Homemade Pumpkin Burgers (Vegetarian!)

Total time: 80 mins.

Difficulty: Low

Serves: 4 people

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By Ilaria Canevara

Homemade Pumpkin Burgers are a tasty and simple main dish, a vegetarian alternative to traditional meat burgers. Quick and easy, they're perfect with a side of grilled vegetables, a few slices of bread, or a portion of potatoes for a healthy and delicious meal suitable for the whole family.

To serve them, simply make a dough using pumpkin pulp, previously baked and mashed with a fork, stale bread soaked in milk and then crumbled, egg white, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley for a pleasantly aromatic touch. Shape into discs using an 8 cm diameter pastry cutter and bake for about twenty minutes. The resulting burgers are golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside, a delight even for the little ones.

What Pumpkin Should I Use to Make Burgers?

For a flawless result, we suggest choosing a pumpkin variety with firm, compact, and floury flesh: the best for this type of preparation are Delica and Mantovana, but you can also use Hokkaido or Butternut.

Pumpkin Burgers Variations

If desired, you can also add spices, such as paprika, turmeric, cumin, and sweet curry. Replace the parsley with thyme, sage, rosemary, and other aromatic herbs of your choice. Add sunflower, flax, or black and white sesame seeds to the mixture.

How to Serve Pumpkin Burgers

We served them with a fresh salad, but you can also enjoy them in soft burger buns, along with lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and a drizzle of mayonnaise. Delicious freshly made, they're also delicious warm or cold and are perfect for taking along for an office lunch, a day trip, or a picnic in the park.

Can I Freeze Pumpkin Burgers?

Of course! They can be packaged ahead of time and frozen raw, so you can cook them whenever you need them, even for a last-minute dinner.

Ingredients

Pumpkin

500g

stale sliced bread

150g

egg white

Grated parmesan cheese

50g

parsley tuft

extra virgin olive oil

to taste

salt

to taste

Pepper

to taste

Milk

to taste

How to Make Pumpkin Burgers

Step 1

Cut the pumpkin and clean it of seeds and filaments with the help of a spoon.

Step 2

Proceed by removing the peel with a knife or a vegetable peeler, then cut the pulp into slices that are not too thick.

Step 3

Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook them at 355°F/180°C for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Meanwhile, cut the bread into cubes.

Step 5

Transfer them to a bowl and leave them to soak in the milk for 15 minutes.

Step 6

When the pumpkin slices are soft, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool.

Step 7

Move them into a bowl and mash them well with a fork until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous puree.

Step 8

Squeeze the bread, crumble it and put it in the bowl with the pumpkin puree, then add the egg white.

Step 9

Season with a pinch of pepper, add salt and finish with grated parmesan and chopped parsley.

Step 10

Mix everything carefully until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous and compact dough. If it's still too soft, you can add a few more tablespoons of breadcrumbs.

Step 11

Brush a pastry cutter of about 8 cm in diameter with oil, place it on a baking tray lined with greased baking paper, then fill it with the mixture and level it well with the back of a spoon.