Easy Lentil Burgers

Why you'll love this recipe

• 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.

Ingredients

One of the most important parts of these successful lentil burgers is their having a good flavor and binding well, not falling 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.
• Eggs: needed to bind the burgers so they don't fall apart while cooking.
• Oats: a dry ingredient that absorbs moisture and makes the structure better.
• Parsley and garlic: they add even more flavor.
• Spices: salt and pepper, always, and I also add paprika, smoked preferably. It adds a barely-there spicy note that elevates the whole mixture. You can add more if you like spicy food.

See the recipe card at the end of this post for quantities.

How to make lentil burgers

A food processor makes it very easy to put these lentil patties together.

• Flavor mixture: the trifecta of carrot, celery, and onion 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 be very liquid, almost soupy, at first. 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 trying to form into 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

1. After they're coated with oats, stack them with some type of separator, like squares of parchment paper or freezer sheets.
2. Put in an airtight container that is freezer friendly or in a Ziploc-style bag.
3. Label it (name and date).
4. Freeze for a month.
5. 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 it's easy to use a larger container to measure or to cut the recipe in half. Simply adjust the number of eggs that you will use.
• Flavor: I strongly recommend that you adjust 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.