Recipe from Bailey Rae
Adapted by Tara Parker-Pope
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 2 hours, 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 1 hour, 40 minutes inactive time
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes active time
- Rating
- 4(158)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Bailey Rae, a Nashville-based vegan food blogger, created this fall-themed veggie burger with acorn squash, dried cranberries, toasted pecans and oats. You have to bake the squash and caramelize the onions, but once those steps are out of the way, it's an easy dish to put together. —Tara Parker-Pope
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Ingredients
Yield:6 burgers
- 1acorn squash
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1sweet onion, thinly sliced
- ¾cup toasted pecans, chopped
- 1½cups rolled oats
- ¾cups dried cranberries
- 1tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 3tablespoons warm water
- 2tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
297 calories; 14 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 447 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Halve squash lengthwise, scoop out seeds and discard. Spray or lightly rub the insides of the squash with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set squash halves, scooped sides down, on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until soft and skin is easily pierced with a fork.
Step
2
Allow squash to cool slightly and then scoop flesh out from skin and into a fine mesh strainer. Gently press squash to squeeze out excess liquid and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Combine the ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl and allow to rest for 5 minutes to bloom. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
Step
3
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Step
4
Combine the squash, caramelized onions, bloomed flax and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to form patties. Drop onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes. Flip patties and continue to cook another 15 to 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and beginning to lightly brown.
Ratings
4
out of 5
158
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
BCW
After reading the comments about dryness, and the lack of flavor, I did a couple of things. I did NOT strain the liquid out of the squash, just mashed it up. And I only used one cup of oats.
As for spice, I made three patties without changing anything. They were pretty plain. To the remaining mixture, I added 1 tsp each of cumin, chili powder, Chipotle seasoning and paprika. They turned out pretty yummy, with the sweetness of the cranberries contrasting against the spices.
Khall29
Can these be frozen and reheated?
BCW
It would be helpful to have the amount of squash in cups, rather than "one acorn," given that acorns vary in size. Anyone have an idea of what to add to make it moister?
Kathy
If you find these to dry, fallow the suggestions of BCW and rather then using dry cranberries, you fresh (frozen thawed) and "pop" them as you would for cranberry sauce. Drain them and mush them a bit then add with "remaining ingredients" and mix well. Dry cranberries will steal some of the liquid and dry things out more. This way, your not stealing any liquid and will stay moister while cooking. It worked for me. Hope this helps.
guesswhat
There is an oven temp for the second step. Step 2 ends: "Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees."
Spalding
Adding extra spices per BCW’s suggestion makes a huge difference. Also, to avoid dryness try blooming the dried cranberries in a tablespoon or two of boiling water for several minutes.
Dropdead Cookie
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Kathy H.
I accidentally toasted the oats as well, it did no harm as far as I can tell. not dry, sweet and savory
Alison
We followed the “no drain”, 1c pulverized oatmeal, soaked dried fruit recs. Baked patties weren’t super appealing so we panfried them with excellent result.
Scott
Tasty but I wish it had squash size. I received two in my farm share, 3-1/2 and 1-1/2 lbs; I used the larger. My problem was that I went by the "six burgers" yield and weighed the total and divided by 6. The burgers were even but HUGE, even with less oats. Should have made 8, so maybe a 2-1/2 or 3 pound squash for 6.I'd made it before so I knew to make some of the changes given in the comments: 1c oats, cumin/chili/smoked paprika. I used chia seeds instead of the flax 'cause I have a lot.
Kristen
These are great! I followed BCW's suggestions (not draining the squash, adding some spices). I made the full batch and froze a bunch of them after cooking. They're great reheated as well.
angelika
these are great burgers if you make some slight modifications. i added, as suggested by other readers, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp smoked paprika. i also ground up the oats with five pulses of the food processor. a couple of minutes before taking the patties out of the oven, i topped them with vegan smoked gouda slices - fantastic!
Scott
I just did this the other day and the burgers were moist and delicious.Having read the comments I made some changes. I dropped the oatmeal to 1 cup but used dried cranberries--I'd cooked the acorn squash in my Instant Pot (5 minutes!) and used it undrained; I presumed squash cooked in the IP would be moister than something baked in the oven so thought the dried cranberries would soak up the liquid.I didn't have fresh thyme, so I added some Penzey's "Forward Seasoning" spice mix.
CL
CoVid Cooking - Thx to notes, used 1/2c frozen cranb'y, thawed& coarse chop. Cooked in a little water sugar until slightly syrupy. (Kept jam-part out of mix)Cooked 750g squash (did not drain), 1 cup quick oats, ground/chopped to make finer (betw flour & flakes), ground hemp seeds (no pecans), 2T panko. No flax/H2O.Season: 1t chili pwdr, 1/2t cumin, 1/2t coriander, 1/2T cilantro(dried) and 1/8t thyme.Made into 24 meatballs. Topped with Chili Gravy.Should've made more to serve 4.
Liz
Swapped soaked chia seeds in place of flax. Reduced oats to 1 cup and soaked them first. Used tart dried goldenberries in place of cranberries, soaked and chopped. My squash was small and dry enough to have no liquid to drain, so that was not applicable. Diced the onions small. Added chili powder plus salt and a spicy carribbean blend, for a modest punch of heat. Add any tasty dressing for topping. A good bit of work but came out well!
Jolanta
Terrible as written! Mess around with it for a good result. Bake the squash whole, don't risk a trip to the ER, & caramelize the DICED onions simultaneously. Use a high proportion of undrained squash & drop the quantity of oats. I find you can tinker with the proportions of the other ingredients to taste, & definitely add spices ditto. Also, the NYT make-ahead vegan mushroom gravy is excellent with this if you push the taste toward savory & away from sweet.
Kathy
If you find these to dry, fallow the suggestions of BCW and rather then using dry cranberries, you fresh (frozen thawed) and "pop" them as you would for cranberry sauce. Drain them and mush them a bit then add with "remaining ingredients" and mix well. Dry cranberries will steal some of the liquid and dry things out more. This way, your not stealing any liquid and will stay moister while cooking. It worked for me. Hope this helps.
Joanne
This is now a regular autumn recipe for our house. Tasty!
Kathy
First time making it -- a bit dry, but delicious with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. I would have preferred the pecans whole. Also, I might grind the oatmeal next time, and add more "bloomed" flax to help with the dryness.
K Thompson
Do you cook or bake them on the baking sheet? Is the oven at 425° this whole time? Is that the baking temp for the patties? Using the word "cook" and listing no oven temp for second step is confusing.
guesswhat
There is an oven temp for the second step. Step 2 ends: "Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees."
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