Veggie Burgers With Sprouted Kitchen

Need an on-the-go meal thats easy to pack for adventures to the beach, long road trips or for a casual picnic? Look no further. These veggie burgers are an easy and delicious way to get in your daily dose of vegetables and will leave you wanting another.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 cup of walnut pieces
• 2 green onions - white and light green parts
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of sweet potatoes - flesh from one small sweet potato, or any hard squash puree
• 2 Tbsp. of coconut aminos
• 2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil - plus more for cooking
• 1 handful of cilantro or parsley
• 1 tsp. of chili powder
• 1 tsp. of cumin
• 1 tsp. of sea salt
• 1 cup of brown rice - cooked and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups of black beans - about one 13.5 oz. can
• 1/3 cup of panko - as needed, or old fashioned oats
• grated parmesan - optional, for the crust

FOR SERVING

• burger bun
• romaine
• avocado
• sliced cheese
• pickled onion

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400’ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, walnuts, green onions and egg to mix. Add the coconut aminos, potato, herbs, oil, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt and pulse again. Add the brown rice, black beans, panko and give it a few more pulses, scraping the side as needed. Don’t over work it or it’ll be a mush ball, you want to have the texture of all the ingredients. The mixture should resemble, well, hate to say it, ground beef. Not super wet, but not dried out. If it seems wet, add a sprinkle of panko, but note it will dry up in the oven. This much can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a day.

Form the dough into 5 patties, and place them on the parchment. Sprinkle grated parm on the top (it will melt and dry out while they bake and leave you with a delicious crunchy, umami topping). Bake for 20 minutes.

Toast the buns. Swipe the pistachio pesto on one side (or whatever spread you like) and smash avocado on the other side. Top with a patty, lettuce, onion and enjoy!

TIPS

MAKE AHEAD

The veggie burger “dough” can be made a day in advance and kept covered in the fridge. Or, the patties may be made in full a day or two in advance, and rewarmed in a pan when ready to eat.

KID FRIENDLY

My kids love anything that looks like a burger, BUT, you can also form them into small balls for a more nugget like look. Place the balls on the baking sheet as noted for the patties, and cook them for about 15 minutes.

LOW CARB

I’m into a veggie burger patty on a salad, or lettuce wrapped. Just make sure you have sauce and condiments to make the salad taste good!

USE IT TWICE

Double up the patty recipe - use it for taco or burrito filling, or freeze them after they’ve been cooked. They reheat well.