Vegan Chili Pineapple Sweet Potato Burgers

Serves: 5 burgers

INGREDIENTS
– 10 oz. bag of frozen cubed sweet potatoes (about 1⅓ cups mashed) * see notes
– ¾ cups dry rice cooked (about 2 cups after cooked, I used basmati rice)
– ⅔ cup chopped and squeezed pineapple* (see notes*)
– ¼ of a small purple onion chopped tiny
– 2 tsp chili powder*
– Pinch of black pepper
– ½ TBSP olive oil (optional see notes)
-FLAX egg optional see notes! (1 tbsp flax seeds ground up which will make 1½ tbsp plus 3 TBSP water)

*Make your own chili powder by grinding a dried chile in a coffee or spice grinder. Try ancho or chipotle chiles.

SPREAD:
1 ½ TBSP vegan mayo
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp onion powder
Pinch of black pepper
¼ of a small lemon squeezed (make sure no seeds fall in)
(double this recipe if you like a lot of dressing on your burger)

EXTRAS optional:
-burger buns (I used sprouted grain ones from Food For Life brand)
– sliced thick tomato
-shredded lettuce
-onion

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by cooking the rice and steaming the sweet potatoes. Cook rice according to directions on your package. For the sweet potatoes place them in a pot with about 2 oz. of water and a lid, let steam on low-medium heat for about 15-30 minutes depending on heat level and if you use fresh or frozen, once they are mash able with a spoon they are done!
Next while those are cooking, chop the onion and pineapple and place in a large mixing bowl so it is ready!
Once rice and potatoes are done, add the rice to the big bowl with the pineapple and onion and let the rice cool until you are able to touch it without getting burned (about 10 minutes) , then mash the sweet potatoes in the pot before adding to the rice mixture, then add the sweet potatoes and mix everything really well!
Add the chili powder with a pinch of black pepper. Mix until everything is well incorporated!
add the olive oil and flax egg if you are choosing too.
Spray a skillet with non-stick spray or use a non-stick skillet. Form burger shaped patties and gently place them in the skillet. Cook about 7 minutes on each side, on medium heat or until they start to look crispy on the outside. Be careful while flipping them and do not cook these on the grill!
This makes about 5 good sized burgers.
NOTES
SWEET POTATOES- I used a 10 oz. bag of frozen sweet potatoes from Whole Foods because they are super easy and convenient, already peeled and cubed so you just have to steam them. You can use fresh sweet potatoes just make sure to peel and chop them first. 10 oz. is a little less than 1 ½ cups after you mash it up.

***my “sweet potatoes” were orange! not white. this is super confusing to people but sweet potatoes are actually white and yams are orange but my package says sweet potatoes and they were orange so if you are using fresh ones use the orange ones which are technically yams.

PINEAPPLE- I used canned organic pineapple because it has a softer texture than fresh, I got one that was just in pineapple juice no other preservatives or added ingredients.

I chopped the pineapple very small and I placed it on to a paper towel and squeezed it so some of the juice came off, so it didn’t add too much liquid to the burger from being wet!

olive oil is OPTIONAL, I have made it without the oil and as long as you are using non-stick cooking spray it is ok to leave this out if you don’t want to add it, the only thing it’s doing for the burger is making it less sticky to the pan.

the Flax egg is 1 tbsp of flax seeds ground up (which will be 1½ tbsp after being ground) mixed with 3 TBSP water and let it sit until it forms a gel consistency… I personally DO NOT use this but I have tested it and it will make it slightly more formed if you are having trouble keeping it formed… so my suggestion is to mix everything and leave this the very last thing and decide if you need it!

* This is a fragile burger so DO NOT try to grill it and be careful when flipping it while cooking!

From tworaspberries.com