Since it is nearly impossible to find frozen paleo veggie burgers, I created this cauliflower sweet potato burger recipe which is both gluten-free, grain-free AND vegetarian. It just so happens to taste absolutely delicious too.
The brilliance of these Paleo sweet potato veggie burgers pretty much speak for themselves, so I’m going to keep today’s post brief. Mainly, because I just got back from California, and in addition to being in serious oyster and claw-footed bathtub withdrawal, my jet lag has rendered me barely fit to unpack my suitcase. More on our trip to Inverness soon. For now, veggie burgers.
I’ve been experimenting with eating fewer grains recently. As much as such a pursuit makes my inner healthy hedonist stomp her feet, my skin has been off, so I’m hoping that upping my game on the clean eating front will help things settle. I’m pretty sure there was a lot of sugar to blame along the way (I’m looking at you wedding night creme brûlée cups), so taking it easy on the carb front (if only for the immediate future) can’t hurt.
A few months ago, I told you about the special place frozen veggie burgers hold in my heart. (It’s a section called my inner college girl that will always burn bright for not-so tasteful side boob, all nighters at the library and Cooks champagne.) Back in April, I got my hands on a serious stash of my favorite veggie burger brand. But since I’ve completely blown through them by now, and our national day of burgers is nearly upon us, I thought I’d whip up something homemade for Meatless Monday before I left for my trip.
Per the grain-free dietary addendum, I wanted to make them Paleo. And that turned out to be a challenge. Most gluten-free burgers use quinoa instead of breadcrumbs to add body to the patty, and legumes to make the mixture bind together.
Sweet potato black bean burgers are one of my favorite combinations, since both of those main ingredients provide bulk and glue all at the same time. But our forefathers apparently did not subsist on bachelor cans of beans, so those were out. My answer? Cauliflower. Which seems to be the answer to every Paleo question the world over.
Instead of turning my cauliflower into rice and having the raw florets become their own special plant-based breadcrumb, I decided to roast them until caramelized, along with some sweet potato, and then turn both into a coarse puree. A little almond flour and egg creates a cakey consistency, but be warned that these burgers are still on the stickier side. Best to use an indoor skillet instead of a grill, and preferably a nonstick (nontoxic) one.
Chilling the sweet potato burgers before searing them really helps hold the patties together. But if they get bent out of shape, don’t stress. You can always use your spatula to reform them once you’ve gotten a little browning action on both sides. Once the patties are transferred to the oven, they firm up really nicely. You can cook them completely in the oven if you like, it will just mean more of a falafel consistency, and only the side touching the pan will be flat and browned. That option takes about 30 minutes.
Veggie burgers always take me in a Califlornia direction (perhaps I was already anticipating my withdrawal from this trip?), so I decided to dress these up So-Cal style with some avocado, sprouts and spicy sriracha aioli. You can use chaloula or chipotle for more of a Tex-Mex vibe, but I am an unapologetic sriracha monster.
If you’re looking for a gluten-free veggie burger that is also low FODMAP, check out these curried red lentil burgers or these Faux Falafel chickpea burgers recipe. And for the legume lovers (sorry paleo folks!) this gluten-free white bean burgers recipe are also a great addition to your rotation.
From one healthy, veggie burger loving hedonist, to another,
Xoxo
Phoebe
Cauliflower Sweet Potato Burgers with Avocado and Sriracha Aioli (Vegetarian Paleo)
Ingredients
- 1 small head cauliflower 1 1/2 pounds, cut into small florets
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Sea salt
- Olive oil
- Ground cumin
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cilantro
- Zest of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 avocados mashed
- 1/2 cup sriracha mayo
- 6 burger buns or bibb lettuce cups for the truly Paleo
- Sprouts optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- On a parchment-lined baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. On a second parchment-lines sheet pan, toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer the pans to the oven and roast until the veggies are lightly browned and caramelized, about 30 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom halfway through.
- Transfer half the sweet potatoes and all the cauliflower to a food processor or blender and pulse until a coarse paste forms, with still a few chunks of cauli. Set aside in a large mixing bowl, along with the remaining sweet potatoes, almond flour, egg, chili powder, cilantro and lime zest. Fold the mixture together until well-incorporated.
- Form the mixture into 5 or 6 thick 3-inch patties and set aside on a plate. The mixture will be rather sticky. Refrigerate for 20 minutes uncovered, until the burger mixture is cool and firm.
- Meanwhile, make the condiments: in a small mixing bowl, mash the avocado with the lime juice and a generous pinch of salt until coarsely combined.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over a medium-high flame (see note). Add a thin layer of olive oil. Add the veggie burgers (3 at a time) and cook until the top has set, about 3 minutes. Flip the burgers and continue. These are going to feel very mushy at this stage, so if they’re misshapen after you add them to the pan, and/or after you flip, just use a silicon spatula to gently nudge the sides back into a round patty shape.
- Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet with the buns, cut-side up, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- While the burgers toast, prepare the sriracha mayo (if you haven’t premade).
- Top each bun with a burger, followed by the avocado mash, mayo and sprouts. Serve alongside the remaining sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!Like these Cauliflower Sweet Potato Burgers? Then you’re going to love these other meatless mains:
Green Israeli Shakshuka with Chard, Peas, and Zucchini (Paleo!)
Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Red Curry
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Romesco, Manchego Cheese, and Arugula
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What could I use to replace the almond flour?
Hi madelyn! If you’re not Paleo, regular or GF breadcrumbs or panko will work. Also, chickpea flour. Otherwise, I’m not sure. As I mentioned in the post, it was tough to create the patty texture using only paleo ingredients.
hey Phoebe – making these tonight! I dont see where the egg is incorporated in the recipe, but guessing it’s in the food processor. Safe assumption? Thanks!
oh no emily! such a fail on my part. hopefully these turned out great anyway. they’re meant to be folded in with the mixing bowl ingredients, but it shouldn’t matter much. Can’t really go wrong. Let me know how you liked them! xo
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
This is time allotment for this meal would require a time warp or a changing of the time/space continuuum so that you can turn back time. Impossible. First round of cooking the cauliflower and potatoes requires 30 minutes, putting the patties in the fridge requires 20 minutes, cooking them in the oil, if you are making 6 or so patties will require at least 10 minutes, and then finishing them in the oven requires another 10 minutes. This is assuming you spend zero time actually putting them in patty form, and zero time dumping the cooked veggies into a mixing bowl.
Recipe is good, but this meal realistically requires a minimum of an hour if you are Wolfgang Puck and have 3 sous-chefs, and more like 90 mins to 2 hours if you are just yourself.
Hi Michael,
Apologies – I don’t know how I fudged the numbers. I would say my math skills could use some work, but clearly I just entered in the wrong amounts across the board. I’ve updated the estimates.
I totally get that 1+ hours is a lot of time for many people to fix dinner. Luckily though, most of this recipe is fairly hands off, so it’s a good option for batch cooking sessions or, at least, fixing another few dishes while the other elements are in progress.
If you wanted to make this meal quicker, you could probably get away with only chilling the patties for 10 minutes. But my biggest recommendation would be to make the patties entirely in advance (they’ll keep for a few days), and then just cook them off the night you want to eat. That will reduce your cook time to just 20 minutes the night of. I froze a batch premade and have been enjoying them individually recrisped in the oven.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write in. I wish I could alter the time/space continuum and give you back those precious minutes, but alas!
Cheers,
Phoebe
I am seriously obsessed with these. I’ve made them weekly for the last month. My 1 year old and I gobble them up. The flavor is absolutely mouthwatering!
Wow – Maria!! That’s amazing to hear! Have you tried making batches in advance and freezing them? Got a question about that above and would be curious to hear if you’ve tried it! xo
Hi there,
I’m the only one that would eat this in my family, so it’d be nice to freeze them! What would you recommend for freezing? Freeze the patties before cooking, or after?
Or don’t freeze at all, lol!
Hi Jessica! I made the burgers start to finished and then froze them. Reheated in the oven or toaster oven. I suppose you could form them into patties and freeze them “raw.” If you went that route, I would recommend baking them entirely instead of the hybrid pan-fry bake method. They will end up being closer to falafel in texture, but just as delicious! If you’re just feeding yourself though, might be less work to reheat something already cooked. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE!!! Time consuming, yes. Worth it? OH YA! My one year old and I DEVOUR these on a weekly basis. I will prep on a Sunday and let them sit in fridge over night to firm up and then cook them on stove during the week. The flavors are out of control! I’ve shared with my friends. Keep it up!
YAY!! Stephanie, I’m so thrilled you love these as much as I do. I just used up my last few frozen patties and need to make another batch. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience! xo
These definitely do take some time, but they are so worth it! I’m making them for the second time tonight and they came out sooo delicious yet again. Love them
yay!
These sound delicious but I’ll need to make some adjustments as I’m following AIP (with some reintroductions). No nut flours though. Can have cassava, tapioca and coconut. I’ll see what happens 😉 Any advice for a flour sub is welcome though.
I’d try 1/4 cup coconut flour. A little goes a long way, so start with a few tablespoons and see how dry the batter is. You can always add more if too wet! Report back, would love to be able to confirm this rec for others
I’ve read this recipe over and over and can’t seem to find the ingredient measurements for the Siracha Mayo. It says 1/2 cup Siracha in the ingredients list and it says make it in the directions but can’t find the “how much” unless it’s your preference of mayo to Siracha ratio
Oops. ***Ingredients it says 1/2 cup Siracha Mayo not 1/2 Siracha.
hi amy! sorry about that – I seemed to have lost the link to the mayo recipe when I transitioned plugins. It’s in there now. Or you can find it here: https://feedmephoebe.com/sriracha-mayonnaise/#wprm-recipe-container-16409
I am vegan so I substituted the egg for a flax egg. I also forgot to put in the almond flour but they turned out SO good! This is a super delicious recipe that my whole family loved! Thanks for sharing!
awesome! great to know!
These burgers look incredible! Love all of the ingredients and the pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!!
Love these!! Would also be good with some green chilis or jalepenos if you want a little kick!
I used chickpea flour and found that I did not have to refrigerate the patties prior to cooking them, nor did I have to put them in the oven after pan frying them (in very little oil in a non-stick pan). They held their shape perfectly. It really cut down on the prep and cooking time as well!
These are SOOO good! I was wondering if there was a way to keep these longer? Can I freeze them or keep them in my fridge? I am the only vegetarian in my family so I can’t eat all of them in one sitting, although I would if I was hungry enough.
Hello! I just wanted to let you know that if you search on Pinterest for “cauliflower sweet potato burger” there are so many pins that are stolen from your article. Many use your exact pin and photos. One literally is the same article but they used a thesaurus for every third word LOL I reported the pins, but you as the owner can do that too and get them taken down 🙂 Excited to try this recipe!
thank you SO much for this. I’m investigating!