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Spiced Lentil Walnut Burgers. Easy Flavorful Burger patties with avocado ranch. Vegan Burger Recipe. Soyfree Easily gluten-free. Serve as burgers or over salad.
These scrumptious and filling patties have lentils, rice, walnuts and loads of flavor in them. It’s been a while since I made burger patties. I am hoping these fantastic burgers will be magical enough to get us some sunny days in the cloudy PNW. Am I ready for warmer days with loads of sunshine. The grey starts to depress even the chirpiest of the people and birds around.
I use cumin, coriander, garam masala in these. Feel free to use your own combination of flavors such as cumin + chipotle + oregano, or coriander + berbere, or a chili powder blend of choice. Add some coarsely ground fennel seeds for a sausagey flavor. Since the burger mixture is cooked, you can fix and adjust the flavors before committing to the patties!
I served these Lentil Walnut Burgers /patties with my avocado ranch, lettuce, juicy tomatoes, onions, pickled jalapeno and a melted chao cheese slice! I am topping he next batch with a load of caramelized onions. The sweet onions go really well with the earthy lentils. Use any vegan ranch or mayo, some ketchup or bbq or other sauces of choice. To troubleshoot any veggie burger patties(crumbly, too soft etc), see my tips on this burger round up post. Happy Burgering!
More burgers from the blog
- BBQ Veggie Burger with Mango Carrot Cabbage slaw
- Spicy Chickpea yellow Lentil Burgers
- Bean Broccoli Lentil Burgers
- Amaranth Black Bean sliders with roasted red pepper sauce
- Red Lentil and Cauliflower Burger with Onion rings and Chipotle Habanero Mayo
- Grill-able Artichoke Cauliflower Spinach Bean Burger
- and a 35 Veggie burger collection round up!
Lately the facebook page has been getting angry non vegans asking me to change the name of the food to something other than burger, as Burger always equals meat. Well, please see this definition on Mirriam Webster. I did not make that definition. Burger is a generic term for a sandwich type food, that can be a hamburger, other meat burger, made with tofu, veggies, beans etc. Lentil Walnut Veggie Burgers!
Reading for the day-
Catch my interview at MasalaMommas this week.
Videos to watch
- This beautiful Indian wedding. It is big, long, cultural and vegan, does not use flowers, non biodegradable waste/plastics, no silk, pearls, leather. Amazing!
- This video shot at Pasado’s safe haven with Children and the sanctuary animals
- Cost of cheap clothing on the people and the planet
The burger patties can also be baked. I prefer to cook them on a pan for a crispy exterior and moist juicy interior. Baking can dry the patties out a bit. If you use a good non stick pan, oil might not be needed for the roasting.
If you try these patties, leave me a comment, rate the recipe(when you try it), tag me on Instagram #veganricha, let me know what you think, love, not like, suggestions. Feedback keeps me motivated (esp in this grey weather) and helps me improve!
Video:
Lentil Walnut Burgers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped red onions
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 inch ginger
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup packed cilantro
- 3/4 tsp salt or more, depends on if the lentils were salted
- 3/4 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp cayenne, hot! or use sweet paprika + a good dash of black pepper for less heat
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 3-4 basil leaves, optional
- 3/4 cup cooked brown or white rice
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils or 1 15 oz can. I used Indian brown lentils
- 2 tsp ketchup or bbq sauce
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 flax egg, 1 tbsp flax seed meal mixed in 2.5 tbsp warm water, let sit for 2 minutes
- 3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs or flour, use gf breadcrumbs or flour to make gf
Instructions
- In a processor, process onion, garlic, ginger, walnuts and cilantro until finely chopped. Alternatively, cook the onions and garlic in 1/2 tsp oil until they are golden and then add to the processor.
- Add the spices, salt, basil, rice, half of the cooked lentils and pulse a few times until well combined. Transfer to a bowl with the rest of the lentils. Add ketchup, oil, flax egg and mix everything until evenly mixed in. Mash a bit if needed and mix in. Taste and adjust salt, spice, herbs if needed. Add in the breadcrumbs or flour and mix in. Let the mixture chill for 10 minutes.
- If the chilled mixture is too wet, add in more flour or breadcrumbs. The amount needed depends on the moisture in the veggies, the kind of lentils and just general mood of things in the mixture. Add more breadcrumbs or flour if too sticky wet. Add another flax egg if too crumbly to make patties.
- Shape into 4 large patties. Pack well. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of oil and spread it around. Place patties on the skillet and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side.
- Serve with vegan ranch/avocado ranch or mayo or ketchup, mustard or other dressing of choice. Add some caramelized onions or other toppings.
Video
Notes
Add 2 tbsp nutritional yeast. To Bake: I normally bake lentil burger patties at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 or more minutes until golden. I haven't tried baking these particular patties. Let me know if you do.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The seasoning is fantastic! I was afraid to try and make lentil burgers again, since past experience they’ve been dry. Not these. Excellent!
Glad you liked them!
Sorry, just a quick question. Any thoughts on what I could do to lower carbs in this recipe? Both my husband and I have elevated glucose. I already used almond flour. What do you think about removing the rice? Thanks!
You could replace the rice with some mashed chickpeas and a little bit of chickpea flour to bind it together.
You could use some mashed chickpeas and a little bit of chickpea flour to bind it together.
Essential to have some flavorful vegan burgers on hand in your freezer that you can cook up at a moments notice. This recipe should be in your burger arsenal.
Well flavored with good texture. Thanks for this delicious recipe, Richa!
Yes! They freeze really well.
Very yummy! A lot like ground beef. I doubled the recipe and baked them. I will use this as a base and try adding things like mushrooms, sweet potatoes, apples, cashews, more spices, etc. FYI, almond flour worked just fine.
Thanks for letting me know almond flour works!
One of the foods I really missed after transitioning to vegan was burgers. Most vegan burgers are seriously lacking in flavor and sometimes texture. Then I found the VeganRicha blog! I am slowly working my way through your burger recipes, and so far this is the very best – I would give 10 stars if I could. My husband wants them weekly!
awesome! thanks so much for your kind comment!
HI there, I am extremely allergic to nuts so can’t use the walnuts. But would miss the texture that they bring. What could I use as a replacement?
Sunflower seeds
I hate getting the food processor out, but it was worth it for these! Made a bunch of extra lentils so I can whip up a second batch very soon. I slivered and caramelized a second onion with a bit of sugar and water and used it as a topping. Very tasty!
yay!
This burger looks irresistible and hearty. You definitely can’t go wrong with lentils as a savory flavor. They say you must be doing something right if non vegans have complaints about your vegan recipes. 😁
thank you! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe Richa – these are SO good! I made them yesterday and baked them. I ended up not flipping them half way through cooking because I was lazy and didn’t chill them first as the recipe indicates, so they were a little soft. They firmed up fine in the oven though, and I heated one up on the stove tody for a sandwich. Yum! 🌱
Haha 🙂 Very glad you enjoy the recipe!
This are so good, I’ve made them heaps of times and volunteered to make a the vegan alternative to a sausage sizzle at an outdoor art show in a small town in outback Australia. I made 77 of them served over 3 days and they sold out. We raised a few hundred dollars for charity 😀 I was told I should avoid walnuts as people have allergies so subs same amount with tri colour quinoa to retain a bit of a nutty texture and worked a treat. I had so much great feedback and I’m sharing the recipe. Thank you.
Sounds like the event was a success! 🎉
Thank you for this recipe. It is my go to veggie burger recipe to please the crowd. I always double the recipe an make smaller patties. I bake them in the oven and they come out perfect. I admit, I spice them to my own liking because I prefer less heat and spice in general. But the base of the recipe is perfect.
Great idea with the mini patties!