Remember the other day when I was talking about how it was so cold here and I was snuggling under the down blanket every night drinking hot tea and eating soup? Well, today I’m pretty sure it hit 100 degrees and I ate ice cream sandwiches for breakfast, no lie!
As much as I hate the summer heat that we get in the Southwest, summer is one of my favorite seasons. Do you remember how much fun summer was when you were growing up and you didn’t have to go to school for 2 1/2 months? I wish grownups got summer vacation! Maybe I should have been a teacher… I would be in the pool with a tropical drink in my hand everyday!
Summer is also all about BBQs and get togethers. Being someone who doesn’t really eat meat, I often end up eating more than my fair share of chips and side dishes at BBQs. Everyone else is always grilling up lots and lots of meat, but there never seem to be very many vegetarian entree dishes. Or maybe I’m just going to the wrong BBQs!
Up until last year I had never made my own veggie burgers before. I would always just buy the frozen ones that were usually overpriced, had little taste, and were very chewy. One of the things I’ve always hated about meat is the texture, so I certainly don’t want the same texture when eating my veggie burgers!
Fast forward 1 year and I’m now a veggie burger making machine! Sometimes when I lay awake at night I fantasize about writing a veggie burger cookbook and start dreaming up all kinds of delicious combinations. These Green Chili and Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers are adapted from my Smokey Sweet Potato Burgers and they are just as good! Green chilies are really big in the southwest and have a great smoky flavor. During green chili season some of the grocery stores down here roast their own out front and they smell so amazing!
These burgers are great to make ahead, you can even freeze them, and bring them with you to any BBQ you go to this summer! I guarantee that even the meat eaters will love them 🙂
I enjoyed mine topped with some guacamole, lettuce, and tomato but you can put anything you like on them.
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Green Chili and Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1/3 cup brown rice, dry
- 1–15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups)
- 1–7 ounce can diced green chilies, drained well (I used mild)
- 3 tablespoons bread crumbs, gluten free if necessary
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Olive oil
- Hamburger buns, I used Udi’s Gluten Free Hamburger Buns
- Optional toppings: guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast sweet potatoes until starting to brown on the outside and tender on the inside, about 25-30 minutes. Burgers work best if you let rice and sweet potatoes cool for about 30 minutes.
- Add the rice, sweet potato, and black beans to a food processor and blend for about 7 seconds, scrape down the sides and blend another 3 seconds. You want everything to be incorporated, but not pureed.
- Place mixture into a large bowl and then add the bread crumbs, cilantro, garlic, salt, cumin, and paprika. Mix with your hands until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Form the veggie burger mixture into 6 equal size patties and place on an oven tray or plate covered with wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes*
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Cook burgers until heated through and browned on each side, about 5 minutes each side.
Notes
*The longer you refrigerate them, the firmer the veggie burgers will be. These are great to make the day before and keep for about 5 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to a month.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Entree, Gluten Free, Vegan
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