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Whip up these easy lentil burgers for a delicious and nutritious meal. Double the batch and stock your freezer, as this baby and kid-friendly recipe is versatile and sure to become a household favourite
I feel that lentils are an underrated food, but we love them here at Healthy Little Foodies! They are fantastic for babies and beyond and on our site, you can find various ways to enjoy them.
These lentil burgers are a favourite, but if you're looking for more lentil recipes, be sure to try our red lentil curry, lentil bake, lentil croquettes, lentil puree, lentil cottage pie, and lentil lasagna.
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Reasons to Love this Recipe
- Freezer Friendly: Great for meal prepping
- Kid Friendly: A fun way to serve lentils
- Nutritious: packed with goodness
Ingredient Information (and Alternative Suggestions)
- Green/Brown Lentils: Can be substituted with other lentil varieties; refer the lentil substitution section for more details
- Onion, Garlic, Celery, Carrot: Added for extra flavour.
- Sweet Potatoes: Can be replaced with regular potatoes.
- Curry Powder, Smoked Paprika, Cumin: Added for flavour; can be skipped or replaced with other spices or fresh herbs for different flavour profiles.
- Egg: Used for binding; no egg replacement has been tested although a reader said they used a chia egg with success.
- Breadcrumbs: Add body to the lentil patties and help bind everything together. No replacements have been tested but other readers have replaced with oats and cornflakes with success.
- Olive Oil: Used for sautéing the onion and mushroom mixture, and for pan-frying the lentil burger patties.
See recipe card for quantities.
Lentil Substitution Results
When developing this recipe, I dried various lentil types. Here are the results:
- Red Split Lentils: Smooth texture, ideal for babies/kids with textural issues. Burgers are softer and harder to handle but will fry with care.
- Puy Lentils: Good flavour, very textured. Doesn't stick together as well; requires more care when frying.
- Canned Lentils: Good texture and flavour. Easy to handle and holds together well.
For canned lentils the cooking instructions differ, cook the vegetables and spices as instructed, then mix with a drained can of lentils and 130g (½ cup) of mashed sweet potato. The rest of the instructions remain the same
Step-by-Step Instructions (with Images)
- Saute onion, garlic, celery and carrots in a large saucepan. Once softened add the sweet potato and spices.
- Add the lentils & water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer, uncovered, until cooked, soft and liquid absorbed.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add the egg and breadcrumbs, and stir until combined.
- If you would like a smoother pattie, add the mixture to a food processor and pulse to desired consistency.
- Divide the lentil mixture to form 6 patties.
- Fry the patties for 4-5 minutes each side or until golden brown and heated throughout.
HINT: The smoother the mixture the harder to handle when frying so just pulse the burger mixture unless you want a really smooth burger for textural issues.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these veggie burgers just as you would regular burgers. Why not try them:
- In a burger bun with all your favourite toppings
- With a side salad and creamy sauce (such as avocado dip, lemon yogurt sauce or this burger sauce from this burger bowl recipe)
- Sliced up in lettuce wraps, topped with a delicious sauce and salad
- Added to a pitta or wrap with salad and sauce.
- With veggie fries such as carrot fries, zucchini fries, or broccoli fries.
- With grilled vegetables.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigeration: Store any leftover patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing (Before Cooking - Recommended): Freeze lentil patties flat on a parchment paper lined baking sheet until solid, about 3 hours. Individually wrap each burger in cling wrap and transfer to a freezer-safe container or zip-lock bag. They will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
- Freezing (After Cooking): Alternatively, you can freeze the burgers after cooking using the same method as before cooking
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can serve these lentil burgers to a baby when they are developmentally ready and at least 6 months.
However, there are some considerations to take into account. These burgers contain egg and wheat, both of which are potential food allergens for babies. These should be introduced separately and safely before offering these burgers.
Using red lentils produces a smoother and softer burger that babies may prefer. You can also blend the burger mixture to achieve a smooth texture. However, remember that introducing texture to your baby is important, too.
You can either slice the burger into fingers or make bite-sized balls or croquettes with the mixture and bake them.
As always, ensure your child is seated at a table and supervised at all times when eating.
For informational purposes only. Not a substitute for personalised advice from your health professional.
Pan frying produces the best results for these burgers. If you prefer to bake them, they will be slightly drier. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Place the burgers on a lined baking tray, lightly spray with oil, and bake for approximately 25 minutes, turning halfway through.
More Lentil Recipes
Full Recipe
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Lentil Burgers
Equipment
- Food Processor (optional step)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion , finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- ½ celery stalk , finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot , finely chopped
- 250g (0.55lb) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes (approx. half a medium sweet potato)
- 1 tablespoon curry Powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 115g (½ cup) dry green lentils
- 365ml (1½ cups) water
- 1 egg
- 25g (⅓ cup) dried breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots then reduce the heat to low and cook for approx. 5 mins (until softened.)
- Add the sweet potato, curry powder, smoked paprika & cumin, stir for a further minute.
- Add the lentils & water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer until cooked, soft and all the water is absorbed (approx. 25 mins)
- (OPTIONAL) Add the mixture to a food processor and gently pulse to desired consistency (do not over blend as the mixture will become too soft to handle when frying)
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add the egg and breadcrumbs then stir until combined.
- Divide the mixture to form 6 patties.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties for 4-5 minutes each side or until golden and warmed through.
Ivette Serrano
Loved it! Super tasty. My only problem was that it didn’t stick together well. Thank you!
Amy
Thanks Ivette, I'm glad you liked them but I'm sorry they didn't stick well for you. Which lentils did you use?
Krishna
Could this be made with a chia egg or other vegan alternative? Thank you
Amy
Hi Krishna, I haven't tested with an egg replacement so can't guarantee results but I think both a chia egg or flax egg would work. 🙂
Jay
I really love this recipe. I add a little extra celery and a bit more bread crumb to get it to hold better. This is a weekly recipe for us.
Amy
Great! Thanks Jay
KB
What age is appropriate for this recipe? My child is 8 months and love lentils so trying to find other ways to feed them to him.
Amy
Hi KB, there isn't anything in this recipe that an 8-month baby can't have. It does contain egg and wheat (breadcrumbs) so I would suggest introducing these items separately, to check for potential allergies, before offering this. The red lentils will produce a softer burger and you can form them into little croquettes or balls. (Picture in the post above)
Felicity
I make this every week, all my children love it. I use rolled oats in place of breadcrumbs and it makes it stick together well, and i bake in the oven for 20 mins, turning half way through on a non stick baking sheet.
Amy
Fantastic! Thanks Felicity 🙂
Clementine
Amazing recipe, and my go to whenever I fancy a burger. I'm not even vegetarian but I prefer them to meat.
I usually pressure cook instead of simmering - comes out great in either the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi Max.
I make the recipe as-is quite a lot, but it also works great if you vary it. I usually use either green or brown dried lentils (or both), but it also works if I substitute a proportion of them for dried bulgur wheat. Works with white potatoes (but I just prefer with sweet potatoes). And sometimes I change the flavour profile completely with different spices - Mexican style, Cajun style, or whatever.
I usually air fry the finished patties, but warmer weather is (allegedly) on the way so I can't wait to try them out on the barbecue in the summer.
Amy
Thanks, Clementine, enjoy these on the bbq when the sun is shining!
Emma Dave
Hi Amy. I have these in the oven right now and they smell great. I have made them as little patties and wanted to freeze a lot of them but just realised in my haste I didn't notice that you freeze yours before cooking and now it's too late for me to do that. How would you advise I reheat them from frozen?
Emma Dave
Do you need to defrost the burgers before cooking or can you cook directly from frozen? Recipe looks great!
Morgan
Thanks for all your great recipes! When you are simmering this mixture for 25 minutes, do you have the pot covered or uncovered? Thank you!
Amy
Hi Morgan, uncovered - sorry I should have detailed that 🙂
Asma
Thank you for this recipe! It smells great! I’m not sure where I went wrong but I mashed the cooked lentils and vegetables but it turned out thick and gloopy..I don’t have breadcrumbs and flour just made it even more gloopy! How do I make it less gloopy next time?
Amy
Hi Asma, what type of lentils did you use? Did your mixture look like the ones in my process steps at each stage? Did you blend or mash and did you use sweet potato or white potato?
Min
Hi Amy,
Thanks for this recipe . Very helpful for me who is new to vegan eating.
What can i substitute for the bread crumbs? Are oats ok?
Thanks!
Amy
Thanks, Min. Oats should work but I haven't tried so can't say for sure.
Sandra
Hi Amy, Thank you so much for this recipe! I am planning to do a big bbq with 20 guests on Saturday, and will do lentil burgers. Do you recommend putting all the quantity together (20 serves) or cook smaller quantity at once? Also, I will be using canned lentils, what do you mean by " you will need to cook the potato separately (using your preferred cooking method.) "
Thank you so much for your help!
Sandra
Amy
Hi Sandra, I'm so sorry for the late response. I hope I have answered in time for your BBQ. It all depends really on the size of your pan to how much you can make in one go. If you have a large enough pot then I'd say go for it! This recipe cooks the potato and the lentils together, if you are using canned lentils then you will not have to cook them. So if you cook the potato separately you can just stir in the lentils. Does that make sense?
Tara
These turned out fabulous! Added some fresh parsley from the garden. My 10 month old loved the flavours. My husband and I added Greek yogurt/lemon/honey sauce and hummus for the toppings. Wouldn’t change anything and these will become a staple in our kitchen!
Amy
So glad you enjoyed them, Tara. Loving the sound of your sauce for a topping, I must try that next time 🙂
Anne
I’m vegan - Can you sub the eggs? Also, Can you sub the celery? AND Can you use regular Potato?
Polenta instead of breadcrumbs?
Amy
Hi Anne, without trying I can't guarantee the outcome of subbing the egg. I'd try a flax or chia egg. You can skip the celery. You can replace the sweet potato with potato. Polenta would be worth a try 🙂
Yvonne
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I am so happy about this website. I have made many of your recipes for my little 18 months old son and he loved it all! We are staying away from refined sugars and salt as long as we possibly can.
Do you have a recipe for a salt and sugar free ketchup? That would would be wonderful. Thank you!
Amy
Hi Yvonne, thank you so much for your kind words. It really does mean a lot that you have taken the effort to let me know that you are enjoying the website. I don't actually have a ketchup recipe, sorry. I will add it to my planner, good idea!
Frey
Looking forward to trying these with my son! I wonderer the breadcrumbs a must? I can't have gluten but I like us to eat together.
Amy
Hi Frey, the breadcrumbs help to hold the burgers together better. They will still work but may be a little soft. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Linda.
Was looking for a lentil burger recipe and found this, I substituted the celery for sweet pointed pepper ( as didn't have celery) my family and I really enjoyed them, would Definitely make them again.
Amy
That is great, Linda. So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Flora
We tried this recipe using green lentils and blended half the mixture to get combo of textures and enjoyed on a toasted ciabatta roll. Really delicious and super easy! Can you advise whether you can freeze the burgers at all before cooking? Thanks a lot for sharing
Amy
Hi FLora, I'm so happy you enjoyed these. I freeze the patties before cooking them. Freeze flat on a baking sheet until solid, about 3 hours. Transfer to freezable container / zip lock bag. They will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
Nanette
Great family bbq option - lentil burgers! We loved this recipe....added fresh coriander, parsley and seasoned. Cooked on BBQ and finished cook in oven.
Amy
Fab! I'll need to try them on the BBQ. Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate, it means a lot 🙂
Izzy
The mixture smelled fantastic! Unfortunately, the end result was a sloppy mess and nothing stayed together in the frying pan. I really couldn’t see how they would freeze in their pre cooked form. I checked and rechecked the recipe and method...I’d appreciate some feedback as to where I’d gone wrong.
Amy
Hi Izzy, sorry you didn't have much success with the recipe. I have had a lot of positive feedback on this recipe so I'd love to figure out where it could have gone wrong for you. What type of lentils did you use? Was the liquid fully absorbed when cooking the lentils? How did the texture compare to mine (process shots) Did you blend the mixture?