, which takes an hour, and also because there are a lot of pieces.  That being said, they aren't that hard to make, but I will warn you that the burgers are a bit messy.  After forming them into patties I put them in the freezer for a few minutes.  This helped to harden them up temporarily, making it easier to transfer to the pan.  They held together once cooked though, which was great.

If you like sweet potatoes and sandwiches, give these a try.  These sweet potato burgers with the garlic sauce and avocado really make you feel like you are eating a gourmet meal!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic Sauce

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Garlic Sauce:

• 2 bulbs garlic
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste

Remaining Ingredients:

• 2-3 small sweet potatoes or yams (to make 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes)
• 1 cup cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (this is less than a full can)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour (or other type of flour)
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder (if you don't have this, use more paprika)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 4 whole wheat burger buns

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 400F.

2)  Cut the top quarter off of each bulb of garlic and peel off the loose extra paper.  Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over each bulb.  Place the bulbs in an oven-safe dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Once oven has preheated, roast for 40-60 minutes until soft and slightly brown.  Start checking after 40 minutes to make sure garlic doesn't burn.

3)  Meanwhile, pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place in the microwave on a paper towel.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Turn potatoes over and microwave for another 5 minutes.  Remove from the microwave and cut each sweet potato in half.  Let cool for a few minutes.

4)  In a food processor, combine beans, garlic, bread crumbs, flour, and spices.  Pulse a few times until beans are broken down and everything is combined.  You do not need the mixture to be pureed.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the beaten egg.

5) Once sweet potato is not too hot to handle, scoop flesh out from skin into the food processor.  Pulse a few times.  Add sweet potato to the bean mixture and mix with a spoon to combine.  

6)  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.  Divide sweet potato mixture into 4 equal sections on the baking sheet and shape each into a patty shape.  Put the baking sheet in the freezer for a few minutes.

7) While the patties firm up, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Once hot, remove patties from the freezer and carefully transfer them to the hot skillet.  I found this easiest to do with my hands.  Cook patties for 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown.

8)  Once the garlic is roasted, remove it from the oven and squeeze the garlic out.  To make the sauce, combine yogurt, garlic, maple syrup, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor.  I didn't wash the food processor between all of these uses!  Transfer to a serving bowl.

9)  Serve burgers on buns topped with roasted garlic sauce and avocado.  A salad or kale chips on the side tastes great!

(recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is)