These sweet potato turkey patties are a protein packed side dish, awesome alternative breakfast option or even great on top of a salad for a healthy lunch or dinner.
A few weeks ago, I got to visit the ALDI headquarters just outside of Chicago. We spent two days sampling their products, learning about putting together healthy, inexpensive meals using ALDI products with chef Brigitte Nguyen and registered dietician, Tara Gidus and then visited a local store to get the full experience of shopping at ALDI and learning a bit about how the store and company operates.
I’ll admit, we have a local ALDI store and although we’ve lived here for almost 6 years, I’ve been in it just a handful of times.
I knew it was supposed to be a discounted store, but its atypical layout, store name only products and (my biggest pet peeve) cash/debit only system kind of kept it off my radar when it came to regular food shopping.
I have to say, all that changed after this trip.
The first thing you notice when you walk into an ALDI store is the layout. Instead of 15+ aisles of stuff like a typical grocery store, there are maybe 4-5 max.
Displays aren’t set up with individual cans placed perfectly on the shelves, but rather kept in the box they shipped in from the warehouse and stacked on top of each other.
You won’t find 10 different kinds of ketchups, or any other food item for that matter because in ALDI stores they only sell their own brand (minus a few special exceptions like Coca-Cola when it comes to soda).
Did you ever stop to think about how much time you probably spend in the grocery store weighing the pros and cons between brands of the same item? If you’re my husband (the worst shopper in the world), it’s probably a good 20 minutes each trip. Having all those choices taken away from you is actually quite freeing.
The appearance of the store is definitely a bit jarring at first but it’s all for one simple purpose: to keep costs down.
There are also cool efficiencies like big bar codes on each product package (all designed in-house) so that when scanning, cashiers never have to waste time looking for the bar code or re-scanning.
There are no bags provided either at checkout. Not only is it a cost-savings they can then pass on to the customers, but it’s a great incentive to force you to bring your own reusable bags, something I’m so incredibly bad about even though I have tons hanging on my pantry door.
Quarters are needed to get a cart and you only get the quarter back when you bring the cart back to the front of the store and lock it into another cart. Think of how many labor hours that saves of employees needing to chase carts around parking lots.
All of these things take some getting used to but if you can push the usual grocery store amenities aside, you stand to save a whole bunch of money.
The thing that struck me the most was how many awesome organic, whole food products ALDI carries and their ridiculously low prices; organic coconut oil for $4.99 a jar, corn tortillas that were $0.33 a pack, 12 ounces of nitrate free bacon for $3.99, organic packaged baby spinach and kale for $2.99 and on and on and on.
So many times discount stores equal horrible quality products and when it comes to food, that can be a scary thing. Knowing there are so many good quality food items at ALDI for prices you’d be shocked to see for conventional quality let alone organic, makes it all worth it.
More on what we learned from chef Brigitte and Tara next time but these turkey sweet potato patties were adapted from a recipe they shared with us in an attempt to get people to eat more protein for breakfast.
I will say, these make an excellent addition to breakfast, but I found myself eating them for every meal of the day; topped with Greek yogurt in a salad (instead of my usual go-to crispy salmon bite recipe), in a wrap or, on a bun like a burger, they make a great lunch and dinner option too.
I changed a few things in the recipe (like using turkey instead of chicken) but with all ingredients purchased from ALDI, the cost per serving for the original recipe is $0.61. Insane right?
When cooking with ground white meat like turkey or chicken it’s important to know how long to cook it so that it’s neither under or over cooked.
Like these sweet potato turkey patties? Try using their ground turkey in these turkey zucchini meatballs stuffed with cheddar cheese too!
Or, switch things up with apple cheddar tuna patties for a lean protein packed lunch!
Sweet Potato Turkey Patties
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups grated sweet potato
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the turkey, garlic, maple syrup, chives, red pepper, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until combined then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- Add the grated sweet potato to the bowl and fold into the turkey mixture until well combined.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, form the mixture into patties with your hands (make them as big or as small as you like) and place in the skillet. Cook about 2-3 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes. Add a splash of water to the skillet, cover and cook for another 5 minutes to help cook thoroughly without burning the outside of the patties. Remove the cover, let the liquid cook off and transfer the patties to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This post is sponsored by ALDI. All content and opinions are my own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Hi there, for the sweet potato, do I grate a raw or a cooked one? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this recipe on the weekend.
You grate it raw and it cooks in the pan.
Ooooh substituting turkey sounds like the best idea! It was wonderful meeting you btw!
Love how yummy it seems and how easy to make it is. Hold on, this is a perfect lunch idea for school, isn’t it? I’m going to do it, definitely. They’ll beg me for a bite. :D
I love these little sweet potato and turkey patties.. I was thinking of making healthified burgers the other night and think that these would be perfect!
Yum! I want this in a burger…with lots of melty cheese…
Now that I’m getting back into the kitchen, I’ve been looking for some good high-protein dishes to make. This is going on the list!
I also have an ALDI close by but have only been there a handful of times. It actually may be smarter to shop there (along with a time saver) since they don’t have a million brands of the same food product. But I also use my credit card exclusively when it comes to grocery shopping :(
Some Aldis are now accepting credit cards, at least in Indiana.
I am also quite impressed with the number of organic foods they carry, from produce to ground beef, and at a much lower price than a standard grocery store. And they are constantly expanding their organic line.
It really is nice to see a grocery store that’s still a grocery store.
Aldi really is such a gem of a supermarket- Their prices and amazing range is awesome- I’m keen to see how the American one is now!
These look so good, Gina- This sounds like an amazing flavour combo!
I deeply love Aldi here in Australia. :) They are our main regular shop now.
I am so tempted! Sweet potato and turkey sounds delicious!