As a vegetarian, I have had my fair share of veggie burgers – both good and bad. They can be bland, dry, crumbly… but these burgers. Let me just tell you about these beet burgers. When I first came across a couple of recipes for beet burgers on different blogs I was skeptical. I’m a big fan of beets, but wasn’t sure they were really suited for burgers. I gave it a try anyway and now I am a total convert!
I think beet burgers may be the only veggie burger I will ever make again! Seriously, they were really good. In this case I added a mashed sweet potato to help bind the shredded beets and other ingredients together. To top it off, Will made a delicious garlic sriracha aioli. Now, I’m usually very anti-mayonnaise/aioli, but lots of garlic and sriracha made me a fan of this version. The mayo recipe below makes a cup, so you’ll have plenty leftover for other uses.
Not only is this burger delicious, but it is also packed with lots of nutrients.
- Beets contain natural nitrates which are converted to nitric acid, a powerful blood vessel dilator. This characteristic has made beets a favorite for athletes since improved blood flow leads to increased speed/endurance.
- Sweet potatoes are loaded with Vitamin A which is notorious for fighting the development of free radicals.
- Ground walnuts add some protein to this burger which it would otherwise be lacking. Walnuts are a great source of many nutrients like Vitamin E, Omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
A nutrient packed veggie burger with a lot of flavor, you’ve got to make these beet burgers with garlic sriracha aoli!
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw beets (about 3 small)
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Choose a vegan one if you don’t eat fish)
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup canola oil (+ additional 1/4 cup if needed)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 Hamburger buns
- Hamburger toppings like: ketchup, mustard, pickles, avocado, lettuce, tomato, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Poke the sweet potato with a fork and cook in the microwave until tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Peel the beets and shred them with a box grater. Place shredded beets into a large mixing bowl.
- Puree walnuts in a food processor until finely ground – about the texture of couscous.
- Peel the skin off the sweet potato and mash in a small bowl with a fork. Toss into the mixing bowl with the beets.
- Add egg, onion, paprika, garlic, vinegar, Worcestershire, and ground walnuts to the beets. Stir well.
- Form into 4 inch patties and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the begin to darken in color.
- To assemble the aioli: place egg yolk into a food processor with a pour spout and run on high speed. Combine the canola and olive oil into a measuring glass and pour a slow, steady stream into the food processor while it is still running. (The slower you add to start, the better.)
- Continue to add the oil until the mayo starts to thicken. If it isn’t thickened to your liking after adding the cup of oil, add up to 1/4 cup more.
- Now, add the vinegar, sriracha, and garlic to your aioli in the food processor. Puree for a couple of pulses and serve!
- Assemble burgers by placing a beet patty on top of one half of the bun and topping with 1 tablespoon of aioli, lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.
Notes
For those vegetarians who don’t include fish in their diet, make sure to find a vegan worcestershire sauce since the traditional version does contain fish.
Hello! This is a coincidence because I just made a beet burger this lunchtime which I wasn’t very happy with. I was going for beet and black bean, but couldn’t find any black beans and so ended up using kidney beans which didn’t really work so well. They were just ‘OK’. So happy then to find your recipe because it sounds so much tastier with that sweet potato in there. Will have to give this one a go instead!
I literally don’t think I’ve ever had a beet burger in my life but now I think I’ve been missing out this whole time…
I just tried the beet burgers. Absolutely delicious. This beets (ugh, sorry) all other veggie burgers that I have ever tried. I have been disappointed by just about every veggie burger I’ve ordered in restaurants, including beet burgers. The frozen ones available in stores, as well as other recipes I have tried have also been so-so, or not tasty. This one is the winner of all veggie burgers. Thank you for making this available.
I added a pinch of smoked paprika to the aoli, and replaced the mayonnaise with a vegan mayonnaise. I also used egg whites instead of the whole egg. It turned out great.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Jan! I am so glad you enjoyed the beet burgers. 🙂 I love your addition of smoked paprika to the aioli –> sounds delicious!
worcestershire sauce contains fish
I hope you use homemade worcestershire sauce
Hi Caesar,
Since I do include fish in my diet, I am ok with using worcestershire sauce in recipes on occasion. However, I also know that there are some vegan versions out there too!
I love these beet burgers. I’ve made them several times and they are one of my favorite dinners. I was wondering if they would be good if they were frozen? If so, should they be frozen after baking or before? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Kathy! So glad you enjoy these beet burgers. 🙂 I usually freeze them after baking, but you could easily freeze them before as well. I just like to pre-bake them so I can save a little time later on when I’m reheating them. Hope that helps!
Any genius ideas out there for repurposing these as something other than a burger? I’ve topped a salad with them when I ran out of buns but found a bag in my freezer. I was thinking maybe in a pasta or a soup but I’m at a loss at where to start.
Good question, Robyn! I think they would be tasty crumbled up a pasta sauce OR maybe used in a stir fry? Honestly, I haven’t tried using them in any creative ways yet! Let me know if you come up with any creative ideas that work. 🙂
I do NOT like beets, but in an attempt to broaden the veggies in my diet I made these last night. Holy mother they are great. And that aioli? I want to slather it on a million things.
★★★★★
So glad I was able to make you a beet convert! 🙂