Thai Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Peanut Sauce

Angela from Oh She Glows has got to be the queen of veggie burgers.  Every veggie burger recipe she has posted has been amazing.  I was so excited when I saw her post recently for Thai Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Peanut Sauce because:

1. I love veggie burgers
2. I love sweet potatoes
3. I love Thai food
4. I love peanut butter and peanut sauce

So basically it seems like this recipe could do no wrong.  And it didn't!  These burgers held together well and tasted amazing.  And the great thing about veggie burgers is you can freeze the extras for a quick meal later on.  Mark liked these too, though he said he still prefers regular veggie burgers that he can have with BBQ sauce.  So if you are looking for a regular veggie burger, this is not it.  BUT, if you like Thai flavors/peanut sauce and non-traditional burgers, give these a try!  I will definitely be making these again.

Thai Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Peanut Sauce

serves: 6 (you can also easily double this and freeze extras for later!)

The recipe can be found here.

Kaitlyn's Notes:

• I used low-sodium soy sauce instead of the tamari.
• I used regular oats (not certified gluten-free), but if you want to make these gluten-free you should use the certified gluten-free oats.
• I divided the original recipe into 6 burgers.
• I added a few teaspoons of sriracha to the peanut sauce to make it spicier and that worked well.
• I served these on homemade buns.  I spread peanut sauce on both the bottom of the bun and the top of the burger.  I then topped the burger with some baby spinach leaves (any lettuce would be good).
• Serve with salad or roasted vegetables.

Pizza Topped Quinoa + Bean Burgers

These fun burgers are sort of like bagel pizzas except switch out the bagel for a quinoa bean burger.  Weird description?  Perhaps.  They really are just burgers made with beans, quinoa, and Italian flavors that are topped with your favorite pizza toppings.  Mark devoured three of these pretty quickly.  They are delicious! Our only complaint is that they don't hold together very well when you are eating them, so you really do need to eat them with a fork.  I found this recipe over at edible perspective, and she ate these on a piece of bread so that is an option as well.  I opted to skip the bread since the quinoa felt like enough carbs.

I topped these with a spicy homemade tomato sauce, sauteed mushrooms, black olives, and mozzarella cheese.  Of course you could top them with whatever pizza toppings sound good to you.  And don't let the long ingredient list scare you- I've included my recipe for my pizza sauce, but you don't have to use that!  I served these with roasted kale, because Mark and I both LOVE kale, but I recommend serving these with your vegetables of choice.  These pizza burgers really are a great way to satisfy your pizza cravings in a different (and healthy!) way.  As the weather continues to get cooler and warm comfort foods sound like the perfect dinner, give these a try!

Pizza Topped Quinoa + Bean Burgers 

yield: 8 burgers (serves 4 or more, depending on how and with what they are served)

INGREDIENTS:
Burgers:

• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 1 14 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white (or 1 duck egg), whisked
• 6 tablespoons ground rolled oats (You can grind them in your food processor.  Use gluten-free if desired.  Or try substituting a different type of flour)
• olive oil for cooking

Spicy Tomato Sauce (or use your favorite pizza sauce):

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (no salt added if possible), juice drained out
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Toppings:

• 10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• black olives, sliced
• mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1) Start by cooking the quinoa.  Combine dry quinoa and 1 cup of water in a small pot.  Set over medium high heat and bring water to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce hit to low and cover the pot.  Let cook for 15 minutes (while you prep other ingredients), until all water is absorbed.  Set quinoa aside to cool slightly.

2) Next start the spicy tomato sauce.  Puree the diced tomatoes (without the juice) in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender.  Heat olive oil in a small pot with garlic and red pepper flakes over medium heat.  Once garlic begins to brown, add tomatoes, salt, and oregano.  Stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low/medium-low until ready to use.

3) Process beans in a food processor, or mash thoroughly with a fork.  In a large bowl, combine beans, cooked quinoa, onion, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Add olive oil and eggs and mix.  Add ground rolled oats and mix to combine.  The mixture should be wet, but you should be able to form it into balls that stay together.  If it's too wet, add a couple tablespoons more ground oats (or flour).

4) Divide burger mixture into 8 equal portions and shape into burgers that are about 3/4 inch thick.

5) Heat about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot, use a spatula to carefully transfer half of the burgers to the skillet.  Cook for five minutes until dark brown on the bottom.  Carefully flip over and cook for another five minutes until browned and cooked through.  If burgers are browning too quickly and not cooking on the inside, lower the heat! Repeat with remaining burgers.  Preheat your oven to low broil in the last few minutes of cooking.

6)  While burgers are cooking, heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid is released and evaporated.  Set aside.

7) Place burgers on a baking sheet.  Top each burger with spicy tomato sauce, mushrooms,  olives, and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Place in the oven under the broiler for 2-4 minutes until cheese is starting to brown (watch carefully!!).  Enjoy!

(recipe slightly adapted from edible perspective)

Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers

In my continuing quest for more recipes that don't require an oven, I came upon these turkey burgers.  They were originally actually chicken burgers (made with ground chicken), but I had ground turkey so that is what I used!  These were delicious topped with diced avocado and salsa (sort of like guacamole).  Mark liked them so much that he wanted the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

Wondering what sort of weird "bun" these are served on?  I didn't have any hamburger buns on hand and I wasn't about to turn on my oven, so I continued my fun with grilling bread.  I rolled out some pizza dough from the freezer (again) so that it was fairly thick.  I grilled it on both sides and it completely puffed up- filling up with air like a balloon!

That was awesome.  And also meant that I had essentially made one huge pita.  So after removing the bread from the grill I cut it into four sections and split it open.  I now had four burger pockets.  While I would have served these with traditional burger buns if we had them, we both actually really liked these pockets.  They held the topping well so it was overall less messy.  Also, they didn't make the burger too tall to fit your mouth around.... so- a winner!  I'll definitely do this idea again for burgers.  If you're not up for making your own grilled bread (though it is super easy), you could always just buy pita bread at the store if you want to try eating these in that way.

A couple of notes about the burgers.  They were definitely spicy so you might want to use less jalapeno if that is not your thing.  Or just be careful about the salsa on top.  Also, there are no breadcrumbs in the burgers, so the burgers themselves are gluten-free!

However you eat these burgers, they are definitely a great use for your grill this summer.   [Speaking of summer, Mark says he misses winter... did he really grow up in California? ;) ]

Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers
*burgers by themselves are gluten-free

serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I used 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1/2 a small yellow onion)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Suggestions For Topping/Serving:

• burger buns/ pita bread/ etc.
• cheddar cheese
• diced avocado/ guacamole
• salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Heat your grill to medium-high heat.  Combine all burger ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined (don't over-mix).  Form into 4 patties.

2)  Cook the patties on the grill about 4 minutes per side until the internal temperature of each is 165F.  In the last couple of minutes, top with additional shredded cheese if desired.

3)  Assemble burgers in buns/pita/grilled bread and top as desired.  Guacamole and salsa is delicious.

(recipe adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from What's Gaby Cooking?)

Quinoa Burgers

I first made this recipe about a year ago and Mark and I were blown away by it.  I'd actually saved it for awhile before making it because it looked interesting, but I wasn't sure how good it would be.  But it was SO GOOD.  Mark and I were both surprised by how much we liked these quinoa burgers!

The only way we have ever eaten them is on salad with a cooked egg (and lots of black pepper!) on top.  We haven't been having salads all winter (preferring warm vegetables because we are cold!), but I had been missing this meal and felt like it was maybe getting warmer (and then it snowed again.... oh well!).  After not having had these delicious burgers in over 6 months, I loved having this meal again.  As you can see from the picture we had  homemade baked sweet potato fries on the side, because I'm a bit obsessed with sweet potatoes and they seem to be good for you in at least a dozen ways.  I made this dressing for the salad which is one of our favorites and very fast to throw together.

You could potentially have these burgers on a bun, but I think that'd be overdoing the carbs.  Serving them on salad means you get lots of vegetables and with an egg on top you've got a bit of extra protein.  The burgers keep well in the refrigerator for leftovers.  You could serve them warm or cold- your choice!  I've never tried freezing them, but if you try that let me know!

I really hope you make these, because they are one of our favorites!  And they definitely make me think of warmer temperatures.  Happy Spring!

Quinoa Burgers

yield: 6-8 burgers (depending on how big you make them), serving about 4 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/3 cups of water (or stock)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small yellow onion, minced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs + more as needed (I process a piece or two of bread in my food processor, you could also use store bought bread crumbs)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• For Serving:  Cooked eggs-- 1 per person, salad with vegetables of choice, dressing (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1)  In a small pot, combine uncooked quinoa and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, without stirring and without lifting the cover, for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and remove the cover and check that all water has been absorbed by stirring the quinoa around.  If it hasn't, continue cooking.   If it has, set aside.

2) Meanwhile, combine eggs, salt, red pepper flakes, scallions, Parmesan cheese, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs in a large bowl.  When quinoa is done, add in the quinoa and stir to combine.

3)  Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to scoop out 1/2 cup of the quinoa mixture.  Pack it into the measuring cup and then turn over onto a baking sheet.  Use your hands to form into a burger shape.  If it won't hold together at all, return to the bowl and try adding more bread crumbs.  The mixture should be able to hold a burger shape (though it will definitely be fragile-- you won't be able to move them with your hands).  Repeat to form the rest of the burgers.

4)  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Swirl to coat.  Once hot, carefully transfer half of the burgers to the pan using a spatula.  Cook burgers for about 8 minutes, carefully flipping half way through, until burgers are browned on both sides.  Lower heat if they are browning too quickly.   Repeat with remaining burgers, adding additional olive oil to the pan if necessary.

5)  Serve warm or cold over a salad topped with cooked eggs and dressing as desired.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

(recipe adapted from Annie's Eats)  

Spicy Chickpea Veggie Burgers

We really enjoy burgers and sandwiches.  This is now the third veggie burger on the blog.  Traditional veggie burgers, which is a great go-to veggie burger recipe, and sweet potato burgers, which are a great way to eat sweet potatoes, are previous favorites in our house.  These spicy chickpea veggie burgers have now been added to the list of great veggie burgers.

These burgers use chickpeas, hot brown rice, and breadcrumbs as binders.  They also contain a variety of vegetables and flaxseeds.   Lots of  good for you ingredients!  Just make sure your vegetables are very finely chopped (I suggest a food processor in the directions), and the rice is HOT so it helps everything clump together.  If the vegetable pieces are too big or the rice isn't hot, these burgers will fall apart (I know from experience!).


I love avocado on veggie burgers, and I got the idea for the egg as a topping from edible perspective.  I also added a bit of goat cheese and BBQ sauce and let me tell you... this burger was AMAZING.  So many great flavors and a filling meal with a salad or kale chips on the side.  Yay!

Have fun experimenting with your favorite toppings!  They can really make you feel like you are eating at a fancy burger restaurant. :)

Spicy Chickpea Veggie Burgers

yield: 8 burgers

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas (if using canned, this is a bit more than 1 can)
• 1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice, **it needs to be hot from having been just cooked**
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped red onion
• 1 small carrot, sliced in small pieces
• 1/4 cup (packed) kale leaves
• 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce (we like Trader Joe's brand)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mixture of oregano, thyme, parsley, etc.)
• olive oil spray
• For serving: burger buns, more BBQ sauce, sliced avocado (about 1/3 to 1/2 an avocado per person), poached eggs, goat cheese (or other toppings of choice!)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Fit a food processor with the steel blade.  Add garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, red onion, carrot, and kale leaves.  Pulse about 12 times until everything is very finely chopped.  Transfer vegetables to a large bowl.

2)  Add chickpeas and hot brown rice to the empty food processor.  Pulse until very well combined, but some small chunks remain for texture.  Transfer the chickpea and brown rice mixture to the bowl with the vegetables.

3)  Add BBQ sauce, breadcrumbs, flaxseed, and sunflower seeds to the bowl.  Mix well with a wooden spoon to combine.  At this point the mixture should be very sticky.  If you take a handful of the mixture you should be able to form it into a patty that easily stays together.  If it's not staying together, try adding some more breadcrumbs.   Add red pepper flakes, salt, and Italian seasoning and mix well.  Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired.

4)  Divide mixture into 8 equal portions and form each into a circular burger shape.  I do this on a baking sheet so it is easy to transfer them to the stove.  

5)  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.    Once hot, spray skillet with olive oil spray.  Add as many burgers as easily fit, but don't overcrowd them.  Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until brown.  Repeat to cook the remaining burgers.

6) Serve as desired.    I particularly like it with sliced avocado, a bit of goat cheese, more BBQ sauce, and a poached egg on a bun.  So good!

7)  Store leftover burgers in the freezer.  Defrost/reheat in the microwave when ready to serve.

(recipe slightly adapted from Oh She Glows)

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)

Make-Ahead Veggie Burgers

These are the BEST veggie burgers ever.  And they are so much better for you and cheaper than the ones you can buy in the store. They do have a lot of ingredients and take a bit of time to put together; however, they keep well in the freezer and then cook up quickly whenever you want them.  Also, they don't fall apart and have a great texture!  Awesome!  The recipe makes 12, so that's quick dinners a bunch of times, or lunches if you want something different.

Once you combine all the ingredients in a big bowl (get your hands in there!), you will divide the mixture into 12 equal parts (a bit less than 4 ounces each).  Then you will shape each into a patty and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.  Freeze until solid, then store in a freezer bag until ready to use!  Yum.
Our favorite way to eat these is on buns (this is a great option if you are looking to make your own) with BBQ sauce and mustard.  We like kale chips and spicy sweet potato fries on the side.  If you're not feeling like having bread, these are also great on a salad or on a pile of roasted veggies.















Make-Ahead Veggie Burgers

Makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• Flax eggs: 1/4 cup ground flax + 3/4 cup warm water, mixed in bowl
• 1.5 cup oats, processed into flour (use your food processor)
• 2.25 cups bread crumbs (process 3 pieces of bread until it creates a fine crumb)
• 1.5 cup grated carrots (use a grater or the grater attachment of the food processor)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and roughly mashed with a fork
• 1/2 cup finely chopped kale
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons parsley
• salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon each)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Mix the two ingredients for the flax eggs together in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  (A flax egg mimics the properties of a real egg, but is vegan.  It acts as a binder in these burgers.)

2) In a small skillet, saute onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until light brown, about 5 minutes.

3) Place all ingredients (except salt and pepper) into a large mixing bowl and mix well with your hands.  Add seasonings to taste.  You can taste the dough because it has no eggs, and you should to see if it tastes good to you!

4)  Divide dough into 12 equal parts.  They should each be about 3.8 ounces if you have a scale.  Shape tightly into patties and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.

5)  Freeze for about an hour until frozen solid (alternatively, you could make some or all of them at this point instead of freezing).  Then, take patties off the baking sheet and place into a freezer bag.  Store in the freezer.

6) When ready to eat, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Defrost the frozen burgers in the microwave on low power until no longer frozen (or, if you think ahead, take them out of the freezer and put into the refrigerator the morning you will want to eat them).  Cook patties in the skillet for about 5 minutes on each side, until brown.

7) Serve on buns with toppings of choice and sides of choice (sweet potato fries and kale chips are our favorites) or over a salad or a pile of roasted veggies.

(recipe very slightly adapted from Oh She Glows-- I appreciate all her hard work in developing this awesome recipe!!)