Lentil lovers, these lentil burgers are for you! These hearty meatless burgers are made with familiar and wholesome ingredients, unlike many store-bought options these days. My Favorite Veggie Burgers are still my go-to, but these lentil burgers come in second.
These burgers are flavored with grated carrot, fresh cilantro or parsley, onion and garlic, and spices, including chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Two eggs are optional (omit them for vegan burgers), but they provide extra moisture and a lighter texture.
The recipe comes together beautifully in the food processor. Like my veggie burgers, these lentil burgers turn out best when baked in the oven, which is a more efficient and less fussy method than cooking them in a skillet. They turn out nicely golden and firm enough to hold their shape in between a bun.
Lentil Burger Serving Suggestions
These burgers taste best with boldly flavored toppings, like an herbed avocado sauce and pickles. You could also serve these burgers without bread, perhaps on a green salad or over cooked brown rice, farro or quinoa with some of the topping suggestions provided below. Freeze your leftover burgers for a quick protein and fiber-rich addition to future meals.
- Buns or bread of choice, like hamburger buns, English muffins or even flatbread. Lightly toast them for some extra texture.
- Sauce, such as guacamole (shown here), avocado pesto, avocado dip, green goddess tahini dip, ketchup, mayo or mustard.
- Greens, like crisp lettuce, arugula or spinach.
- Add some crunch with dill pickles, quick-pickled red onions, or thinly sliced radishes or cucumbers.
- Sliced ripe tomato, only when tomatoes are in season!
Lentil Tips
This recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups regular greenish-brown lentils. You can cook them yourself, or use canned lentils or steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s. Regardless of the cooking method, you’ll need to spread them across a paper towel to absorb excess moisture before using them. If you have any extra lentils, add them to a green salad this week.
More Hearty Meatless Mains
Here are a few more bean and lentil-based recipes to try:
Please let me know how your lentil burgers turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope this recipe becomes a new staple for you.
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Lentil Veggie Burgers
These meatless lentil burgers are hearty, tasty and hold their shape well. They come together easily in the food processor. Bake them to golden perfection, and freeze the leftovers for later. Recipe yields 8 veggie burgers.
Lentil Burgers
Burger assembly suggestions
- 8 buns of choice (hamburger buns, English muffins or flatbread), toasted
- Sauce: Guacamole, Avocado Pesto, Avocado Dip, Green Goddess Tahini Dip, ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard
- Greens: Lettuce, arugula or spinach
- Add some crunch: Dill pickles, quick-pickled red onions, or thinly sliced radishes or cucumbers
- Tomato slices
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Drain the lentils very well in a colander, then measure 2 ½ cups and spread them across a lint-free tea towel or paper towels to help dry them (if you have extra lentils, reserve them for another use).
- To make the burgers: Cut the halved onion into a few slices before adding the onion and garlic cloves to the food processor. Pulse until the onions are roughly chopped, but no more.
- Add to the food processor: towel-dried lentils, eggs, oats, handful of herbs (optional), chili powder and cumin, salt and black pepper. Process until the mixture has the consistency of chunky hummus (err on the side of caution here). Stir in the grated carrot by hand.
- To prepare the burgers: Divide the lentil mixture into 8 equal portions using about ½ cup each. Shape them into patties about 1-inch thick. (If your mixture is unmanageably wet to shape, stir in a couple of tablespoons of your flour of choice, or more as needed.)
- Brush both sides of each patty generously with oil and place them on the lined baking sheet, leaving a few inches of space around each one. Bake until the patties are deeply golden on the outside, about 35 minutes, flipping halfway.
- To assemble the burgers: Toast your buns if you’d like. Top the lower bun with lettuce, if using, then a veggie burger patty, then spread a generous amount of guacamole or sauce on top. Top with crunchy condiments and tomato, and enjoy!
- Leftover burgers keep well, refrigerated, for 4 days. Or, freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months (thaw in the microwave for about 1 minute or in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until warmed all the way through).
Notes
Recipe adapted from Lentil-Chickpea Veggie Burgers with Avocado Green Harissa.
*To cook the lentils: Fill a medium-to-large saucepan with water, leaving several inches of room at the top. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Sift through 1 cup lentils for debris, then rinse them well. Add the lentils and ½ teaspoon salt to the boiling water and set the timer for 13 minutes. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent overflow but maintain a lively simmer. Once your timer has gone off, use a fork to scoop out a few lentils and test for doneness (careful, they’re hot). Your lentils are done when they are pleasantly tender throughout. If your lentils aren’t fully cooked yet, retest every 1 to 2 minutes until they are. Once cooked, immediately strain off all the excess water.
To cook the burgers on the stove: Heat a thin layer of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, cook the veggie burgers in batches. Cook until the burgers are crispy on the bottom and the mixture holds together, about 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the burgers carefully with a spatula and continue cooking until the second sides are firm and brown, about 3 to 5 more minutes. Transfer the burgers to a plate, then add more oil to the pan and repeat with the remaining burgers until they are all cooked through.
Make it gluten free: Use certified gluten-free oats and oat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour (if needed).
*Make it egg free/vegan: Omit the eggs. It will be a little more challenging to achieve a hummus-like texture, but the burgers will come together!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
