Gluten-Free Quinoa & Butternut Squash Cakes

A new gluten-free vegan burger to add to my recipe collection

I've been in a lunch rut lately. It's pretty much a quinoa saute over greens, drizzled with balsamic vinegar everyday. Now don't get me wrong, I will have a gluten-free quinoa salad over anything else, hands down, each and every day. It's my all time favorite. However, when you're making batches upon batches of the same salad and have the same lunch for three days straight, it can get a little tiring.

My palette was in need of a little re-boot. Using my very favorite gluten-free kitchen companion, my dear friend Quinoa, I was determined to find a recipe that used this in a different, more creative way.

Veggie cakes immediately came to mind.

Quinoa binds these gluten-free beauties.

These protein packed cakes are delicious and perfect for lunch.

I've experimented with gluten-free quinoa burgers before, and the recipe turned out to be really tasty. However, I've discovered that chickpeas aren't the best for my stomach (they're okay in hummus, but other than that they don't really work for me), so I wanted to try a different bean.

While on my search, I was perusing my Twitter feed and Whole Foods tweeted a recipe for Quinoa & Sweet Potato Cakes made with green lentils. Um, seriously? How awesome do those sound?

Eating on the Elimination Diet, I've cut out potatoes completely. But staring longingly at me from the counter was a gorgeous butternut squash, just waiting to be roasted and made into burgers. And that's just what I set out to do, make gluten-free quinoa burgers with butternut squash.

French green lentils add the punch I have been looking for. 

Gluten-Free Quinoa & Butternut Squash Cakes

Gluten-Free Quinoa & Butternut Squash Cakes

I love burgers. Fish cakes, bean cakes, veggies patties. They're all delicious. If it doesn't include beef or chicken (and is gluten-free, of course)? Bring it on.

These gluten-free, vegan burgers are insanely easy to make and super healthy. Whether you wrap them up in a brown rice tortilla, serve them with a "creamy" sauce or eat them over a bed of fresh mesclun mix and drizzled with vinegar, these babies are scrumptious.

I used the Whole Foods recipe as a guideline, subbing the flavors and ingredients I had on hand and was craving at the time.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dry white quinoa
• 1/2 cup dry green lentils
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (or more if you want a deeper flavor)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the butternut squash in the oil, a dash of salt and pepper, and transfer to a baking sheet Place in the center of a heated oven and roast for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa and lentils in separate pots on the stovetop. Add 1 cup water to each pot, bring them to a boil and add the lentils into one, the quinoa into the other. Cover both, and turn down to simmer. Let the quinoa cook for about 10 minutes and then turn the heat off and leave covered. The lentils will take about 20 minutes - they're done when they're soft and the water has been absorbed.

Remove the squash from the oven, place in a separate bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. 

When the lentils are done cooking, transfer them to a large bowl and combine with the quinoa, spices, salt and pepper. Mix with a spoon until the ingredients are combined. Stir in the butternut squash. 

Form the mixture into patties (I made mine fairly small, so a serving size would be two cakes). Place the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Broil at the end if you want a little more browning, but they definitely don't need it.

Serve warm.

Makes 8 small patties.