Flavor packed and with whole food ingredients, Sweet Potato Burgers are easy to make, freezer friendly and at the ready for meal prep! Seasoned to perfection, sweet potatoes make up the bulk while quinoa and red lentils provide stickiness to help hold the burgers together; Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers are ready! This recipe is vegetarian and easily vegan.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review: “These burgers are delicious. The panko added a nice texture and I served with avocado and fresh spinach. I had used my last frozen burger (BBQ chickpea from Traci) and was looking for a new recipe to try. I will make these and the BBQ version again!” ~ Carolyn
Veggie Burger Love
Sweet Potato Burgers? Yes please! So many things to love about veggie burgers. They’re make ahead ready, freezer friendly, full of flavor and packed with all the good things. Homemade tastes way better than anything off the shelf.
I’ve found veggie burgers can be made with a variety of whole foods. Making them at home allows for creative spice blends, beans, grains and all the veggies, knowing exactly what’s going into my food. Who knew you could add oats to help bind the ingredients together like in my Classic Black Bean and Oat Veggie Burgers.
This Recipe Is
- hearty and satisfying
- made vegetarian or vegan
- make ahead ready
If you enjoy recipes with sweet potatoes, you’ll enjoy this hearty and satisfying veggie burger recipe.
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How to Make Sweet Potato Burgers
What I love most about this burger is, not only is it delicious, but the recipe makes a lot of burgers perfectly freezer friendly for easy weeknight dinners.
The Best Toppings
My favorite veggie burger topping is Mamma Lil’s Peppers. They’re slightly sweet, tangy and a bit of spicy. They’re packed with flavor and will elevate any burger. Sometimes I can find them at Costco FTW! Otherwise, my local grocery carries them.
Other than peppers, a simple Pesto Mayo or Jalapeno Aioli, avocado and sprouts are my favorite condiments for this burger.
More ways to enjoy these sweet potato patties: without the bun, make the patties smaller, shared as an appetizer or stuffed into a pita.
How Sweet Potato Burgers Taste (!!)
The sweet potato is apparent in these veggie burgers, but also the garlic and smoky paprika offer hints of spicy flavor. You’ll get a bit of a sweet and spicy mouth party! The quinoa, kale, potatoes and lentils offer a smooth texture while the bread crumbs offer a nice crunch!
These burgers are not as firm as what you would typically buy in the store and you’ll get a bit of squeeze-out when you bite into it, but they hold up well enough to support all the condiments you want to pile on.
See those delicious homemade fries just below? Those are my Crispy Oven Fries, with a creamy fluffy interior.
Traci’s Tips
- Two ways to cook the patties: pan fry or bake! I’ve included both methods in the recipe.
- Big or mediumish patties? Alexandra (see comments) made these burgers 1/2 C patties which yields 10 patties. To make mediumish patties, use 1/3 C to make 13 patties.
Sweet Potato Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
For the Burger:
- 2 lb Sweet Potatoes about 2 medium potatoes
- 1/3 C (65g) Quinoa red or white, rinsed under running water
- 1/3 C (70g) Red Lentils
- 1 1/4 C (305g) Water
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 Cups (80g) Kale packed, any variety, deveined and chopped (about 12 leaves)
- 1/2 C (70g) Feta crumbled (leave out for vegan option)
- 1/4 C (8g) Minced Chives
- 1 Tbs Garlic minced, about 2 large cloves
- 2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 3/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 C (100g) Panko Bread Crumbs
- Neutral Vegetable Oil for pan frying. I use avocado or coconut oil.
For the Mayo:
- 1 C (224g) Mayo I like Veganaise
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 2 tsp Garlic minced, about 1 large clove
- 2 Pinches Sea Salt
Instructions
For the Burgers:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and place on a parchment lined pan. Bake for about 45-55 minutes. You want them soft when you give em' a squeeze.
- Meanwhile, place quinoa, lentils, water and salt into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, turn to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes (crack the lid if needed). When done, the quinoa 'tails' will show and the lentils will be soft. Remove from heat and allow excess water to steam off. Set aside.
- When the potatoes are finished cooking, cut open and allow to cool. Once cool, deskin the potato, place in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add the kale and mash some more, for about 30 seconds (this helps tenderize the kale). When the potato and kale are incorporated, add the quinoa and lentil mixture, minced garlic, lemon, paprika, feta, chives, and salt and pepper. Mix well. The mixture will be moist and soft.
- Place the panko bread crumbs in a small bowl. Use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop out a portion of the sweet potato mixture, packing it in. Tap the scoop, face down on the side of the bowl with your hand underneath to catch the portion. Place the portion in the panko bread crumbs, turning and covering all surfaces of the patty. The patties are quite delicate, but reshape easily. Just pat them back into shape. Place the patty on the sheet pan. Repeat until all patties are scooped, shaped and covered in bread crumbs. Reshape as needed. Press each portion gently to flatten it into a patty.
- Place in refrigerator for at least an hour or up to two days before cooking. This allows the flavors to marry and the patties to firm a bit. To Freeze for Later: to freeze the patties, place the number of desired frozen patties on a parchment lined sheet pan and place in freezer. Freeze for an hour, remove and store in a storage container separating patties with squares of parchment paper. Thaw before pan frying.
- To Pan Fry: Preheat oven to 200F. Place 3 Tbs coconut oil in non stick frying pan. Heat oil on med-high until it shimmers. Place 3-4 patties in the pan, without crowding them and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes. Place on a paper towel to catch any excess oil. As the patties finish cooking, place in a 200F oven to keep warm until ready to serve.To Bake: Preheat oven to 425F (218C). Brush a parchment lined sheet pan with olive oil and place the patties on the parchment paper. Gently brush olive oil over the tops of each patty. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping patties at 1/2 way mark. When done, they should be golden and heated through.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to three days cooked or uncooked. To rewarm cooked patties after refrigeration, place in a 350F oven for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.
For the Mayo:
- Combine all the ingredients and whisk well. Serve cold with or without the bun, or try my Pesto Mayo or Jalapeno Aioli.
Not sure if they are burgers, but they are yummy! Eaten with a fork and the lemony mayo, they were delicious.I replaced wildrice with lentils instead of quinoa and andives instead of kale. Baked them, and after cooling and reheating, they kept their shape a bit better. Thank you for an inventive recipe!
Love hearing this Audrey! Thank you for sharing your subs with us. Quinoa sounds delicious!
These burgers are delicious. The panko added a nice texture and I served with avocado and fresh spinach. I had used my last frozen burger (BBQ chickpea from Traci) and was looking for a new recipe to try. I will make these and the BBQ version again!
Hiii Carolyn! Hooray for tasty veggie burgers! Thank you for your note, review and sending a smile. We gotta keep the freezer stocked with veggie burgers, right?!! SO happy you’re enjoying the BBQ chickpea burgers too (there’s no reviews for it yet – so I’m thrilled to read your note!).
We loved these! We ate half for supper, put half in the freezer (raw) then thawed slightly and cooked on the stovetop. So tender & delicious! Thanks Traci!
Hi Monica! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go. SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the burgers and you have more for later! Hooray!
Just made these and they were DELICIOUS!!
Had my very picky daughter look through your recipes and give me a few ideas of what she might try and these were on the list. I made them for her – not being a huge sweet potato fan – but the combination of the potato with all the other ingredients, tempered the sweetness and ended up being a huge hit with the whole family, me included. The garlic lemon mayo was just another great addition. I wonder how it would be with a dollop of greek yogurt, if one was trying to be more healthy?
Thank you for your yummy creations!
Hii Alexandra! Thank you for your note, rating and sharing your story with us! I looove that you had your daughter make some decisions about what to make :D I adore that garlic mayo (probably too much – lol). Greek Yogurt would be fabulous. Maybe strain it in a colander for 15-20 minutes so it’ll be thicker. I can imagine how delicious tzatziki would be on these patties too! So happy y’all enjoyed the recipe!
We live in Greece so easy to get a little Tzatziki !
Just so you know, we have had 3 huge successes so far: the Quinoa black bean enchilada bake- with the chili turned down in the sauce, the sweet potato burgers and the quinoa tabbouleh with chickpeas!!
I’m partial to your Thai recipes and loved your walnut marinara but my daughter not yet!!!
These were very good. I added a little cumin and made them slightly bigger…1)2 cup. Will make again for sure!
Hi Diane! Thank you for your note and tip about the cumin! Sounds fabulous! I like the 1/2 cup burgers too – how many did the 1/2 C burgers yield?
I used a 1/2 cup scooper too and it made 10 burgers.
Thank youuuu Alexandra! I’ll add that to the notes!
So much flavor and color packed into these little beauties! Thanks for pointing out the new features on your site, too! Most of all, Happy Birthday, Traci! Enjoy celebrating the gift that you are. Sounds like you’ve got the right attitude in place.
Ahhh, thank you so for your kind words and sending a smile, Jean! So heartfelt. Thank you.
Love the looks of this burger! I am GF so would naturally use gluten-free burger buns. But instead of panko bread crumbs on the outside , what would you suggest I use?
Hi Paula Jo!
I haven’t tested this recipe with anything but panko so it’s hard to say what alternative would work. But, if I did change it up to be GF, I would give my GF bread a whirl in the food processor, then use those in the place of panko. I am thinking this would work well. Please let us know if this works for you! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
You might want to try pulsing gluten-free pretzels in a food processor and using that instead of the panko. I haven’t tried it yet, but someone had suggested it to me. Worth a shot!
Thanks for your suggestion, Ali!