Easy Lentil Veggie Burger Recipe

Name: Easy Lentil Veggie Burger Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked black beans (, drained and rinsed); 1 cup cooked lentils (, drained and rinsed); 1 cup cooked veggies of choice (, can be leftovers from another night); 1 cup rolled oats (, gluten free if needed); ¼ cup almond flour ((see note)); ¼ cup sunflower seeds; 2 teaspoons onion powder; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; burger buns (, gluten free if needed); lettuce; pickles; red onion; tomato; ketchup; mustard; mayo (, egg free to keep vegan); cheese (, dairy free to keep vegan); baked Oven Fries

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This lentil veggie burger is a weekly go-to recipe! It's easy to put together, made with whole food ingredients, healthy and delicious!

A fully loaded veggie burger on a bun next to a pile of fries

This recipe was originally published on 11/25/13

I love burgers, but the store bought ones never wowed me. Texture is huge for me so creating my own was always the best strategy. So much so that I published a whole cookbook of them (check out Vegan Burgers and Burritos). These lentil burgers are the perfect texture and flavor, plus use up leftover veggies!

I love the versatility of lentils and how much they give health wise. Not only are they filled with protein, but they have great iron content and loads of fiber. They work so well in veggie burger recipes because their texture is amazing and I love the flavor.

Ingredients

It's pretty easy to customize these veggie burgers to work with what you have. Here's the basic ingredients you'll need:

Black beans
Lentils
Veggies
Rolled oats
Almond flour
Sunflower seeds
Seasonings

Veggie burger ingredients in colorful bowls on a wooden table

How to Make Lentil Veggie Burgers

The best thing about veggie burgers is how easy the come together! Here are the few steps these lentil veggie burger need:

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor.
Shape into 6 patties and cook.
Assemble with all your favorite toppings.
Enjoy!

Serving suggestions

For a classic burger feel, we dress these patties up with the following:

Burger buns - make sure to get gluten-free if you need
Lettuce
Pickles
Red onion
Tomato
Ketchup
Mustard
Vegan Mayo
Cheese

However, you don't have to keep veggie burgers to the traditional bun. You can think out of the bun to change them up so you don't get bored! Here are some of my favorite ways to use these lentil veggie burgers:

Lettuce "buns"- I like to criss cross sturdy romaine leaves to make buns when I'm not feeling like too much bread
Crumbled over salad
In a wrap
In a lettuce cup/taco
Pretzel buns
Cut into strips and dip into sauces
Crumbled into pasta

If you know me at all, you'll know that I am sauce obsessed. Like, I probably need an intervention but don't want an intervention kind of obsessed. So I have just a few, ok a boatload, of sauces on this site. Here are a few that I would pick to drown these burgers in:

Once you get the burgers all dressed up, pair them with any of these tasty plant-based side dishes:

Vegetable suggestions

I love that these veggie burgers use up leftovers. There is nothing worse to me than throwing away rotten veggies! While almost any veggie will work great, here are the ones I usually use along with recipes that could have leftovers or you could make extra to use for these:

Zucchini/squash: Zucchini Ravioli, Butternut Squash Soup, Kale and Butternut Squash Salad
Mushrooms: Vegan Cheesesteak Sandwich, Vegan Carnitas, Barley Mushroom Stew
Spinach: Sautéed Spinach, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Spinach Tomato Pasta
Cauliflower: Broccoli Cauliflower Tots, Enchilada Casserole
Roasted veggie mix: Roasted Veggie Tacos, Vegetable Lasagna, Veggie and Bean Soup

Storage suggestions

This lentil veggie burger recipe is a perfect one to make in bulk and store for future use. I make two to three batches to freeze and use on those crazy nights. Which is basically almost every night, so this happens often.

Uncooked patties can be stored separated by parchment paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Wrap uncooked patties in parchment paper and surround with foil and seal in a plastic bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost to room temperature before cooking frozen patties.
If the patties start to fall apart at all simply reshape them.

Common Questions

What is the best veggie burger?

The thing to keep in mind when making a veggie burger is the texture. You don't want them too mushy, so you need a good balance of moisture and dryness. The best veggie burgers sneak in some veggies, add good protein into the meal, are easy to make, can be frozen, and are sturdy enough so they don't fall apart.

How do you make veggie burgers that don't fall apart?

When a veggie burger falls apart it means that there is not enough structure. It is either overly wet or overly dry. The balance is what you need to achieve in order to get a steady burger.

Ingredients that add moisture to a veggie burger, like beans, veggies and liquid of any kind, need to be balanced out by ingredients that absorb that liquid, like breadcrumbs, cornmeal and flour.

That is the first thing I do when creating a veggie burger. Once I have that down, I add all my seasonings and spices. Keep in mind that some flavor will be found in liquid form so make sure to add those when balancing out the moisture content.

What can be used in place of eggs as a binder?

Making sure you have a binder also keeps your veggie burgers in tact. Eggs are definitely not needed. Here are some of my favorite veggie burger binders: beans, potato, breadcrumbs, oats, flour, or flax egg or chia egg (the combination of ground flaxseed/chia seeds and water).

What's in a veggie burger?

You can really make a veggie burger in so many ways. But there are some basics that I usually turn to: beans, potato, cooked veggies, breadcrumbs, oats, almond flour, seeds for texture, or rice.

More Vegan Burgers

Skipping meat doesn't mean you need to skip out on burgers! Enjoy a wide variety of patties and flavors with these plant-based recipes: