If you’re looking for a satisfying and flavourful vegetarian dish, these Butternut Squash and Chickpea Cakes are for you. They also have make-ahead potential. Nothing’s nicer than heating up one or two from the freezer for a quick, nutritious and delicious dinner.
Now, I’m perfectly aware that my post about cooking and freezing chickpeas may have been lacking in excitement for some of you. Perhaps you even stifled a yawn, thought “b-o-r-i-n-g” and moved on to something else.
Okay, I admit it, an article about plain cooked chickpeas in a freezer bag doesn’t make for the most gripping of food writing. But did you really think I was going to leave it at that? Didn’t you suspect that I might have a far more interesting use for those rehydrated legumes up my sleeve?
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Cakes
So, voila, today I bring you butternut squash and chickpea cakes. And not just mushed-up squash, but roasted butternut squash with just a hint of caramelization, mixed in with chickpeas and spices and herbs. These make beautifully tasty cakes that go well with a salad for a light meal or a first course for a dinner.
I found the recipe for these on one of my go-to vegetarian cooking blogs, Cook Eat Live Vegetarian. Do yourself a favour and take a leisurely tour through this blog. You’ll see that Natalie, the author, presents artful vegetarian dishes that not only taste good, but are lovely to look at, too. Her post also includes three condiments to serve with these cakes. I’m afraid I went straight for the cakes and left it at that. They’re good on their own, but one of these days I may try some of the sides as well.
I first made these at the cottage, where I wasn’t able to weigh the squash. I didn’t use enough, and the cakes turned out on the dry side, although very flavourful; in fact, they were too spicy for me. I made them again at home, using more squash and less garam masala, and they turned out just the way I wanted: moist and rich from the squash, robust from the chickpeas, brightened by the herby pungency of the cilantro and warmly spiced.
That’s the art of cooking, isn’t it? A little more of this, a little less of that, until you have a dish that’s just the way you like it, and something you’d be proud to serve to guests (which is exactly what I did with these little beauties!).
Let’s Make Butternut Squash & Chickpea Cakes
Recipe as I adapted it from Cook Eat Live Vegetarian, here. This is a great recipe for using pre-cooked chickpeas if you have them on hand. To your good health!
Preheat oven to 190º C (375º F) for roasting the squash. If cooking the cakes later, heat the oven to 375º again (unless you’re cooking them on the stovetop in a skillet).
- 500 g butternut squash, cut into 1–2 cm cubes (about 1/2 inch) — see Notes
- 2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped and divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 19-oz can rinsed & drained
- 1-1/2 tsp garam masala (or up to 1 tbsp, to taste) — See Notes
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1–2 tsp salt, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg
- Handful fresh coriander, chopped
- 1/3 cup cornmeal or breadcrumbs (40 gr), optional
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Place the squash cubes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, sprinkle on about half of the minced garlic and toss with your hands until evenly coated with oil. Spread out as much as you can and roast until golden and soft and just starting to caramelize (40 minutes or so), turning over partway through. You want the squash to be nice and moist, so the cakes won’t be dry.
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Put the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl, then add the cooked squash. Mix well, either using your hands or a potato masher (my choice). The final mixture should be mushy enough to hold its shape, but still with some chunks.For ease of handling, you can put plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture and refrigerate for about an hour, or you can proceed to the next step right away.
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Form into 12 charming patties. If you like, you can pour some extra cornmeal or breadcrumbs on a flat plate and dip the surfaces of the patties (including the sides) into it. I did this for the first batch, but didn’t feel I need to for the second batch.
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Line a baking tray again with parchment paper and brush it with olive oil. Place the cakes on the tray, and brush the tops and sides with a little bit of oil. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cooked through and the bottoms are nicely browned.
Serve bottoms up for an attractive presentation. Alternatively, you could fry the cakes in olive oil over medium heat, about 4–5 minutes on each side until crispy and browned. (That’s how I reheat them.)
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You can freeze the leftovers to enjoy at a later time. Just take them out of the freezer ahead of time to thaw, then reheat as described above.
- Make Ahead Tip: With a little planning ahead, you can roast extra squash for dinner the night before, reserving the amount needed to make this recipe the next day.
- I didn’t measure the squash out in cups, but the squash I used was just over a pound. As a guide, you’re looking for slightly more squash than chickpeas.
- The smaller amount of garam masala was enough for me, using my homemade blend, which has quite a kick
Let’s Make More Savoury Cakes and Patties
Black Bean Sweet Potato Cakes 
Versatile (think light lunch, starter or main course), easily adaptable (you can use a variety of legumes and add-ins), and practical (make ahead and stash in the freezer for dinner with almost no effort), these legume-based savoury patties need to be in your repertoire! Check out Black Bean Sweet Potato Cakes, Salmon Potato and Lentil Cakes, and Lentil Cakes.
First published 2012 09 25
Updated and republished 2019 02 05
Yours look brilliant! You’ve reminded me how lovely they were I’m going to have to try them again with some of the pretty squash there are at the markets at the moment! Thanks for mention!!
Sometimes we forget about a recipe until something reminds us of it, and then we just have to make it right away!
mouthwatering. I love your presentation too!
Thank you! Some of the pictures were taken at the cottage by the lake, and the others at my house. It’s almost that time of year where most of my pictures will be taken inside. I may try some outdoor winter food photography, in which case I’ll be eating my servings cold!
tell me about it! I often try to take my pics outside as they look so much better. The problem is that you end having a cold lunch/dinner! Hard work being a blogger but is fun and addictive!
I agree 😊
I’m not keen on butternut squash, but those do look lovely. I imagine I could substitute it with something else, maybe even fish 😉
I imagine there are lots of options … you just need something with a certain degree of mushiness. Check out my lentil cakes … their moistness comes from a combo of cooked onion and zucchini. I don’t see why you couldn’t add some fish too!
[…] Life Through the Kitchen Window also cooked a pot of chickpeas (and she turned hers into good-looking butternut squash and chickpea cakes!). […]
Now that cool weather has arrived and it’s butternut squash season, this sounds like a great recipe to try.
Thanks, Karen. The weather has changed really fast this year from summer to fall. I’m sure (hoping anyway) that there’ll be some lovely hot days ahead before winter arrives, but suddenly it’s time for all our cool weather cooking favourites. I have to admit, it’s almost a relief to be able to stop with the tomatoes. When I open my freezer door, that’s all I see!
I know…I see red when I open up the freezer door as well.
Can it be true? Is this a recipe that is both delicious and healthy? This looks like a great flavour combination — one that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Your blog looks terrific . . . and nice to know that you are just down the road (okay so it’s a highway…a major one). Nice to meet you — and have a peek through your kitchen window.
Thank you for the compliment! It’s great to have delicious and healthy recipes, and fun to have a few decadent ones thrown in, too (you know, as a reward for all that healthy eating).
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This vegetarian patties is just up my alley love both so it makes for a good meal.even eggs with it your post are always interesting thank you. MA RLENE…..
Glad to hear it Suzanne! Hope you enjoy these. I’m happy you find my posts interesting, too,