Sweet Potato Burgers – Gluten Free & Vegan
So you are probably thinking, “sweet potato burgers….that’s not really a thing is it?”. At least that is what I thought when I first came across the idea.
I’m always on the hunt for unique recipes to try and burgers made out of sweet potatoes and beans sounded all kinds of unique.
So I shared the recipe with my husband and he was really excited about it. He’s a big fan of potato pancakes and these sounded like big potato pancakes to him.
I couldn’t wait to try them because they looked super easy to make and I am always on the hunt for quick weeknight meals!
You just put the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth, mix in your binders, form into patties, and cook them on the stove. So easy!
So the recipe I found sounded delicious, but it wasn’t gluten free or vegan. The original recipe called for an egg as a binder, Panko breadcrumbs, and flour.
So I thought back to the recipe I have for Black Bean Burgers and figured we could do similar things for the sweet potato burgers to make them gluten free and vegan.
I don’t use an egg substitute for the black bean burgers so originally I just tried the recipe with no egg substitute and gluten free oats to replace the breadcrumbs and flour. That was a mess!
The mixture wouldn’t form patties and trying to flip them was pretty laughable, BUT the flavor was crazy delicious! The smoked paprika in this recipe makes the whole thing come together wonderfully, but I had to figure out the consistency issues.
So the second time I swapped out the egg for a flax egg, Panko breadcrumbs for gluten free oats, and flour for gluten free all-purpose flour. This one was SO close!
I was able to form patties in the pan and flip them after just a few minutes of cooking pretty easily, but I knew I could do better.
The first two times I made this, I put everything in a food processor and blended it into a smooth paste. I thought that might have been why the mixture didn’t hold together as well as I would have liked.
So the third try I didn’t blend everything in the food processor. It turns out mixing in the binders by hand after the sweet potatoes have gone through the food processor was the trick.
I was sooo excited that I finally got these sweet potato burgers figured out! I will say that the mixture is still a little messy to work with so when you go to make the patties use a large ice cream scoop to get the mixture into the pan and flatten it out a bit with your hand to make the patties. If you try to form the patties in your hands you will have quite a mess.
I would love to hear about recipe conversions you’ve made and conquered! It always feels like a big accomplishment when you finally get a recipe just right after trying a few times. It’s always a great learning experience too.
I hope you enjoy these Sweet Potato Burgers as much as my family does!
Sweet Potato Burgers – Gluten Free & Vegan
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 40 min
- Yield: 4–6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 cups cooked)
- 1 tbsp flax seed meal
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz can navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (I use Better Batter)
- 1/3 cup gluten free oats
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Cook your sweet potatoes until soft. I usually poke holes with a fork all around the potato, wrap them in a wet paper towel, and microwave for 8-10 minutes until soft.
- While your sweet potatoes are cooking, add flax seed meal and warm water to a small bowl and stir. Set mixture aside to firm up.
- Put all other ingredients except the olive oil into a bowl of a food processor. Do not put in the flax egg mixture yet.
- Once the potatoes have cooled a bit, cut them in half and scoop the potato out of the skin and into the food processor bowl. You should have about 2 cups of potato.
- Blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Gently stir in the flax meal mixture and place the mixture into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
- After mixture has firmed up, heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, use a large ice cream scoop to scoop the mixture into the pan. Then press gently to form patties. You should get 4-6 patties out of this mixture depending on the size of the scoop.
- Cook on each side for about 5 minutes. Do not try to flip the patties until they have crisped up on one side or you will have a mess.
- Once cooked, enjoy with your favorite burger toppings and a gluten free bun (I love to top the burgers with vegan mayonnaise or BBQ sauce). These are also delicious all by themselves, with quinoa, or crumbled on a salad.
Instead of frying the buns with oil can I bake in the oven ?how long and what temperature
You should be able to bake the sweet potato burgers in the oven. I recommend a temperature of 375°F for 15 minutes and then flip the burgers and cook another 10-15 minutes on the other side.