Easy 6-Ingredient Lentil Burgers

EASY 6-INGREDIENT LENTIL BURGERS (Makes 12)

Nisha Melvani, Cooking for Peanuts

1½ cups dried red lentils

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 large shallot or 1 small onion, small dice

1/3 cup grated carrot

1 tbsp tomato paste*

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp grated black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, about 10 minutes before you plan to cook the burgers.

Soak the red lentils in enough water to cover by about 2 inches, for 2 hours. Drain well. 

Squeeze the grated carrots between paper towels to remove excess liquid.

Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are combined and hold together when squeezed with your hand. Do not overdo. The mix will feel a bit sticky but don’t panic. The texture changes when they are cooked. 

Using a 1/4 cup measurement for each, form 12 equal-sized patties. Bake on a large nonstick baking sheet in a single layer at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

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This was a Recipe Challenge recipe.

If you haven’t tried this recipe yet for the Lentil Burgers, please do! The technique is not at all what I expected, but I now recall was used with some South Asian/Indian recipes discussed on potluck day in Jumpstart. Instead of cooking the red lentils, you soak them and then grind or blend them in the food processor with the other ingredients. Amazingly, the burgers hold together beautifully once baked, and cook up slightly crunchy. They don’t taste like red lentils (not that that is bad!) they just taste like burgers! We served on buns. But you could use these for other things—good with a tahini sauce (they are sort of like falafels).

Now that I think about it, this is falafels are often made, by soaking and grinding the chickpeas and baking them without having cooked the chickpeas beforehand. I have never done that either!

Try these for yourself and see what you think!

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Here’s another website that focuses on plant-based cooking that is easy and affordable as well as delicious: Cooking for Peanuts.

The featured recipe can be served as a conventional burger on a bun with all the fixings. It would also be a great “protein” addition to a power bowl. “Protein” is in quotes because, in a whole-food plant-based diet, just about every food you eat is a great source of protein, including vegetables and grains: but everyone agrees that lentil are a protein powerhouse.

This recipe comes with an option to sauté in oil or bake; I gave only the option to bake oil-free.

Enjoy!