These hearty, healthy red lentil patties contain simple pantry ingredients and are naturally gluten-free, vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), and ready in about 35 minutes!
Hearty, Protein-Packed Lentil Patties
Whether you want a hearty lentil fritters appetizer or side, or a new plant-based burger patty, these versatile lentil patties are an excellent option. They’re made up of 11 ingredients (herbs and spices included) and packed with healthy plant-based protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
I’m no stranger to enjoy veggie-packed fritters; in fact, I’ve already shared cauliflower patties, veggie fritters, and millet fritters. These lentil patties have officially joined my rotation – and I love that they can be sized up and down (or even made into ‘balls’) based on whether you want a side or main.
In fact, I love using lentils of any kind in my diet; they’re a wonderful source of plant-based protein as well as copper, folate, manganese, phosphorous, iron, and zinc. I’ve shared a couple of red lentil recipes already, including this red lentil dahl and lentil bolognese – with a dozen more recipes for brown and green lentils too (links at the bottom of the post)!
These red lentil cakes are tender on the inside, with a lightly crispy outside. When combined with peppers, onion, and garlic, you get a delicious nutty, earthy flavor- ramped up with a blend of several herbs and spices. Best of all, this red lentil recipe is also naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan!
The Ingredients
For the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information, read the recipe card below.
- Red Lentils: If you want to use green or brown lentils, they’ll need an extra 10 minutes while cooking (with a little extra broth/water.)
- Vegetable Broth: Or salted water.
- Vegetables: I used a combination of red pepper, onion, and garlic.
- Chickpea flour: Used to help bind the patties. I haven’t tried this with any other flour, but it should work with many; regular AP flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, etc.
- Ground chia seeds: This will help to bind the patties and also adds protein.
- Herbs & Spices: I used fresh parsley, ground cumin, onion powder, salt & pepper, and red pepper flakes. This is fairly versatile to what herbs you have available.
- Oil: For frying- use neutral cooking oil.
How To Make Lentil Patties
Step 1: Cook the lentils
- First, rinse the red lentils in a sieve under running water to remove any debris. Then transfer the lentils to a large pot/pan along with vegetable broth (or salted water).
- Bring the broth to a boil and allow the lentils to simmer for about 15 minutes until they are tender and partially falling apart.
Step 2: Cook the veggies
- Meanwhile, add the onion, pepper, and garlic to a large heated skillet with oil. Fry over medium heat for a few minutes until the onion becomes translucent (not browned).
Step 3: Shape and cook the patties
- Add the lentils, cooked veggies, spices, parsley, ground chia seeds, and flour to a food processor. Pulse several times until the mixture is combined but still has texture. Be careful not to over-process it, as you want it to be ‘chunky.’
- Form 10 lentil patties (around 40-50 g/ or 2 1/2-3 tbsp per cake) by hand.
- Fry them in a little oil (I used 2 tsp for four patties) in a large skillet. Cook for around 3 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
Once cooked, serve the lentil fritters with your choice of sauce. I made a dip by combining 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter, 30 ml dill pickle juice, 10 ml olive brine, a little garlic, and smoked paprika (to taste). They also taste amazing with this yum yum sauce or this French onion dip.
How To Serve
These lentil cakes can be served as an appetizer, side, or main. Here are just a few of the ways I suggest enjoying these patties.
- In a pita with salad and your sauce of choice
- Served over a bed of salad – like this brown rice salad or leafy green salads
- Added to a tortilla wrap with salad
- As a lentil burger with your favorite salad veg and pickles or sauerkraut.
How To Store
Fridge: Store the leftover lentil patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Freeze: Pile the patties with layers of parchment paper between each and freeze in a freezer-safe bag/container for up to one month- thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Reheat: To reheat the patties, you can do so in a skillet or within the oven until warmed through. Be careful not to burn them, though.
Can Lentil Fritters Be Prepared In Advance?
Yes, this should work. The patties can be shaped in advance and then covered with clingfilm in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them. Alternatively, you can also freeze the shaped uncooked fritters for up to one month.
I haven’t tried to cook the patties from frozen, though it may work – with added cooking time (a few minutes).
Can I Cook These In An Air Fryer or Oven?
I haven’t yet tried cooking these in my Air-fryer or oven, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t work- although each method will affect how crispy the outside of the red lentil fritters are.
I suggest spraying/brushing them with a little oil and cooking at 360 °F/180 °C for around 12 minutes in an Air Fryer, flipping after 8 minutes.
If you want to try making them in the oven, bake for around 30 minutes, flipping half-way.
Recipe Notes & Variations
- You can experiment with different herbs and spices too; cilantro, cayenne, curry powder, etc.
- For crispier outsides feel free to press some breadcrumbs like panko (gluten-free, if needed) to the outside of the lentil fritters before cooking.
- You could also shape these lentil cakes into red lentil ‘meatballs’.
- Easily add more protein with a handful of walnuts or sunflower seeds added to the patties when processing the patty mixture.
Other Lentil Recipes
If you enjoyed these simple lentil fritters, you might enjoy these other green, brown, and red lentil recipes:
- The Best Vegan Enchiladas With Lentils
- Vegan Stuffed Eggplant With Lentils
- Vegan Gumbo With Okra & Lentils
- Easy Lentil Stew
- Vegan Moussaka with Lentils
- Vegan Lentil Bolognese Sauce
- Easy Taco Cups
You may also like these recipes for black bean burgers or Air Fryer falafels.
If you give this lentil patties recipe a try, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan and #elavegan – I love seeing them.
Lentil Patties
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (150 g) red lentils dry
- 1 cup (240-300 ml) vegetable broth or water
- 1 small (90 g) red pepper diced
- 1 small/medium (90 g) onion diced
- 2 large cloves of garlic chopped
- 4 tbsp (30 g) chickpea flour more if needed
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Watch the video in the post for easy visual instructions.
Cook the lentils
- Rinse the red lentils in a sieve under running water to remove any debris. Transfer them to a pot or pan along with 1 cup of vegetable broth. If using water, add a little salt. Bring to a boil and let the lentils simmer for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft and partially falling apart. There shouldn't be any broth or water left after cooking!
Cook the veggies
- Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a skillet and add the onion, pepper, and garlic. Fry over medium heat for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent (not browned).
Shape and cook the patties
- Once the lentils are cooked, add them to a food processor together with the cooked veggies, spices, parsley, ground chia seeds, and flour. Pulse a couple of times until the mixture is combined. You want to leave some texture, so do not over-process it.The mixture should be shapeable, if it's not, add a little more flour.
- Form 10 patties (each weighing between 40-50 grams - about 2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons), and fry them with a little oil (I used 2 teaspoons for 4 patties) in a skillet from both sides (about 3 minutes each side) until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve with a dip of choice, and enjoy! I made a dip from 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter mixed with 30 ml dill pickle juice, 10 ml olive brine, a little garlic, and smoked paprika to taste.
Notes
Video Of The Recipe
- Flour: I haven't tried the recipe with any other flour, however, it should work with most flours (e.g. regular flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, etc.).
- Lentils: If using green or brown lentils, they need to cook at least 10 minutes longer, so you will need to add more water/broth.
- Veggies: You can use other veggies instead of red pepper, for example, zucchini, carrot, etc.
- Cooking method: I haven't tried cooking the patties in the air-fryer yet, but I would brush them with a little oil, and cook them at 360 ºF (180 ºC) for about 12 minutes, flipping after 8 minutes. If you want to try making them in the oven, then I would suggest the same temperature, but a baking time of about 30 minutes.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!
So very good and easy I just had to share the joy! My first time making lentil burgers as the other recipes I’ve looked at always seem so tedious and have way too many ingredients. This one had the right balance of simplicity and taste. I added some shredded carrots and also used a coffee grinder for the chia seeds. A little funny anecdote: I realized way too late that I used the buckwheat pancake mix instead of the chickpea flower, lol. Added the flour at the end to give the patties just the right consistency. Per-fect! I love your recipes; my fav vegan blog! Thank you 🙂
That makes me so happy, Octavie! Thanks for your wonderful feedback. 🙂
Soo delicious! Thank you for the recipie 🙂
I used flax egg & almond flour,
The veggies i added were steamed Carrots , capicum & green beans finely chopped & baked them in the oven for 30 mins ,
Sounds great and very delicious with these veggies! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
These are yummy + easy. I use regular flour and flax seeds as substitutions. Also I use a potato masher instead of a food processer and I eat them as burgers with lettuce, Daiya ranch and a pickle.
Hi Cindy, I am so glad you like them! 🙂
Oh, so vey good! These red lentil bean burgers were a great summer meal that gave Hambugers a fresh new meaning to “where’s the beef”! You can make the burger ???? as moist “medium rare” to “medium” dryer as you want. I added more chickpea flour to “beef” it up and instead decided not to use the food processor! The texture and the taste are excellent and you can change your spices depending on how you like it to taste as I like more of a zing so I added more cumin! I added avocado ???? & leaf lettuce ???? to a potato bun w/ avocado mayo!! If you have used black beans i think it’s not as good I like the red lentils more it’ has a lighter taste too!
Thanks for your great feedback! Happy you liked them. 🙂
The patties turned out great! I’d had partial success with similar recipes earlier and a couple of total disasters with a sticky shapeless mess in the frying pan. For this recipe I used 1 cup of veggie broth, 4 tablespoons of oat flour plus one tablespoon of all-purpose flour as it seemed necessary, ground flax seeds instead of ground chia seeds, and 1/2 tablespoon of unground chia in addition. Otherwise all as indicated in the recipe. I used a well-oiled non stick frying pan instead of my favorite cast iron pan. The patties held the shape beautifully. Served them in pita breads with red onion, tsatsiki sauce, quinoa and fresh parsley and dill. Thank you for the recipe – it’s a keeper!
You are very welcome, Julia! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
Could you please convert the grams to cups/teaspoons?
The recipe is both in cups/teaspoons and grams. 🙂
Hi Ela,
the recipe sounds delicious and I would like to try it. I was just wondering which kind of red lentils did you use. I’m asking because I have realised that the regularly once you can by in Germany grocery stores are different from the red lentils (masor das) you can by in Indian stores.
Many thanks for you rresponse and the great recipes.
Best regards,
Andrea
Hi Andrea, I used regular red lentils (a German brand that is available in most supermarkets). I didn’t buy them in an Indian store. 🙂
So nice to find a different way to cook red lentils (besides in a curry). This was very yummy. Definitely a soft mixture but I could turn them fine using my best nonstick pan and enough oil. I put my cooked lentils in a mesh strainer to get rid of any extra water. I only puréed half so the patties had nice texture. I was out of chickpea flour so used all purpose. Very tasty flavors. Will def. make again.
Hi Bonnie, I am so glad you enjoyed the patties. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Hi, so I made this recipe however the batter was too thin I had to add in additional chick pea flour but it still turned out good. Thank you for the recipe.
Hello, were your cooked lentils completely dry (without any remaining cooking water left)? If not, please cook them longer next time, until the whole water evaporates.
I am glad they still turned out good. 🙂
Are these freezable after cooking and if so how best to reheat please? How Long will They last in fridge after cooking please?
Lesley, please read the section “How To Store” in the post. 🙂
Impossible to copy/paste the text, and so impossible for me to traduce it in frend … why ?
*french*
Hello Eli, please try this link to translate the whole blog post into French: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=fr&u=https://elavegan.com/red-lentil-patties/
Also, you can click on “Print Recipe” (Imprimer la recette) to copy the ingredients & instructions.
To Copy/Paste, select Print, from the Print Page, you should be able to copy it (Ctrl/C) and paste it (Ctrl/V) to a Word Doc. That is what I do, and never have a problem.
One of the best vegan ‘burger’ recipes I have tried. Thank you!
Hi Fiona! I am so glad you loved it. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Ela, These are so delish! My husband just ate six! They are a little wet so I used a tiny ice cream type scoop to put them in the pan, cooked them for about a minute, flipped and was able to flatten them then. So yummy, will make these many more times.
Hello Emily, I am so glad you liked them. You wrote the batter was wet. Did the lentils not soak up the whole veggie broth after cooking? The cooked lentils should be quite dry, as shown in the video. Or did you use a different flour maybe? 🙂
I would love to get the sauce recipe. It is on every photo and looks very inviting.
Hi Anita, the recipe is mentioned in the instructions (step 3) and in the post right above the step-by-step photos. 🙂
Hi. These are too wet and mushy to turn in the pan. How else can I cook them?
If yours are too wet, you can add a little more flour. Or add a lid to the pan and reduce the heat, cook for a bit longer, then try flipping them. 🙂
They look perfect Ela, I love the spice combo, YUM! ????
Thank you dear Jodi. 🙂
These look great! I can’t wait to try this
I hope you will like them! 🙂
These look wonderful and I can’t wait to try them. I’ve been thinking about getting a food processor similar in size to the one in your video. What brand do you recommend?
Hey Deb, I am using a “Hamilton Beach” food processor. I have added it to the recipe notes under “Equipment”. 🙂
These were amazing, simply the best patties I’ve every made or had! My only problem was getting the right consistency as they were too wet and required more flour or I added milled flax. I’m not sure if it was because I only had whole chia seeds or not but the flax did help. Any experience with that?
Hi Jim, I am so glad you loved them! Yes, ground chia seeds will soak up more water. You can blend whole chia seeds in your blender (I always use my electric spice/coffee grinder). 🙂
Amazing recipe!! Love the patty very much 🙂
Hi Iris, I am glad you like it! 🙂
I usually wait to MAKE the recipe before posting, but I can already visualize how these will go over. Excellent recipe. I’ll let you know how it goes, as well‼️
Aww, thank you so much, Bernadette! Enjoy. 🙂