Thai Sweet Potato Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Happy meatless Monday!  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and is in the mood for some veggie burgers!  I like just about anything Thai, so when I saw these on Oh She Glows I just knew I had to make them.  Veggie burgers take some time on the front in, but it pays off! I often like to make a large batch early in the week and keep them in the fridge ready to pop in the oven on nights that I get home and just don’t feel like cooking.  This batch is vegan (although I do love me some veggie burgers with cheese!) and is a ridiculously cheap way to serve a gourmet meal to the entire family!

More Veggie Burger Options…

Chickpea Burgers with  a Balsamic Almond Butter Glaze*
Spicy BBQ Chickpea Burgers*
Curried Lentil Burgers with Mango Slaw*
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers
Around the World Black Bean Burgers

*Messy Kitchen favorites

Thai Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

For the burgers:

• 1 large sweet potato, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
• 1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons ground flax + 3 tbsp water, mixed in bowl
• 1 medium jalepeno, diced and seeds removed
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the grated sweet potato, diced jalepeno, basil, garlic, ginger, and chopped peanuts.
2. In a food processor, add the oats and process until finely chopped. You want the texture to be like a coarse flour. Stir the oat flour into the bowl with the vegetables.
3. Now add the drained chickpeas into the processor and process until finely chopped. You want the mixture to be a cross between a coarse paste and finely chopped chickpeas, but don’t completely puree the chickpeas. Stir the processed chickpeas into the bowl with the vegetables and oat flour.
4. In a mug, whisk together the ground flax and water. Let it sit for only 20 seconds or so, any longer and it will get too thick. Stir this flax egg into the vegetable chickpea mixture until fully combined.  Stir in the sesame oil, soy, lime juice, coriander, salt, and pepper.
5. Shape the mixture into 6-8 patties, packing each patty tightly between your hands so it holds together well. Place each patty onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then gently flip the patties and potato rounds and bake for another 15-17 minutes until golden on both sides.

For the peanut sauce:

• 1 garlic clove
• 6 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (or almond or sunflower seed butter)
• 2.5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari (or coconut aminos)
• 1-2 tablespoons water, as needed
• 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or other sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

While the burgers are baking, prepare the peanut sauce.  Add all sauce ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust ingredients to taste if desired.

Burgers can be served on regular buns, whole grain wraps, or you can use slices of roasted sweet potato as buns.  I think naan would also be fabulous!  If you are not going to eat all the burgers in one sitting, I recommend only baking what you plan to eat.  Keep the rest refrigerated or frozen.

Serves 6-8

Johanna