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Almost every veggie burger is loaded with Mexican-inspired spices. Well not these butternut squash burgers which tastes like Thanksgiving!
When you google homemade veggie burgers, it's burger after burger that is loaded with Mexican/Southwestern spices. Shoot, go look at all of my veggie burgers and I have many, and almost every single one has cumin, paprika, chili powder, etc - from green chili veggie burgers to quinoa burgers.
Well with my favorite season officially here, I thought it was time to change that and make a fall-inspired veggie burger that tastes like Thanksgiving.
I'll admit, pretty much all of my recipes are inspired from other blogs/sites. Of course I change it to my tastes but it's hard to create something from scratch these days. But that is not the case with these butternut squash burgers. There really aren't many recipes out there and frankly the ones I saw left me uninspired.
Luckily for me and anyone that decides to give these butternut squash burgers a try, these were a home run. They truly tastes like fall and are healthy to boot. If my multiple veggie burger posts haven't convinced you non-vegetarians to try a veggie burger, hopefully this will.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Olive oil - cooks the butternut squash and apple.
- Butternut squash, apple, sweet onion, garlic, sage, thyme - where most of the flavor comes from.
- Unsalted butter - cooks the onion.
- Cannellini beans - adds protein.
- Old-fashioned oats - adds texture.
- Pepitas - extra flavor.
- Egg - helps bind everything together.
- Coriander, salt, black pepper - enhances the flavor.
- Buns - use your favorite bread.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Season butternut squash with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in diced apple. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- Heat butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, sage and thyme and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Grind the oats and pepitas in a food processor until broken up but not turned into flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butternut squash, apples, onion, garlic, sage, thyme, egg, coriander, salt and pepper and mash until butternut squash is mashed.
- Add the cannellini beans and oats mixture and mix until the mixture holds together. (It's ok if the cannellini beans get slightly smashed)
- Use ½ measuring cup and scoop out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down to desired thickness. It should give you 8 patties. Bake in oven for 20 minutes before flipping and bake another 20 minutes. This should give you enough consistency to be able to freeze or cook the rest of the way to eat now. (We usually eat them for 2 nights and then freeze the rest. Great to have when you don't feel like cooking) If eating now, heat a medium skillet over medium heat with enough oil to cover bottom of skillet. Cook the burgers 3-4 minutes on each side. If using cheese, add after flipping. Add toppings of your desire.
Can I Replace the Butternut Squash?
Yes you can use the same amount of pumpkin, acorn squash or even sweet potato. They will all work with this recipe.
Can I Make these Vegan/Egg Free?
Yes you can use any egg substitute like flax or chia egg, or 1 tablespoon of vegan mayo. I personally don’t eat vegan so don’t make a ton of vegan meals but these will taste just as good with the substitutes.
Keys to Veggie Burgers that Don’t Fall Apart
I’ve made plenty of veggie burgers in the past few years and discovered that there are three keys to keeping your butternut squash burgers together.
- Oats – by placing old-fashioned oats in the food processor and pulsing a few times, you create a healthy binder that is better than flour.
- Eggs – eggs help bind the burger. I originally didn’t use eggs and found that they just didn’t hold together like I wanted but with these, 1 egg makes all the difference. As mentioned above, you can use a vegan substitute.
- Bake – bake the patties before freezing or cooking the rest of the way. By baking the veggie burgers for 40 minutes (20 minutes per side), you allow the outside of the patties to develop a crust. You can then freeze the burgers from here or finish on the stove-top to develop a charred crust.
Other Veggie Burger Recipes
- Black Bean Veggie Burgers
- Carrot Burgers
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- Cauliflower Veggie Burgers
- Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Veggie Burgers
If you’ve tried these butternut squash burgers or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Butternut Squash Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs butternut squash, diced into ½" cubes
- 1 medium granny smith apple, diced into ½" cubes
- salt + pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup sweet onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 (15.5 oz can) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup pepitas
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Buns
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Season butternut squash with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in diced apple. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- Heat butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, sage and thyme and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Grind the oats and pepitas in a food processor until broken up but not turned into flour. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add the butternut squash, apples, onion, garlic, sage, thyme, egg, coriander, salt and pepper and mash until butternut squash is mashed. Add the cannellini beans and oats mixture and mix until the mixture holds together. (It's ok if the cannellini beans get slightly smashed)
- Use ½ measuring cup and scoop out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down to desired thickness. It should give you 8 patties. Bake in oven for 20 minutes before flipping and bake another 20 minutes. This should give you enough consistency to be able to freeze or cook the rest of the way to eat now. (We usually eat them for 2 nights and then freeze the rest. Great to have when you don't feel like cooking)
- If eating now, heat a medium skillet over medium heat with enough oil to cover bottom of skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side. If using cheese, add after flipping. Add toppings of your desire.
Notes
- Oats – by placing old-fashioned oats in the food processor and pulsing a few times, you create a healthy binder that is better than flour.
- Eggs – eggs help bind the burger. I originally didn’t use eggs and found that they just didn’t hold together like I wanted but with these, 1 egg makes all the difference. As mentioned above, you can use a vegan substitute.
- Bake – bake the patties before freezing or cooking the rest of the way. By baking the veggie burgers for 40 minutes (20 minutes per side), you allow the outside of the patties to develop a crust. You can then freeze the burgers from here or finish on the stove-top to develop a charred crust.
Chris says
Never had a butternut squash burger. Next on my list!
Nathalia says
Huh, I've never considered using butternut squash to make a veggie burger, but it sounds amazing! I'll definitely be trying it out. Thanks for the great recipe!
Caitlyn Erhardt says
I have never tried a burger like this! Can't wait to give this recipe a try!
Al Estvander says
Same, all my vegan burgers have the Mexican/Indian spices, too! Love the apple and clove adds to these, definitely going to give these a try!
LaRena Fry says
OMG!! Sounds absolutely divine!! Can't wait to try it. Have a fantastic day/night!!
Anna says
Oh my gosh. This looks so delicious, my mind of the burger. Saving your recipe.
Sherrie Davison says
Thank you for this. I've also been looking for a recipe with no spices as I have some stomach issues at the moment. Wow, these are amazing. I didn't have the seeds so cooked and blended some cashews. They definately remind me of Sunday dinners. My partner who is not fond of vegetarian food asked for seconds. They will be going into my book of favourites.
Kaare says
I’m confused. Do you remove the skin of the squash before you weigh it to get 1.5 lbs? Can you just steam the squash first to more easily remove the shell?
Ryan says
The 1 1/2 lbs is after the skin. I buy mine pre-cut but yes you can steam it first to remove the shel.
Cotyledon LLC says
Absolutely delicious. I thought they would fall apart, but they held together perfectly. Although I used 2 eggs instead of one, and probably used 2 1/2 cups oats. Came out with 10 burgers. I LOVE THEM!
Ryan says
Awesome! Glad you liked them.