Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers
Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers- blended with turmeric, curry, and cumin, these veggie burgers perfect to prep ahead for quick and healthy meals!
Veggie burgers have become a way of life for me. I love that you can pack so many healthy nutrients in one little patty and have it waiting for you, ready to reheat at a moment’s notice.
They’re also incredibly versatile in that you can use whatever flavor combination you want. I’m clearly a fan of sweet potatoes, seeing how this is my sixth veggie burger recipe that uses them. It’s just so hard to resist when I know they provide a ton of powerhouse nutrients like fiber, potassium, and skin-glowing vitamin A.
Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Burger Ingredients
Let’s chat about what you need plus potential substitutions!
- Sweet Potato– Did you know that there are 16 different varieties of sweet potato? I tend to go for the varieties with orange flesh for this recipe (such as jewel, garnet or beauregard).
- Chickpeas– Also known as garbanzo beans, I like to use them here because of the mild flavor that pairs well with the Indian spices. You could use freshly cooked or canned beans, just make they are soft enough to mash with your fingers if cooking them yourself. Undercooking them will yield undesirable results.
- High Heat Oil- You’ll need oil suitable for roasting the potato and chickpeas in addition to cooking the burgers. I use an extra virgin olive oil spray, although it’s up for debate whether or not that is meant for high heat cooking. Use your best judgement and go with whatever oil you prefer.
- Rolled Oats- Because I use a food processor to make these, I figure might as well blend up some oats to save myself the step of measuring out flour. That said, if you wanted to mash everything by hand you could also use equal amounts oat flour (1/2 cup) or any neutral flavored flour you prefer. I haven’t tested them with almond flour but my suspicion is that it might not bind as well as chickpea flour or all-purpose. I also don’t recommend using coconut flour.
- Cilantro- Fresh cilantro amps up the flavor and pairs wonderfully with the spices. Loosely pack about 1/2 cup to measure out how much you’ll need.
- Jalapeño- I’ve made these without jalapeño several times simply because I didn’t have any. It’s adds a very mild spice to the recipe but isn’t totally necessary.
- Turmeric, Cumin and Curry- I personally prefer a more subtle curry flavor so the recipe only calls for 1/2 teaspoon. That said, feel free to play with the spices to suit your personal preferences!
- Lemon Juice- Fresh citrus provides a subtle tart flavor that brings everything together. It also adds a punch of vitamin C to help aid iron absorption. Either lemon or lime juice will work.
- Non-Dairy Yogurt- My go-to dairy-free yogurt is Kite Hill’s plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt. I love the rich and creamy texture. Blending it with fresh cilantro, citrus and salt makes for the perfect serving sauce. If you don’t have yogurt, tahini works well as a substitute. You will likely have to add more water or citrus juice to thin it out.
How to Make Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers
I will admit this isn’t the fastest of recipes, but it makes a few meals worth so it’s a good time investment! Here’s how to make them:
- Roast the sweet potato and chickpeas for 20 minutes. Just enough to soften the potato and slightly firm up the chickpeas. Any longer and you’ll dry them out.
- Blend them plus the cilantro, jalapeño and spices in a food processor. The mixture should hold together when pressed between your fingers. If it doesn’t then add a little bit of moisture. A tablespoon of water or additional citrus juice should do the trick.
- Shape them into patties then cook in a skillet over medium until golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to eat these is inside of a lettuce wrap or a warm tortilla (Siete Foods makes delicious almond flour tortillas!). They would also be great on top of a salad! They are not super firm so I don’t recommend grilling them unless they are in a grill pan.
Looking for more Veggie Burger Inspo? Check these out!
- Classic Lentil Burgers
- Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers
- White Bean Zucchini Burgers
- Easy Black Bean Burgers
- Turmeric Falafel Burgers
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- Lentil Pea Burgers with Lemon Basil Mayo
Curried Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers
Blended with turmeric, curry, and cumin, these veggie burgers perfect to prep for quick and healthy meals! (vegan + gluten-free)
Servings: 10 burgers
Ingredients
For the Burgers
- 250 g peeled and chopped sweet potato (1-inch cubes), about 1 medium potato
- 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
- 3-4 tablespoons high heat oil
- ½ cup rolled oats, or flour of choice (see notes)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 jalapeno, cored and roughly chopped (optional)
- 1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt & black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon (or lime) juice
For the Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
- ½ cup non-dairy yogurt, I like Kite Hill plain unsweetened
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lemon (or lime) juice
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Arrange the sweet potato cubes and chickpeas over top. Coat with a tablespoon of high heat oil and toss to combine. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste test and add more citrus juice or salt as desired.
- Using a food processor, blend the oats to a fine crumb. Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, jalapeno, cilantro, jalapeno, turmeric, cumin, curry, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Squeeze in the lemon juice then pulse until finely chopped. The mixture should hold together when pressed between your fingers. If not, blend a little longer or add a tablespoon of water to help moisten it.
- Using your hands, shape ¼ cup of the mixture at a time to form patties. This should yield about 10 (3-inch) burgers.
- Warm the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook a few burgers at a time until golden brown, for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Serve warm with yogurt sauce and enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 17mg, Potassium: 203mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 3648IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 44mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
Thanks for all your hard work making this site such a good one. I have read that ground black pepper makes Turmeric much more accessible to the digestive system (check this out) so I always add a big pinch to recipes that call for Turmeric.
Thanks for the great tip, Malcolm! :)
Oh my goodness, these look amazing Sarah and are precisely what I’m craving for lunch (how did you know?). Beautiful ingredient choices and I love the little lettuce bed you made for them – perfect. That cilantro tahini sauce just puts this over the top… (ps: never enough sweet potatoes ;-)
I can never get enough sweet potatoes, and adding chickpeas and Indian spices only makes things better! These look delicious, Sarah, and I love all of the eye-popping colors on this plate. I need this for lunch right now!
I completely agree. You can never have enough veggie burgers. Thanks Jo! :)
I just looked at yours and it’s much simpler than this one, lol! The sauce is definitely a nice addition. Thanks Kelli! I hope you’re having a good week! :)
Nope! You put it in the food processor raw and then it will cook as the burgers bake in the oven. :)
My husband does not love veggie burgers – but eating plant based, he puts up with them. However, he loved these. That is amazing! I have tried all kinds store bought brands, all kinds of recipes from scratch and this is the first time he said: “These are good!”. Score! I was shocked. I loved them, but I love all veggie burgers!
I did use leftover cooked sweet potatoes and they came out perfect!
I’m so happy to hear that, Christine! I was worried they might be too mushy with the cooked sweet potato but I’m glad to know it works well and that your husband loves them too. :)
Thank you for the feedback!
Hi Lindsey! You can grill them on a grill pan. Or if you have something you can place on top of your grill that should also work.
Can I use bread crumbs in place of the oatmeal?
That should work fine!
Hi Sarah! These look delicious. Do you think there is a way to make them without oil? I am on an oil restricted diet. Thanks, Stia
You could try roasting the potato and chickpeas without oil then baking them on parchment paper for 5-7 minutes on each side!
I’m totally with you, I love whipping up a batch of homemade veggie burgers. Like you said, it’s such a great way to sneak in lots of veggies & nutrition. These burgers look awesome!