Try this easy lentil veggie burger recipe for a healthy and delicious meatless meal. Packed with protein and simple ingredients, it's perfect for busy weeknights. Enjoy a tasty burger alternative!
These vegan lentil burgers are not only packed with protein, but also include a variety of delicious veggies to give them an extra boost of flavor and nutrition.
This recipe was originally published on 11/25/13
Thanks to the combination of lentils and veggies, this veggie burger recipe has a perfect texture that is both hearty and satisfying. Whether you're vegan or simply looking to incorporate more meatless options into your diet, they are sure to become a new favorite!
Ingredients
I love the versatility of lentils and how much they give health wise. Lentils are not only a great source of protein, but they also offer a variety of health benefits such as improving digestion, reducing inflammation, and supporting heart health.
This is why I make this veggie burger recipe with lentils as part of the base. The best veggie burger recipes use a variety of simple ingredients to give loads of flavor while balancing the perfect texture. While this recipe is easy to customize, here are the basic ingredients you'll need:
- Lentils (cooked from dry is best texture wise)
- Black beans
- Veggies
- Rolled oats
- Almond flour
- Sunflower seeds
- Seasonings
How to Make a Veggie Burger
The best thing about these vegan lentil burgers is how easy the come together! Here are the few steps to make this vegan burger patty recipe:
- Pulse all ingredients in a food processor.
- Shape into 6 patties and cook.
- Assemble with all your favorite toppings.
- Serve and enjoy!
Veggie Burger Toppings
For a classic burger feel, we dress these lentil 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
- Dairy free cheese
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:
More Serving Suggestions
You don't have to keep veggie burgers to the traditional bun. Think 'outside the bun' to change them up so you don't get bored! Here are some more veggie burger ideas:
- 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
- Stuffed in a wrap
- In a lettuce cup/taco
- Pretzel buns
- Cut into strips and dip into sauces
- Crumbled into pasta
What to Serve With Vegan Burgers
Once you get the lentil veggie burgers all dressed up, pair them with any of these tasty plant-based side dishes:
Vegetable Suggestions
I love that this recipe for veggie burgers uses 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 burgers 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 lentil 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
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.
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.
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).
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. This recipe for lentil patties uses lentils, black beans, and veggies as a base along with other simple ingredients.
More Plant Based Burger Recipes
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:
Easy Lentil Veggie Burger Recipe
Equipment
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
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
To serve:
- 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
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you get a crumbly mixture . Make sure it is still chunky and not a mushy paste. You can also do this with your hands if your veggies are chopped into small pieces and you don't mind a chunkier texture.
- Allow mixture to set 5-10 minutes so the oats soak in some of the liquid (you can also do this after you shape into patties). This will help with the texture of the burgers, the more you allow the oats to soak, they less mushy texture you will get. I use this time to clean up.
- Shape into 6 patties.
- Cook in a pan on the stove top over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side (depending on stove). Make sure to keep the pan covered to help the burger cook throughout and achieve the best texture possible. This helps prevent a mushy burger. Check every few minutes to prevent burning, they should be slightly browned when ready.
- Allow the burgers to cool a bit to further help set them into a non mushy consistency.
- Serve on buns with any toppings you love!
Notes
- For nut free, sub more oats for the almond flour.
- Most veggies will work great, my usuals are zucchini/squash, spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms and onion.
- Allowing the mixture to sit for a bit before cooking helps the oats soak up the liquid and this prevents a mushy burger.
- Cooking the burger covered lets it cook throughout and also helps with consistency.
- Allowing the burger to cool a bit will also help the texture.
- Nutrition facts are for the burger patty only.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
joe
Hello are the sunflower seeds eaten raw or cooked? Because I tried a ecipe with these raw and they feel funny as if eating pencil shavings!!
Tks
Sophia DeSantis
Haha! I have used both raw and roasted and we honestly like both. Roasted will give you a little more flavor and are crunchier. You could also add the seeds in at the end so they don't chop with everything else, as it sounds like your pieces were pretty small if they feel like pencil shavings LOL.
Mandy
Hi! Could these be cooked in the air fryer? Thanks in advance!
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Mandy! Yes! You totally could try cooking these in the air fryer! let me know how it works.
Sarah
Super filling and delicious! We love dressing them up with all the classic burger toppings.
Jazzmine
The burgers ended up very dry. Any tips on that? For the extra veggies I used broccoli, carrot, onion, and Anaheim pepper. That's the only difference in the recipe I made. Thanks
veggiesdontbite
Hi Jazzmine! So I think that the issue is that the veggies you used don't have a lot of moisture. Things like zucchini and squash lend more liquid so the burgers don't go dry. It also depends on how the veggies were cooked. I would suggest next time start with half the amount of oats, and slowly add in the rest until the mixture seems sturdy but not dry. If you overdo it you can always add a little broth or water in to help add more moisture! Hope this helps!
Rebecca Olivarez
Can you use other beans?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Rebecca!! Absolutely! Any beans should work well. Lentils just have a great texture to them.
Karolyn
This looks delicious. I have a sensitivity to oats. Would I add more flour or substitute something for the oats? Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Karolyn! Can you do breadcrumbs? Regular or gluten free would work. The oats help suck up the moisture and give the burger it's sturdy texture. So almond flour is great but it wouldn't help suck up as much as you need. I would suggest the breadcrumbs but if you can't have those either you could try it with brown rice flour? Or quinoa flour? Let me know what you try and how it turns out!
Karolyn Kolker
Thank you. I'm definitely gluten free, so I'll experiment.
veggiesdontbite
Let me know!
CAROLEENA
When I make falafel patties, I use a recipe intended to be deep-fried or skillet fried. Instead, I bake them.
Your veggie patties look like they would be suitable for baking - - I'm wondering if you've ever tried that.
veggiesdontbite
Yes! I have, you can bake them for sure. I don't fry them in the pan though, just cook them. I don't even use oil. Baking takes a little longer so that's why I usually cook them in a pan. If you want to bake, try 375 F for about 20-25 minutes each side.
Jean Brad
Thank you for all your generous recipes and time. I just wanted to ask about the sunflower seeds. Can another seed be substituted? Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
Absolutely Jean! Use any seed you like.
Sue
Made a double batch last night so we have plenty left to freeze. Enjoyed the texture and the flavor. Thanks Sophia.
veggiesdontbite
Awesome! I have a batch in my freezer now! I'm so happy you like them!