Roasted Butternut Squash Burgers

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These Roasted Butternut Squash Burgers are about as whole food plant based as you can get. They are just seasoned butternut squash slices and you can freeze the extras or cut them up and use them in salads.

Roasted Butternut Squash Veggie Burgers with Sabra Spread and fries on the side — This looks like a complete fastfood meal—but it’s so much healthier than those in typical drive-thrus.

Just so you know, this post is sponsored by Sabra.

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Ingredients for butternut squash veggie burgers

You’ll make your squash “patties” first, and then fill them into buns!

For your burger patty

Butternut squash
Pepper, to taste
Aquafaba
Smoked salt, to taste
Fresh rosemary or sage, to taste

How to make roasted butternut squash burgers

Once all the ingredients are ready, all that it takes is some baking to get your squash burgers ready for serving!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
Carefully cut off the neck of the squash, then remove the end with the stalk, and peel. You will reserve the bottom of the squash for other uses.
Slice the squash into rounds. Slice them about ¼ inch thick. You can make them thicker, but you may need to cook them longer.
Brush both sides of each squash round with aquafaba and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the pepper, salt, and herbs on one side. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and flip the squash pieces. Now sprinkle the pepper, salt, and herbs on one this side. Cook for 5 minutes longer, or until the middle of each piece is the same color in the middle as the edges. If they are underdone they will be darker orange in the middle.
Lightly toast your bun, slather on some Sabra spread, and add some fresh kale for a little crunch. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Veggie Burgers served with potato fries and with Sabra Spread — You can pair your squash burger with some potato fries to enjoy a full meal.

Do you have to peel a butternut squash before roasting?

You can peel it, although you don’t have to if you’re slow-roasting the squash. The skin is edible anyway so that you can leave it there, and it will turn softer as it bakes.

However, with other cooking methods, you might want to peel off the skin. It’s challenging to do that, so I would microwave it first for 2-3 minutes. That makes the tough skin softer and, therefore, easier to remove.

How do you pick a good butternut squash?

Try to select a squash that has a longer neck so you can get more slices out of the solid part of the butternut squash.

Remove the seeds from the bottom, peel, and cube the squash. Then, it’s ready to go in a vegan butternut squash okra gumbo, butternut squash and kale lo mein, or butternut squash frijoles.

Roasted Butternut Squash on a plate with rosemary on top — These patties are simply squash pieces roasted and seasoned with rosemary.

butternut squash cut in cubes in wooden mini bowl and butternut squash cut in half beside it

Can I use plain salt instead of smoked salt in this recipe?

Yes, you can, but it won’t have the smokiness of smoked salt, which is one of the secrets why these squash burgers taste closer to typical flame-grilled patties. You can try adding some liquid smoke instead.

How is smoked salt made?

Smoked salt is made by literally smoking salt over a wood fire. Although the salt can be smoked through a hot or cold process, both offer a strong smokey aroma and flavor.

Remember, smoked salt doesn’t only add saltiness to a dish—it also gives your dish the smokiness and flavor characteristic of charred wood (like when you’re making a BBQ).

smoked salt in spoon — Here’s how smoked salt looks like. It adds a flame-grilled flavor to dishes, so it’s really nice with vegan burgers.

Are there other herbs and spices I can use instead of rosemary?

You can use sage, which has a pine-like flavor similar to rosemary. Thyme and marjoram work, too, although thyme is much milder.

Fresh Rosemary in wooden table — Rosemary is often used to balance heavy flavors such as in burgers.

More recipes to try

There’s more to do with butternut squash, like this slow cooker butternut squash macaroni from my book, Vegan Slow Cooking for Two.

Also, you can prep some butternut squash white bean spread for a Halloween party or a picnic day, maybe. And speaking of picnic, you can bring in some citrus rosemary cookies!