Chile Pepita Idaho® Potato Veggie Burgers

If you are looking for a vegan veggie burger that’s as simple to make as it is inexpensive, you are right where you need to be! Chile Pepita Idaho® Potato Veggie Burgers use potato and black beans as the base that get dressed up with pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chili puree, and spices. It’s easy to make veggie burgers from scratch at home!

This is another in my series of posts sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission. I’m always amazed at how versatile and healthy potatoes are!

What is the best veggie burger?

Now that’s a personal question and it will be different for me than you. As far as store-bought burgers go, I love a black bean patty and prefer them over the plant-based meat ones that are popular in fast food restaurants. Cheryl loves Beyond Burgers, but she’s coming around to black bean burgers the longer she’s plant-based.

I will say homemade veggie burgers are great because you can season them to suit your taste. I find a ton of veggie burgers bland. With all that said these potato burgers have been my new favorite since I made them the very first time!

Are all vegan burger processed? Are any veggie burgers healthy?

You’ve probably heard a ton in the media the past year or two about overly processed vegan burgers. They are talking mostly about Impossible or Beyond burgers. While they are a great way to transition from eating meat to becoming vegetarian or vegan, they aren’t very healthy. They are high in fat and the most processed of vegan food.

On the other side is a burger like this Chile Pepita Potato Burger. It’s made with 100% whole food plant-based ingredients. Most homemade vegan burgers are very healthy using beans, vegetables, and other wholesome ingredients.

Are veggie burgers vegan? Gluten-free?

That’s the catch! All veggie burgers are not vegan. Many store-bought burgers have eggs in them, so be sure to check the ingredients even if they proclaim dairy-free they may contain eggs.

In the same vein, all store-bought vegan burgers aren’t gluten-free. Many are though, so don’t give up hope! Just check for wheat ingredients, especially wheat gluten.

All of these are great reasons to make your own vegan burgers. Be sure to check out my recipes for pumpkin burgers, Avocado Chili Bean Veggie Burgers, or go minimalist and make my butternut squash burger.

How do you make veggie burgers taste better?

If you are starting with a store-bought veggie burger, toppings are the answer. Don’t skim on vegan mayo, sriracha, mustard, and other condiments.

Think outside of the box with toppings like pineapple, avocado, air-fried onion rings, or okra straws. 

If you’re making a homemade vegan veggie burger flavor can start within. In my pepita potato burger, I rehydrate guajillo chilies to add a punch of flavor and add in dried ancho chili powder too. The point is that if you make a burger you can taste the mixture and season it until it’s perfect for you!

How do you bind vegan burgers or make them stick together?

In these potato burgers, we are using the potato, mashed black beans, and ground flaxseed to bind them. In some burger recipes, you may use a cooked grain like rice, millet, or quinoa. In my pumpkin burger recipe, I use rolled oats.

You can use any vegan egg, but I like to mix my flaxseed in without adding warm water so it will soak up any extra liquid from the potatoes or beans.

Why is my potato veggie burger mushy?

You didn’t use enough dry ingredients. If you don’t want to add more ground flaxseed or flour, try adding chopped seeds like sunflower or pepita. 

Another reason is that you didn’t drain your beans or veggies enough. It’s better to start with well-drained ingredients and add liquid as needed. It’s much harder to add in dry until the texture is perfect.

What ingredients are in potato veggie burgers?

Main Bulk Ingredients: These ingredients make up the body of the burger, make sure it isn’t crumby, and
– 4 cups medium Idaho® potato chunks, peel before cutting into chunks
– 3 cups water, for cooking the potatoes
– 3 whole (4-inch long) dried guajillo or New Mexican chile peppers, stem and seeds removed
– 1 ½ cups cooked black beans, drained well
– ¾ cup pumpkin seeds or pepitas, toasted and chopped

Flavor Ingredients: These ingredients bring the flavor and are what makes these burgers special.
– ½ cup nutritional yeast
– ¼ cup ground flaxseed
– 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano or marjoram
– 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile powder, or another mild chile
– 2 teaspoons salt (or salt substitute, to taste)
– 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
– 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– ½ teaspoon onion powder
– ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
– ½ teaspoon ground chipotle powder, you can use more to make these spicy

How do you make chile pepita potato burgers?

Add the potato chunks, water, and chilies to a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat to medium-low until the potatoes can just be pierced by a fork. 

Pour in the potato chile mixture. Take the chilies out and put them into a small food processor with ¼ cup of cooking water.

Add the black beans and cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl with the chile puree and mash with a potato masher until almost smooth. It’s fine to have bits and pieces of the chile mixed in.

Mix in the chopped pepitas (pumpkin seeds), nutritional yeast, ground flaxseed, Mexican oregano or marjoram, ground ancho chile powder, salt, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and ground chipotle powder.

Measure out ½ cup of the mixture to form a patty, then form into circles that are ½ inch thick. I like to use a ½ cup large cookie scoop because that helps them to be more uniform.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.Prepare 2 large sheet pans with parchment or spray with oil so the patties don’t stick. Bake for 25 minutes, take the sheet pan out of the oven, flip the burgers, and bake for 10 – 25 more minutes, or until no longer mushy in the middle.

Air Fryer Method: You can air fry at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, flip and then cook about 5 minutes more until firm. NOTE: The patties are sticky, so put parchment down in your air fryer, then flip the paper and peel it off to finish cooking.

What goes with burgers or veggie patties besides fries?

Potato salad is one of my favorite sides for burgers and other sandwiches. I always cook a few whole potatoes on Sunday for the week. That means that I can whip up a potato salad in minutes with vegan mayo, a little mustard, and some pickle relish.

Coleslaw is another fav of mine and you could give it a southwest twist by adding some salsa to it!

Here are a few of my favorite potato salad recipes:

• Indian Chickpea Potato Salad
• Instant Pot Panzanella Salad
• Instant Pot Brazilian Potato Salad