This recipe for sweet potato burgers makes the BEST Veggie Burger ever! This spicy vegan veggie burger is made from sweet potatoes, zucchini, and green chilies–and is loved by even meat eaters! Vegan. Gluten-Free.
Confession: When a veggie burger is made correctly, I will ALWAYS choose it over a traditional beef burger.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good old fashioned beef burger now and then, but veggie burgers have my heart.
And this recipe for Veggie Burgers, happens to make the BEST Veggie Burger ever!
Vegan Veggie Burgers
This recipe for Veggie burgers are unlike any veggie burger you have had before.
These Veggie Burgers are:
- Bean-Free
- Vegan
- Gluten-Free
- Made with ACTUAL vegetables!
And the taste my friends is incredible. Savory, spicy and filling–just perfect.
Steps to Making Gluten Free Veggie Burgers
Step One: Prepare Sweet Potato
- Bake 1 large sweet potato at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until tender.
- Alternatively, use this recipe for Instant Pot Sweet potatoes, to save time.
- Once sweet potato is baked and cool enough to handle, remove flesh from skin. Discard skin of potato.
Step Two: Prepare Zucchini
- Using a food processor or hand-held grater, shred zucchini.
- Place shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and wring out all the excess moisture–VERY IMPORTANT STEP!
Step Three: Prepare Veggie Burgers
- Blend the zucchini, roasted sweet potato, flax seed, green chilies, and southwestern spices in food processor until just combined.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat and then scoop out 1/3 cups into mounds.
- Gently press down the sweet potato zucchini mixture to form a patty shape and roast in the oven.
*Remember: These paleo veggie burgers do not have the traditional binding agents like bread crumbs, egg, or oats, so they are a bit more delicate to work with.
Step Four: Bake Veggie Burgers
- Bake for 25 minutes on first side.
- Gently flip and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until burgers are set.
Step Five: Serve
- At this point, you can serve these veggie burgers on lettuce for a vegan and gluten free veggie burger that is filled with out of this world flavor–not to mention incredible nutrition.
- However, if you are NOT vegan, I would highly recommend once burgers have cooked through topping them with Colby Jack Cheese and broiling until the cheese is just melted.
Results on Vegan Veggie Burgers
I mentioned I love, I mean LOVE, these Paleo Veggie Burgers, but what about my kids? Or the bigger critic—my Midwestern meat-loving husband?
- My son loves these veggie burgers, if I serve with cheese and on buns.
- My daughter thinks they are a bit spicy, but when paired with mild cheddar and served on a bun, she does enjoy them.
- My husband actually REALLY likes these burgers. Especially if I serve them with cheese, pico and lettuce and tomatoes.
Bottom line, give these Egg Free Veggie Burgers a try. Serve them on a bun, in a lettuce wrap, over a salad, in a tortilla with sour cream. You will enjoy them!
How to Freeze Veggie Burgers
- To freeze leftover veggie burgers
- Allow to cool
- Lay on parchment paper lined sheet tray in the freezer and freeze until solid
- Transfer to freezer safe container or bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat these Green Chile Veggie Burgers by heating frozen burgers in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Notes on Whole 30 Southwestern Veggie Burgers:
- To decrease on the spiciness of these Southwestern Sweet Potato Burgers, cut the chili powder to 1 teaspoon.
- Be sure to get rid of any excess moisture in the zucchini by placing shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and wringing out all the excess moisture.
- Be sure to shape your burgers BEFORE baking–so they bake up into perfect patty forms.
- It is extremely important to bake these vegan veggie burgers on a silpat OR parchment paper so they do not stick to the baking sheet.
- Remember, these grain-free veggie burgers have no binders (like eggs or bread crumbs), so they will be delicate–handle carefully.
- If you find the veggie burger mixture too wet, you can add in 1-3 more tablespoons of flax seed.
- Because these are gluten-free veggie burgers, they are great served on a lettuce wrap–which keep them gluten-free. But you can serve them on your favorite bun, in a wrap or even on a salad as I did with the leftovers.
More Vegan Recipes
- Lentil Sloppy Joes
- Vegan Tex Mex Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Lentil Tacos with Avocado Cream
- Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
Vegan Veggie Burger Recipe
Vegan Veggie Burgers
A bean free, grain free, vegan version of a veggie burger made with sweet potatoes and zucchini and southwestern spices.
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 66kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato roasted and peeled
- 1 pound of fresh zucchini shredded
- 2 4.5 ounce can green chilies, diced
- 1/3 cup ground flax seed
- 2 teaspoons chili powder I used chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 slices Montery Jack cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In food processor, shred zucchini. Place zucchini in clean kitchen towel, and gently squeeze out any excess moisture. Return zucchini to food processor.
- Add in cooked sweet potato, 1 can of green chiles, flax seed, and spices into food processor and process until well combined.
- Scoop out about 1/3 cup of mixture onto prepared sheet tray. Pat down into burger patties.
- Bake for 25 minutes on first side and carefully flip and cook for additional 10 minutes, or until browned.
- If serving with cheese, place a slice of cheese on each patty and return to the oven until cheese is just melted.
- To serve: Top with additional canned chilies, on a lettuce wrap or on a bun
Notes
- To decrease on the spiciness of these Southwestern Sweet Potato Burgers, cut the chili powder to 1 teaspoon.
- Be sure to get rid of any excess moisture in the zucchini by placing shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and wringing out all the excess moisture.
- Be sure to shape your burgers BEFORE baking--so they bake up into perfect patty forms.
- It is extremely important to bake these vegan veggie burgers on a silpat OR parchment paper so they do not stick to the baking sheet.
- If you find the veggie burger mixture too wet, you can add in 1-3 more tablespoons of flax seed.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Veggie Burgers
Amount Per Serving
Calories 66 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 5%
Sodium 352mg 15%
Potassium 275mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 2g
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin A 51.3%
Vitamin C 14.4%
Calcium 3.5%
Iron 5.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
My hubby is a meat and potato guy too, so I need to add this to his life.
Those men of ours 😉
Dear Kristen, these veggie burgers look and sound delicious! What a great recipe to get adventurous with…sometimes, I feel like I need to mix it up too. I haven’t had veggie burgers in ages! Craving! xo, Catherine
Catherine–you need these to mix it up too!
I do adore DIY veggie burgers, Kristen, and these sound incredible without any bread crumbs, egg, or oats and packed with zucchini, roasted sweet potato, flax seed, green chilies, and southwestern spices!
Thanks Shashi!
I love trying different veggie burgers! Love the sweet potato in these!
This one is a winner Jessica!!
Oh my goodness! I so know you mean about your husband preferring to stick to his favorites. Mine is the same exact way and I’m just dying to get him to try new things for my own sanity. I could definitely get him to eat one of these burgers though – especially with the melted cheese on top! Those crispy edges are calling my name!
Sarah, glad to know that I am not alone in this battle! Good luck getting your husband to expand his horizons
These sound delicious – I have just been thinking I must try making another veggie burger and sine we became big fans of green chili after our New Mexico trip earlier in the year (plus always a fan of sweet potato) this sounds perfect!
Oh yes Caroline, these burgers are just what you need!
These looks SO good!
Thanks so much!
Hubby loves veggie burgers so have to try this for him! Yum!
Yes he would love these!
These sound awesome! I feel the same way about when my husband travels. For me I get to have big salads or anything with eggplant or zucchini. 🙂 I can’t wait to try these.
ha ha! Garrett would prefer me eating my eggplant while he is away too!
The flavors in this sound AMAZING. Love it!
Thanks Allison!
Hey Kristen, these burger look great!!! I love that your kids are such adventurous eaters! I have a few adventurous eaters here, and a few not so adventurous. Thanks for another great veggie burger recipe!
Allie, they have not always been adventurous–but as they have gotten older they are braver!
I’m normally a red-meat kind of girl… but I would TOTALLY try this! Looks absolutely delicious!!
Well my red meat hubbie loved these!
I did a double take because these look like a real burger! Love the flax seed in this. 😀
Ha ha! Loved that these fooled you for a minute!
Wow! these sound amazing!
Thank Michaela! We love them!
Flavor is terrific, but these were an epic fail. There’s nothing to hold the patties together, so they just all blobbed into one big mess on the baking sheet. I scraped the blob into a big bowl, added a whole cup of buckwheat flour, and then molded them into nuggets so that we could eat. I followed the recipe to the letter. How did they go so wrong?
Kelley, I am so sorry you had an issue with the patties staying together. Let me help you trouble shoot.
Did you make sure you got all the water out of the zucchini?
Did you bake on parchment paper or a silpat?
Did you flip the burgers half-way through?
Let me know if you did all those things, so I can further update this recipe for better tips to make these turn out (because they are always a success when I make them–and I want you all to enjoy that!)
I think the steps are out of order a little. Gonna try tonight.
You were right Nick, one of the steps was out of order. Sorry about that, all is fixed now with a few more tips throughout the post. Enjoy!
Veggie burgers kind of have my heart too, and they’re more sustainable. tysm
Totally more sustainable!
Made this for kiddo’s school lunch and he loved it!
I love hearing that Abeer! Thank you!
I made these, followed the recipe to the tee. They looked fantastic, but would not come off of the parchment paper. I even added a little oil to make sure they would not stick. I was looking forward to them, but all I got was a messy gob of processed veggies stuck to the paper 🙁 Not Impressed.
I am so sorry you had issues Bertina. My best guess is that you may have not gotten the moisture out of the zucchini well. It is critical to really get all the moisture out. I also wonder how much oil you added–the veggies may have absorbed that oil which will then cause them to be soggy.
I drained the zucchini over night, not my first rodeo with using zucchini in a recipe like this 🙂 The oil was a very fine film on the parchment paper, enough to help them slide off. The tops cooked beautifully, but when I tried to get them off the pan they were a stuck gooey mess.
Thanks for the reply Bertina. Again, I am sorry for your issue. This has never happened for me. I will need to try to replicate your issue to fix it 🙂