By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: February 10, 2020
Our current, animal based agriculture system sadly accounts for 70 percent of nitrogen emissions in our water, 20 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and uses almost half of the land in the U.S., creating conditions that encourage climate change and resulting natural disasters.
Moving to plant based foods can encourage transformations that may help save our climate from crisis. The more we learn about preparing plant based foods for ourselves, the better. For example, do you love veggie burgers but get tired of frozen patties? These recipes for gluten free, vegan burgers are so easy, nutritious, and a great way to use up extra chickpeas, lentils, or a stray sweet potato. If you meditate, you’ll appreciate the absence of onions and garlic as well.
I’m also including an easy recipe for your own homemade buns, which aren’t gluten free, but are soft and round enough to make any vegan patty taste great, like a real burger. It took me a long time to find the courage to try these, and I’m glad I did. On a budget, it’s wonderful to be able to create one’s own homemade ketchup and mayonnaise, and to bake our own bread, in as much variety as possible.
The sweet potato burgers have a little more protein than the lentil burgers, as well as more fiber and carbohydrates. That could be because they’re made to be bigger, using a ½ cup scoop to portion them instead of a ¼ cup scoop. But both patties could be made smaller or bigger, depending on whether you’ll place them on a bun or simply dip them alone into a dipping sauce.
Ingredients for sweet potato patties
for 5 or 6 servings
1 ½ to 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1 sweet potato, medium-sized, cooked
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup homemade ketchup, recipe below
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup cilantro leaves or jalapenos, chopped
Homemade ketchup
6 oz tomato paste
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Cumin
Oregano
Powdered or prepared mustard
Instructions for sweet potato patties and ketchup
Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
Cook chickpeas that have been soaked overnight by boiling them at first and then simmering them for 2 hours on the stovetop.
If the chickpeas are pre-cooked and cold, warm them In a saucepan until softened.
Remove the ends of the sweet potato and chop it with the peels on, or peel it before chopping, based on your preference. The peels offer extra nutrition, but they’re optional.
Add the sweet potato to the bowl of chickpeas, along with the chili powder and salt. Mash until chickpeas are finely mashed. Add cornmeal and cilantro or jalapenos, and set aside.
For the ketchup: In a medium-size bowl, combine tomato paste, water, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, mustard, and salt. Mix to combine.
Add ketchup or sauce to the mashed chickpea/sweet potato mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
Using a ½ cup (120 ml) measuring cup, portion 5 or 6 patties from the mixture. Place onto a lightly greased, parchment or silicone mat lined sheet pan.
Bake for 20 minutes, flip over, and bake for another 20 minutes until firm and browned.
Serve on homemade buns with the remaining ketchup or barbecue sauce and other toppings of your choice.
Enjoy!
Ingredients for lentil patties
1 cup lentils
3 carrots, grated
1 small celery stalk, diced
2 tsps ginger (grated or powdered)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
Instructions for lentil patties
Place the lentils in a medium pot with the water and bring to a boil. Then, turn down and simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are soft.
While the lentils are cooking, add the grated carrots, finely diced celery, curry powder, brown rice flour, ginger, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix.
When lentils have cooked, add them to the bowl with the carrots and flour mixture and, using a potato masher or your hands, mix well.
Scoop up handfuls or 1/4 cup portions and form into patties.
You can bake these patties at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or pan fry them for about 5-10 minutes on each side.
Serve on a bun or wrapped in tortillas, with trimmings and sauces of your choice.
Ingredients for burger buns
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm plant based milk
1 tablespoon oil (olive, canola or melted coconut)
3-4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Instructions for burger buns
Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar together. Set aside and let it proof for about 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl combine the warm milk, salt, 1 1/2 cups flour, and oil. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 2 minutes on medium-high.
Add another cup of flour and continue to mix. Continue to add more flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 7-10 minutes. Only add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. You want a nice soft dough.
Place in an oiled bowl and let rise until double in a warm place. About one hour.
Punch down the dough and cut into 9 pieces. Shape into balls and place them on a lined cookie sheet.
Cover and let rise until doubled in size about 30-45 minutes.
Brush tops with milk, and sprinkle sesame or sunflower seeds over the tops of the buns.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until done.
Brush the tops of the buns with melted vegan butter, and cool on the pan covered with a damp muslin cloth to keep buns nice and soft. Transfer to a plate when cool enough to handle.
I hope you’ll enjoy these sustainable burger recipes, and have fun protecting the planet and eating healthy, tasty food at the same time.
Elizabeth Herman writes, offers writing support to clients, teaches, and volunteers for a better world. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition and Literature. Find her on Facebook or Twitter.
