These are flavorful veggie burgers, an easy alternative to traditional burgers, adaptable to your palate, and customizable with a few different ingredients. Cook them with cheese, put them between buns with your favorite toppings, and be amazed at the flavor! Great to make ahead and freeze.
Fantastic veggie option
A good burger is one of my favorite foods.
I love (and cook often) this melting blue cheeseburger, but concluded that I could eat a lentil version and be just as satisfied. That was a revelation, a great one, I might add!
- Flavor. The vegetables and seasonings are spot on, so you know the burger will be tasty.
- It's satisfying. Use your usual bun and toppings and make yourself a great meal. I like mine pizza-style, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
- Customizable. A few ingredients can be substituted, and you can add different herbs and spices and adjust to your palate.
FAQ
This recipe uses mostly eggs as the binding ingredient. But rice, when processed, will also become one.
The easiest way is to process the whole mixture so that the ingredients mix and achieve a cohesive mixture that will not fall apart. That said, I also add oats to the formed burgers, which will also aid in keeping the form while cooking.
In theory, you can, but we don't. But flour will make the burgers too dense and weigh it down, so we don't use it.
It depends on the ingredients and how you eat them. Burgers that are mostly beef can be as healthy as veggie ones that are eaten with cheese and sauces.
Ingredient Notes
One of the most important parts of these successful lentil burgers is achieving a good flavor and binding them well, so they don't fall apart.
- Lentils: brown, cooked lentils are the best. They are plump and have a good texture.
- Rice: it has to be cooked, and it can be brown or white. I use Yamani a lot because I usually have leftovers. It acts as a binder as it becomes sticky when processed.
- Soffrito: This is the star flavoring of this recipe and is the Italian trinity of ingredients - celery, carrot, onion - used so much in sauces because together they add so much flavor. You can also add some chopped garlic.
- Oats: a dry ingredient that absorbs moisture and makes the structure better. Use rolled or instant.
How to make lentil veggie burgers
A food processor makes it very easy to put these lentil patties together.
- Flavor mixture: the carrot, celery, and onion trifecta are processed together first. They are the base for the flavor, so don't omit them. Parsley and seasonings will add to this trio.
- Binding ingredients: these will be the rice and the eggs. They will bring the mixture together, but it will first be very liquid, almost soupy. The rest of the ingredients will thicken it.
- Thickeners: the final step is adding the main ingredient, lentils and oats, to make the mixture thick enough to form the burgers. This is important because if it's not the right consistency, they will fall apart when forming the lentil patties.
Coarsely chop onion, carrot, and celery. They don't need to be very processed at this point.
Add the cooked rice, parsley, and spices. Process it all until they start to integrate. The mixture will be thick.
Add the egg and a few tablespoons of oats. The mixture will be soupy, and that is fine.
Finally, the lentils are added and processed *just* until they're integrated with the rest of the ingredients. The final mixture should mound on a spoon.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After adding the lentils, don't overprocess them, as they can become slightly bitter. That's why they're added at the end.
Forming the burgers
This is easy: simply take a scoop of the lentil mixture, form it into a ball, flatten it into a patty, and place it on top of some oats.
Sprinkle more oats to lightly coat the surface. This coating holds them together and will ensure they cook more evenly.
How to cook them
You can use a skillet and cook them the traditional way.
But I found that oven-baked is the best way to cook these burgers so the egg is fully done before the outside is too dark.
- Greased pan: I use oil (sunflower or olive oil) but you can use oil and butter (for flavor and so the butter doesn't burn).
- Drizzle more oil before baking them in a medium oven (350°F/180°C) so they crisp on top.
- Turn them around so they are evenly browned. Mine take 20-25 so turn them around at the 10-15 minute mark.
- Serve them with a bun and all the trimmings or on a plate with a salad or maybe baked vegetables.
Freezing lentil burgers
- After they're coated with oats, stack them with some type of separator, like squares of parchment paper or freezer sheets.
- Put in an airtight container that is freezer-friendly or in a Ziploc-style bag. Label it (name and date).
- Freeze for a month. Bake directly as specified in the recipe card.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Lentils: they can turn slightly bitter when you process them too much. So make sure you add them at the end and process only until it's all mixed and thick enough. Don't overprocess after adding them, as they can become bitter.
- Measuring: I use a cup of each ingredient and two eggs, so using a larger container to measure or to cut the recipe in half is easy. Simply adjust the number of eggs that you will use.
- Flavor: I strongly recommend adjusting the seasonings to your and your family's palate. This basic recipe is highly customizable when it comes to taste.
- Substitutions: some ingredients can be substituted, like chickpeas for rice, spices, and parsley for cilantro or basil. But brown lentils are the best for this. You can use beans, but they wouldn't be lentil burgers, would they?
- Seeds: if you want to make them more nutritional, add a tablespoon of chia seeds.
Pizza-style burgers
We call them Neapolitan burgers, which are lentil patties topped with tomato sauce and cheese. Make sure the cheese melts a lot, like the mozzarella used for pizza or another type that will give you a great melty experience.
- Cook the burgers on one side, flip them over carefully, and top with a tablespoon or two of tomato sauce and a few slices of cheese.
Continue baking for 5-10 minutes, until cooked through and the cheese is melted.
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Lentil Veggie Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked rice, I use whole wheat, but any type works
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped onion
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped carrot
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped celery
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup oats, depending on the size of the eggs you might need more
- 1 cup cooked lentils, from dried or a can
- ½ garlic clove, optional
- extra oatmeal, to cook and store the burgers
- 6 buns, store-bought or homemade hamburger buns
Instructions
- Process ⅓ cup coarsely chopped onion, ⅓ cup coarsely chopped carrot and ⅓ cup coarsely chopped celery until they are mixed but don't start to turn into a paste.
- Add 1 cup cooked rice, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika, and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Process until it's all mixed, but with texture; don't turn it into a paste.
- Add 2 eggs and process until combined. It will be soupy or at least very thin.
- Add ¼ cup oats. Process using on/off just to mix a bit. It has to come together, but not be completely integrated.
- Only now add 1 cup cooked lentils (see Notes below) and ½ garlic clove if using, and process until you have a thick mixture and can it mounds well on a spoon. Don't process the lentils. The whole mixture should be integrated, but not a paste or very smooth. It has texture.
- Sprinkle oatmeal on a plate. Form the hamburgers by scooping a portion, forming it into a ball, and flattening it into a patty.
- Place on top of the oats, add some extra oats to the top of the patties and press slightly to adhere on both sides.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, well wrapped or in a container with a lid. Or freeze up to a month, individually wrapping each one and putting them in a container so they keep their shape while freezing.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Put the burgers on an oiled baking sheet, and drizzle with some oil. I use olive oil, but any type will do.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes and turn, cooking an extra 5-10 minutes until done.
- Pizza-style burgers: When you turn them over, top the cooked side with tomato sauce and melty cheese (as you would a pizza). Continue baking until the burger is done (egg cooked) and the cheese is melted.
Donna says
Does it matter what kind of oats you use? Should they be quick cooking rolled oats or standard oats? I imagine not steel cut. Maybe it’s an obvious question but I just don’t know, I’ve never had anything like this before. Thanks!
Paula Montenegro says
You can use both Donna.
David Scott Allen says
I’ve never had a veggie burger with oats before — sounds like it would give really interesting texture!
Paula Montenegro says
Hey David! If you want to go the vegetarian burger route, it's can be a good surprise when you eat it in a bun with all the add-ins.
angiesrecipes says
They look nice and perfect for vegetarians. I can't imagine my life without meat LOL.
Paula Montenegro says
Me neither Angie, lol. But I was amazed at how much I loved these burgers!