In an effort to eat healthily less expensively, I have been experimenting with lentils lately. Lentils are a versatile source of both carbohydrate and protein, and when sprouted they are easy on the digestive system and also provide vitamin C. For those on grain free diets, these grain free veggie burgers provide a welcome source of carbohydrate, and for vegans and vegetarians they provide needed protein. Using coconut oil or palm oil for the fat, these sprouted lentil patties are completely vegan (which is something different coming from my kitchen!).
The pictured homemade sprouted lentil burgers used delicate pink lentils, which sprout in just one day. I have also made them with more hardy brown/green lentils, which can be sprouted longer – I let brown/green lentils sprout for 2 full days. Pink lentils tend to disintegrate if sprouted for more than a day. We have been enjoying these homemade veggie burgers often in the past couple days, the ginger/garlic combination is something different and fun. Sprouting is also great fun, especially in the winter months. It’s like gardening, but the fruits of your labors are eaten in just hours or days!
Sprouted Lentil Veggie Burger Recipe
Serves 4-6
4 cups sprouted lentils, divided
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon grated horseradish
1 inch of ginger root, peeled
1/4 cup expellar pressed coconut oil, palm oil, or butter/ghee
2 tablespoons coconut oil, palm oil, or ghee for frying
In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the fat for frying. In a food processor, combine 1 cup sprouted lentils, 1/4 cup fat, garlic, salt, horseradish, and ginger. Puree until smooth. Add remaining lentils, pulse until coarsely chopped to retain some texture. Form into patties with your hands, and fry gently, flipping once golden brown. Repeat with the remaining patties.
Serve as a veggie burger, with the traditional burger toppings and wrapped in lettuce if grain free, or in a bun. We also enjoy dipping these in plain yogurt and serving with a mug of warm salted chicken stock to round out the meal.
To sprout lentils: Fill a glass mason jar 1/4 to 1/3 of the way full of clean, dry lentils. Cover with filtered water and allow to soak, overnight for green/brown lentils or for a couple hours for pink lentils. After soaking, rinse throughly, and allow to drain. I use a mesh sprouting lid that fits onto a wide mouth mason jar to sprout. Repeat rinsing a couple times every day until sprouted as desired. For more detailed sprouting pictures, see my How To Make Sprouted Flour post (just follow along through the sprouting part- no need to dehydrate these unless you want to). You can find what you need to start sprouting at Cultures for Health, through my Resources Page. This post is a part of Wheatless Wednesdays!
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Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
September 19, 2010 at 10:44 pmI love this recipe, Cara! I will definitely have to try this very soon. I make falafel burgers on occasion from soaked/cooked chickpeas, but this seems like a very tasty alternative to mix things up. Dr. Weston A. Price, really LOVED lentils, by the way as they are loaded with potassium among other valuable nutrients.
Cara
September 19, 2010 at 10:52 pmTara, I’m glad they can be helpful! I find the seasons so fun for cooking new foods.
Thanks Sarah! That’s right, he did like lentils, didn’t he? I need to re-read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration- I bet I could get some new ideas.
TaraChristiane
September 19, 2010 at 9:26 pmThese sound perfect for my body and wallet during the coming season. Now that the garden is winding down a bit it’s time to turn towards legumes and such. With my adrenal fatigue, high glycemic starches are out but something like this will work wonderfully. Can’t wait to try them… thanks for sharing!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
September 20, 2010 at 2:00 pmJust tweeted this. I got some lentils today and am going to try this week. Thanks for the inspiration Cara!
Donielle @ Naturally Knocked Up
September 22, 2010 at 9:12 pmThanks for linking! {stumbled} I should try these out sometime – always up for something different!
Jennifer
September 23, 2010 at 4:27 pmThese were really yummy, but I had to add egg to bind it. I used ~ 1 egg per 5 patties. I think next time I’ll try adding some coarsely ground oats to try and hold them together.
lynna
September 24, 2010 at 6:22 pmI love this recipe! I finally made them today and they are delicious! Yay for garlic/ginger/horseradish!
I have tried a lot of different veggie/bean type burger recipes and all have been too mushy for me. The texture of this was perfect! My sprouts were pretty advanced (as in, I sorta forgot about them for an extra day or so and then had to store them in the fridge overnight to halt them until I could mix them up today). Perhaps my disorganization was a good thing for the binding of the ingredients?
Anyway, thanks for a great recipe!
Rachel
September 26, 2010 at 6:46 pmI made these today- I think I needed to let them sprout longer- the jar was pretty packed, so the top sprouted good and then the bottom half didn’t really. They were crunchier than they should have been. But everyone liked them ok- they all ate them with buns.
Max Alamilla
November 13, 2010 at 9:37 amThank you so much, I enjoy reading about other vegetarians and vegans as it gives me the strength to continue. I have about a thousand vegetarian feeds in my google reader, but I’m sure another can’t hurt!! I did manage to find a good lentil recipe here, but I’ll be sure to try yours too. Thanks!
Sonya Hemmings
December 3, 2010 at 10:32 pmCara—I just found your blog today, via your guest post at Keeper of the Home. On a whim, I tried the lentil patties (with sprouted red lentils) for dinner tonight, and my family LOVED them! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
—Sonya Hemmings
Tina~
February 9, 2011 at 2:42 pmCara, if you are sprouting a larger batch, how full can you fill the mason jar for them to sprout but not rot?
1/3 full and rest on side, or just leave it in the jar and can it be filled to close to the top?
Thanks!
Tina~
Cara
February 9, 2011 at 2:57 pmHi Tina,
I think 1/3 is as full as I would fill it, they expand quite a bit! I’ve tried filling them fuller and they’re impossible to get out and don’t sprout well.
Tina~
February 10, 2011 at 4:50 pmHi Cara,
Have you made lentil flour using this sprouting technique? If so, how did it turn out?
I want to try to make Papadum (sp?)- those crunchy lentil cracker type things they serve in some Indian Restaurants.
oh..btw… I rinsed the soaked lentils in a large colander, then got called away and didn’t get back to them for several hours. They had already started sprouting by then, so I just rinsed them and covered them with an organic linen towel. They sprouted beautifully that way~
Working on sprouting black beans now.
Thanks for the post, we’re really looking forward to these~
Technical question… the recipe calls for 4 cups of sprouted lentils. Is that the exact measurement after they were soaked or is it the amount you used of dry lentils before you soaked/sprouted them?
Thanks!
Cara
February 11, 2011 at 9:44 amHi Tina, I haven’t made lentil flour before, that sounds interesting though! The colander was a great idea, thanks for sharing!
4 cups of sprouted lentils- That’s after sprouting :)
Tina~
February 11, 2011 at 7:11 pmWe added some fresh organic parsley to this when I was mixing the first ingredients…it turned the patties a beautiful light green… fun if you need something for the littles for St. Patrick’s Day or Green patties and eggs…Sam I am.. I can eat them, yes I can!
:-)
Amber R
July 8, 2012 at 7:04 pmMade these with green lentils – sprouted two full days – omitted the horseradish and used all coconut oil — they were AH-MAZING!!! My DH and kids all loved them! Success! Thanks for this recipe =)
Dianna
October 22, 2012 at 6:21 pmDo you have a blog post about how to sprout the lentils? I’d be interested in learning that. Thanks! :)
Alexis
February 18, 2013 at 7:43 pmUmm Im new to the whole sprouted, GAPS stuff and my family and I are on GAPS. I just realized we could have lentils and came across this recipe. Well I just about wasted 4 cups of lentils because it doesnt specify in this recipe whether or not the lentils have to be soft, cooked…what. I bought already soaked and sprouted lentils that had been dried so because I was afraid the lentils would be too mushy if I cooked them, I didnt. This may seem like common sense to other people but to me I had no idea whether or not to cook. SO I didnt, and now its just a big ball of hard, fried, crunchy things. Im so frustrated right now.
dennisraybrooks
July 4, 2013 at 11:43 amMy daughter shared this with me. I am always showing her new ways to eat vegetarian, now she is showing me! I will try this tomorrow night after sprouting. Thanks daughter and Author!
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Catherine
December 23, 2013 at 4:22 pmMade these today but had a hard time getting them to hold together. I had to add egg. What did I do wrong that I needed to add egg? I would prefer to do them without because some of us can’t eat egg.
Thanks!
KimiW
November 15, 2018 at 4:23 pmWow, thanks! These are some kinda delicioso!! Am pleasantly surprised and then some!!! :-P
I cut my serving of patties over a chiffonade of chilled greens that were tossed in a mild lemony herbed vinaigrette.
I also took a small liberty with your fab recipe by rolling them in a small amount of partially-minced leftover brown rice and a wee bit of sweet paprika before frying to help with a nice crust, and served it with a splash Indian coriander ‘catsup’. Take it from a new fan y’all, no matter how you serve them, these lentil patties are an amazing guilt-free protein treat.
(I did ‘sprout’ a giggle at your suggestion of rounding out this vegetarian meal with a cup of chicken broth though!)