Sweet Potato & Wild Rice Veggie Burgers

I love a veggie burger, they are such a fun project, and you can really test and play around with any ingredient or flavor combinations that are speaking to you. And that’s how I ended up with this sweet potato and wild rice veggie burger. It’s hearty, it’s filled with vegetables and wholesome ingredients, it is PACKED with umami and it was just everything I was craving in a veggie burger right now.

Plus, it has a lot of steps, but they are all so doable. It’s kind of a cathartic process to make these burgers, so I definitely recommend adding them to your weekend menu.

Ingredients you will need for these wild rice veggie burgers

The list is long, but each ingredient packs its own punch – and it’s needed! Don’t skimp on the seasonings here, the sauce is important 😉

• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1 small leek
• 6 cloves garlic – thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 12 ounce sweet potato
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp red hot sauce – I like Frank’s Red Hot
• 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

How to plan to prepare each ingredient

The wild rice will cook the longest in this recipe, so it’s best to start with that aspect first. After that, I move on to soaking the walnuts so that they can soften.

From there it’s best to tackle the other cooked aspects – such as the leeks and garlic, as well as the sweet potato.

How you time all these elements is up to you, but this order is what I’ve found has worked best for me in the long run!

How to prepare the leeks and garlic

The leeks and garlic bring so much flavor, so it’s best to approach them as a simple, well-seasoned sauté.

So thinly slice the leeks, discard the very top and the very bottom pieces. Thinly slice the garlic. Add the olive oil to a large pan and bring it to medium heat. Cook the leeks and garlic until they have softened, about 2-3 minutes. Then lower the heat and add the red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until they leek is very soft, about another 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

How to season these sweet potato veggie burgers

The sauce in this recipe is small, but it adds SO much to this group of ingredients. I recommend whisking together the sauce so that the cornstarch can fully thicken it, before adding in with the burgers.

Then drizzle the sauce in before you mash all the ingredients together. It’s the simplest, most effective way to season.

Bringing this veggie burger recipe together

Here is a full breakdown of the instructions for this wild rice veggie burger recipe:

• Rinse and cook the wild rice to your liking, either on the stove or in a rice cooker. This will take about 30 minutes.
• Cover the walnuts with a cup of boiling hot water and let them sit to soften.
• Thinly slice the leeks, discard the very top and the very bottom pieces. Thinly slice the garlic. Add the olive oil to a large pan and bring it to medium heat. Cook the leeks and garlic until they have softened, about 2-3 minutes. Then lower the heat and add the red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until they leek is very soft, about another 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
• Using your preferred method, cook the sweet potato until fork tender.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hot sauce, red wine vinegar and cornstarch. Mix until slightly thickened and well combined.
• Drain the walnuts and roughly chop them up.
• In a large bowl, add the rice, walnuts, leeks and sweet potato. Drizzle in the soy sauce mixture. Use a clean hand to mix all the ingredients together.
• Wet your hands to prevent sticking, and shape the mix into 8 equal-sized burgers. From here you can either freeze them and save them for later, or cook immediately.

How to cook these sweet potato & wild rice veggie burgers

You have two options with these burgers – stovetop (my preference) or oven. Here are the instructions for both:

• If you are cooking immediately on the stovetop: Put a pan on medium heat and add a slash of oil. Pan fry the burgers for 2 minutes on each side or until they are dark and crispy.
• If you are cooking immediately in the oven: Set the oven to broil on high and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Put the burgers on a baking sheet and spray the tops of the burgers with a cooking oil. Broil on high for 2 minutes, then flip and repeat on the other side.
• Serve immediately on toasted potato buns with all your favorite burger toppings.

What is the best way to store veggie burgers?

Just like in the grocery store, the absolute best way to store these is to freeze them. To save space and containers, I recommend freezing them all together if you plan on eating these wild rice veggie burgers within a month. If you want to store them for longer, I recommend freezing each separately in a tightly-sealed plastic bag to avoid freezer burn. These should freeze well for up to six months.

How should I thaw these burgers?

My preferred way of preparing these burgers for cooking is to take them out of the freezer a day before I want to cook. Then I just place them in the fridge to thaw there.

However I know 24 hour foresight is not something we all have (especially when the burger craving hits) so you can also thaw these in a microwave safe dish. Just put your microwave on the lowest possible setting and microwave at 30 second increments until the wild rice veggie burgers have thawed.

Looking for other vegetarian recipes?

I have you covered! Here are few that people LOVE:

And that’s it for this sweet potato & wild rice veggie burger!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3