Vegan Lentil Burgers

Cheesy Red Lentil Burgers with a Portobello Bun

Vegan Lentil Burgers

serves 6 cooks in 1hr 1/2 difficulty two

This recipe is so delicious and I’m so excited to share it with you! The lentil burgers are made from red split lentils, sweet potato, kidney beans, and nutritional yeast and I sandwich it between two roasted portobello ‘buns’ for a bit of fun. I also add a dollop of hummus for a creamy element and just another layer of flavour. A red lentil burger that’s perfect for summer barbecues and a great, hearty meal that everyone will enjoy.

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How do you keep lentil burgers from falling apart?

Moisture is your friend – you want your mixture to be sticky but not too wet! The sweet potato in this recipe should provide enough to stop them from falling apart. A vegan lentil burger will often be more delicate than a meat burger so a gentle hand when shaping and flipping them will help, too.

What can I use to bind burgers instead of egg?

In this recipe I use oats to help bind the mixture together but other options include make an egg replacement with chia seeds or flax seeds mixed with water, or breadcrumbs.

What is a lentil?

Lentils are the seeds of the lentil plant and a part of the legume family. They are a fantastic source of plant-based protein and fibre. There are lots of different types of lentils that all work for different types of dishes – think red split lentils for dhals or soups and Puy lentils for salads.

The Ingredients

For the burgers:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into thumb-sized pieces

150g red split lentils

1 x 400g tin kidney beans

3 cups of oats

2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (or two vegetable stock cubes)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the rest:

12 portobello mushrooms

6 tablespoons hummus

Baby lettuce leaves

Olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius.

Start by putting the lentils and sweet potato in a pan. Cover with double the volume of water and stir in the vegetable bouillon powder or stock cubes to dissolve.

Bring to the boil and cook for around 25 minutes – until the sweet potatoes are soft and the lentils still have a little bit of bite. Leave them to drain so you lose as much water as possible.

Meanwhile, wash, peel, and de-stem the mushrooms and place on a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil, and put in the oven to roast for 25 minutes.

While the mushrooms roast, ,ash the red kidney beans in a big mixing bowl. Add the cooked and drained lentils and sweet potato and mash again until it’s all combined but still a little chunky! Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now stir in the oats well until you have a mixture you can shape in your hands – if you’ve over mashed you may need to add some more than stated in the recipe.

Divide the mixture into 6 and shape into patties.

In a frying pan, add a little olive or coconut oil and cook for 3 minutes on each side – repeat with the rest. (You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan).

Once browned on each side, put them on a roasting tray and place in the oven and continue to cook until everything else is ready.

Before you serve, add a dollop of hummus on 6 of the portobello mushrooms (on the inside) and, if you like, put them back in the oven for 3 minutes to ‘melt’. Then you’re good to go, build your burgers with some lettuce leaves, avocado or plum tomatoes & enjoy!

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