Beet burgers are one of my favorite types of veggie burgers, they are earthy, juicy, and can be paired with a number of flavors! They have a great texture that even meat eaters love! I often eat my beet burgers on a bed of lettuce and sometimes even splurge and go for a nice kaiser roll but the other day I was poking around the internet and found Inspiralized.com. I was amazed at all of the different types of foods that you could make with a spiralizer and I am not just talking about their incredible array of veggie noodles! I saw these sweet potato buns and was in awe, I had to try them!

Lucky for me, one of my best Christmas presents came in the form of the new Kitchenaid Spiralizer attachment. This beauty is amazing and my new toy provided just another reason to make these buns! Now the buns are super simple, they are made by spiralizing sweet potatoes, lightly sauteing the spirals, adding an egg and some seasonings and then pressing into a ramekin for a little chilling before throwing in a pan. I was nervous that they only looked good but wouldn't hold up as an actual bun that you could pick up. I was pleasantly surprised that they looked and tasted amazing and also were functional. I absolutely loved them, especially since their sweetness complimented the smokey and spicy beet burger! If you do not have a spiralizer, don'r despair, shredding the sweet potatoes and compressing them should work just fine although I haven't experimented with that just yet.

As for the beet burgers, I stick to a base recipe of shredded beets and onions, oats to soak up the moisture and an egg for binding. What you add into it is totally up to you. Sometimes I like smokey, sometimes garlicy, sometimes sweet. Due to the buns I threw in a half of a jalapeno and some smoked paprika and topped it with goat cheese and leftover Avocado Dijonnaise from my Celeriac, Watermelon, and Feta Salad.

Overall, this was a satisfying, exciting new way to eat a burger!

Smoky Jalapeno Beet Burger with Sweet Potato Buns

Sweet Potato Buns (one bun, top and bottom)

2 Sweet Potatoes, Spiralized

2 tbs Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 egg

Peel and spiralize the sweet potatoes. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Saute the spirals until they are bright orange. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool slightly. Add the garlic, salt, and egg, stirring to coat all of the noodles. Divide between 2 ramekins. Using wax paper, press the noodles firmly into the ramekins, place two heavy cans or jars to weight the noodles down and place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Heat 1 tbs of in a frying pan, turn the ramekins into the pan, tapping the bottoms util the noodle patty comes lose. Cook until deeply browned on each side, about 5 minutes before flipping. Remove and place aside until ready to use. I placed mine on paper towels to soak the excess oil.

Smoky Jalapeno Beet Burgers

Makes 3 patties

2 Beets, peeled and shredded

1 small Onion, shredded

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Jalapeno, minced

3/4 cup Oats

1 Egg

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

Salt to taste

2 tbs Olive Oil

Using a food processor, grate the beets and onion. Add to a bowl with the egg, oats, garlic, jalapeno, and spices, stirring to combine. Chill for 30 minutes so that the oats can absorb some of the moisture. If your mixture is still too wet, add more oats. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Take a handful of the mixture, squeezing excess liquid and form into a patty. Place the patty into the hot oil and brown on both sides until warmed through and a nice crust has formed.

Using the sweet potato buns, add your burger, using your desired topping. I added spinach, goat cheese, avocado, and my avocado dijonnaise, enjoy and healthy eating!