I’ve done a lot of thinking about vegetarian burgers recently, I really want to keep experimenting with flavours and ultimately come up with what I consider to be the ultimate vegetarian burger.
The ultimate vegetarian burger has to be satisfying, savoury, full of flavour, a bit of a treat and completely moreish.
I usually make my burgers out of beans but this time I used lentils and butternut squash which gave the burger a completely different texture. It is quite soft but they keep their shape well because they are mixed with gluten free flour. The key is to not over cook the lentils, you want tender not mushy! Also getting the balance of flour is vital because I feel that too much flour and you get this horrible chewy texture and you definitely lose flavour!
Spicy yellow burgers made of lentils and butternut squash
I added some cayenne pepper and smoked paprika which I think worked really well, also instead of mashing the butternut squash I roasted it then sliced it into small chunks and gently mixed it with the lentils so when you eat it you get big chunky soft bites of squash 🙂
I love cayenne pepper but it is very spicy so feel free to use less, or leave it out completely! A few years ago I was cooking a recipe for dinner and it called for paprika and a red chilli, I didn’t have either of these but I did have cayenne pepper and a scotch bonnet chilli! I swapped the ingredients without adjusting the measurements and it blew my head off!! I didn’t make the same mistake again. I also used to get a bit shake happy with the chilli flakes because it never looked like many were coming out but I’d always regret it.
Spring onions create speckles of contrasting colour
Last time I made a gluten free burger I photographed it in a bun which kind of defeated the point but the two go hand in hand! This time I decided to serve it wrapped up in lettuce leaves which was fresh and delicious! Ill definitely do this more.
Makes 4 burgers
150g (1 cup) dry red lentils
1/2 butternut squash
6 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tspn smoked paprika
1 tspn cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons gluten free flour ( I used rice flour)
Small bunch finely chopped coriander stalks
Olive oil
To serve – lettuce leaves, tomatoes and some potato wedges!
Cook the lentils in boiling water for approx 10 minutes until they are tender and split open but not completely broken down. Drain and allow to cool.
Heat the oven to 200c. Peel and slice the butternut squash, coat with a little oil and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked allow to cool and then slice into small chunks around 2cm in diameter.
In a large mixing bowl add the lentils, butternut squash, finely sliced spring onions, crushed garlic, spices, flour and coriander stalks. Gently mix together with your hands and when fully combined shape into 4 burgers and place them on a plate in the fridge for at least half an hour!
When ready to cook heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan and fry the burgers for around 4 minutes on each side until lightly browned and hot all the way through.
Serve in the lettuce leaves with any burger sides of your choice, I like wedges and salad!
How much is 1/2 butternut equal to in cups of squash? They can vary in size a lot.
These sound just my style, thanks for the recipe.
Do you think they’ll freeze?
Hi Yvonne, thanks, I have tried freezing them and it worked fine. They dried out a tiny bit but just defrost them and then fry as normal 🙂
I love new Veggie Burger recipes. I find veggie burgers are always a challenge for me in the kitchen, they either fall apart or they too calorie dense. I will have to try your recipe
If it helps I added the recipe into the website my fitness pal and each burger was 150 calories 🙂
Thank you very much. It does help. That’s great. I will try them
hola!!! i love all your recipes all your veggie burgers are awesome love to make them and eat one or three in one sitting cuz soooo delish…Much appreciate your sharing
with us … keep the good work spreading your goodies…Many blessings to you…
I AM Sunshine
Thank you very much how kind 🙂 I had two the other day for dinner with some veggies!
Both of my favourite food groups are represented in this single recipe “red lentils” and “pumpkin”…well done on combining the 2 to make something both solid and dependable and utterly desirable as the end result! I am gonna’ have to make me some of these! Cheers for being so clever 🙂
Red lentils and pumpkin are a match made in heaven 🙂 really glad you like the look of these thank you! X
Definitely gonna try making this….always on the hunt for a good veggie/glu free burger! Also, it’s great to find someone who loves cayenne pepper as much as I do.
I do love it! Just have to remember that sometimes less is more 🙂
Nothing beats veggie burgers 🙂 I’ll be keeping your recipes on hand, would love to try them out – they look great.
Thank you! I agree I love veggie burgers, even when I ate meat I would always order a bean burger of it was on the menu
Great combination! I’ve had veggie burgers on my mind recently, too. Haven’t gotten into the kitchen phase yet, but soon, soon :-)!
Very much looking forward to when you do!!
They are so beautiful! A must-make recipe…
My friend’s teenage daughter just decided to become a vegetarian. I’m going to give her the link to your website so she can be inspired by you 🙂
Thankyou! 🙂 I made a big batch so I’ve been eating them all week! Wish your friends daughter goodluck and welldone 🙂 Hope she finds some recipes she likes xx
I’m a burger but and a long with sausages this is what I miss most when since I have been a vegetarian. I’m all for these though, faux meat burgers are weird although I have had the Linda Mcartney peri peri burgers which are a lesser evil. Good work though, my ones use kidney beans and cheddar with egg to make the hold. These look healthier and tastier.
I am not a burger (bloody iPhone) bit actually a burger fan !
haha “I’m a burger” 😀 I agree I miss sausages loads, I used to buy some nice “faux meat” ones but I can’t find too many nice gluten free varieties unfortunately. Glad you like the look of my burgers, Ive done pink ones (beetroot) and now yellow ones so maybe I should try and design a burger rainbow! 🙂
Oh they sound amazing. Every time I try and make burgers they fall apart when frying though!
What do you use to bind them? If its breadcrumbs and egg then add more breadcrumbs 🙂 I found that using flour works really well. Also they key is to leave them in the fridge for a good while before cooking because it firms them up. Then just be really gentle when theyre in the pan! Hope that helps!! xx
I’m vegan and gluten free so no breadcrumbs or egg for me. I followed a recipe for quinoa burgers and it didn’t work too well. I’m not sure what was binding them. Gluten free flour may be good though!
Quinoa burgers sound nice 🙂 hope you get them to work!
I made quinoa zucchini burgers and the recipe I based them off of used baking powder! I think it worked.