Pumpkin Chickpea Burgers

This recipe was inpspired by Megan's Munchies' delicious-looking Pumpkin White Bean Burgers. I wanted to cook something unique last night for dinner, something that I could prepare ahead of time and then not worry about until dinner time. I also was really in the mood for an Autumn recipe - something that tastes like fall. I knew that Megan has been on a major roll with all her pumpkin recipes, and was sure that I could find some sort of delicious savory pumpkin meal that would taste just like fall - and this recipe didn't disappoint at all!

Megan's recipe calls for great northern beans, but I happened to have some cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in the freezer, so I thawed some of those to use instead.

Pumpkin Chickpea Burgers
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp oil (I skipped these first three ingredients, and just used dried minced onions and garlic to save myself a bit of effort)
1 cup great northern beans (I used chickpeas, aka garbanzos)
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup quick cooking oats (equal to one packet instant oatmeal)
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes or until soft, then set aside. In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork. Be sure to mash most of the beans until a paste forms, leaving some whole beans are okay (at the end of this step my arm was very tired! I used beans cooked from dry, so they were a lot more firm than the canned variety. Just a fair warning). Add pumpkin, oats and seasonings to beans. Add onions and garlic to mixture. Mix until well combined. Allow mixture to rest in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, the mixture can be left overnight or up to 3 days. Divide bean mixture into 4 equal balls. With hands, shape mixture into patties about 3 inches around and 1/2 inch thick. To cook patties, bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, turning once. Or, place 1 tsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Place patties into pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn patties and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until patties are browned on both sides.


I served these like regular burgers, on some homemade bread with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and a special sauce!

Special Burger Sauce (tastes similar to Thousand Island, but better :-)
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp. ketchup
1 tsp. chili sauce
1 tsp. sweet relish

These amounts are approximate. I didn't really measure; I just made it up as I went along, squirting stuff here and there until it looked right!

Combine all ingredients, and spread on bread or buns for burgers. This tangy-sweet sauce went so well with these uniquely flavored, spiced burgers!


Inadvertently, I realized that without the cheese, this is a completely vegetarian meal. We don't usually care about that kind of stuff - we're not at all opposed to eating meat and other animal-based products. But I have noticed that plant-based foods are much more inexpensive than animal-based ones, so we're totally fine with eating vegetarian meals once in a while. It's economical, and tasty!

I'm submitting this to the October I Love Baking event.