For years I was so intimidated by the idea of making my own veggie burgers. For some reason it seemed really daunting and I figured I'd have to do a lot of research and testing to figure out a good recipe. I also felt like the frozen veggie burgers I bought at the store lacked taste and had a strange texture though, so I put my fears aside and went to work.
After not too long at all I ended up coming up with this sweet potato and black bean veggie burger, and was so excited to find that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. They were also about 100 times more flavorful than the frozen ones, so I've never gone back.
I've now made tons of different veggie burger recipes, but this millet, sweet potato and lentil version is one of my favorites so far! It's filling and packed with tons of flavor, but also light and healthy at the same time. Each veggie burger comes in at about 400 calories, which makes it a great low calorie option for lunch or dinner.
The recipes makes eight veggie burgers, and they freeze well, so they're great if you're doing some meal prepping and you want to make a bunch ahead of time. I'm finally getting into meal prep and find it so much easier to eat healthy when I have something quick and easy that I can just heat up.
You're welcome to eat these veggie burgers however you like, but they're really light and healthy when you sandwich a patty them between some crispy lettuce and pile it high with other veggies.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cups dry millet
- ½ cup dry brown lentils, or 1 (15 ounce) can cooked lentils, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups peeled and diced sweet potato, about 1 large sweet potato
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, cover the lentils with 1 cup of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender and water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Set aside.
- In another medium sized pot, add millet and cover with 1½ cups of water. Place over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Lower heat, and simmer until millet is cooked through and all water is absorbed, 25-30 minutes.
- While the millet and lentils cook, preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange the diced sweet potatoes on a large sheet pan and drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil, then season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the sheet pan into the oven and roast until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, 25-30 minutes.
- Place the millet into a food processor and blend until most of it is broken down but it still has some texture, about 10 seconds. Place millet into a large bowl and repeat the same steps with the lentils and then the sweet potatoes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix until everything is combined. It's easiest to use your hands. Form the mixture into 8 patties (about ½ cup each). The burgers can be cooked immediately or chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The longer you refrigerate the burgers, the firmer they will be.
- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place it over medium heat.Cook the burgers until browned and warmed through, 3-5 minutes on each side. Enjoy burgers with your favorite toppings.
Teresa says
These look delicious . . . . I've added them to next week's meal plan. Cheers for a wonderful week ahead.
Isadora says
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them! I hope your week is great too 🙂
Kristina says
Oh god! I am so hungry after seeing those beautiful pictures.
Isadora says
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy them if you give them a try 🙂
Shoshona says
These look delicious and like they hold together really well!!
Isadora says
Thanks, Sho! They really do hold together well and are so good! I think you would really love them 🙂
Maggi says
I just wondered why you don't cook the lentils and millet in the same pan to save time?
Steve Smrcina says
Unclear how this can be a 15 min recipe as listed when cook time on ingredients is 25 minutes????
Alissa says
We're having some trouble with the correct times displaying on our recipes at the moment. Sorry about that! We're working on fixing it!