If you’re looking for a lentil burger recipe, these gluten-free veggie patties are super flavorful and easy to put together. The red lentils melt away as they cook and become the perfect binder for quinoa, oats, curry powder and lots of digestive spices.
When I went back to eating legumes after the low FODMAP diet, red lentils were one of the first that I was able to successfully add back into my rotation. When you use them in a red lentil masala recipe, they cook down into mush, which makes them much easier to digest than more sturdy varieties like green or black lentils.
Still, eating a whole bowl of dahl or red lentil soup was not something that was on the menu for me until a few years after my SIBO treatment. The tactic I was able to use was incorporating small amounts of red lentils into my recipes, using them as an accent instead of the main event, like in this Moroccan Harira recipe. Which is exactly the role they play in these quinoa and lentil burgers.
What is the base for these gluten-free lentil burger patties?
My original concept for these was to take all the flavors and textures of my cleansing kitchari recipe and turn them into gluten-free veggie patties. The technique is similar: you cook the lentils and quinoa together until the grains are fluffy and the red lentils have sort of blended into the mixture, making it sticky and easy to mold into whatever shape you like.
Instead of the kitchari seasonings, I used curry powder, cumin, turmeric and a little Aleppo pepper to add some heat. And we start with some sautéed onion to help add some sweetness.
Once the quinoa, gluten-free oats and lentils are cooked, you form them into patties and bake them in the oven at 425 degrees until they become crispy.
Finally, the lentil burgers are topped with a cooling mint raita, which is essentially Indian tzatziki! Diced cucumber gets combined with yogurt, fresh mint and some jalapenos for heat. You can easily make this recipe vegan by subbing coconut yogurt, and it can be low FODMAP by swapping 2 diced carrots for the onion and sticking to a portion size of one burger.
Here are some more gluten-free veggie burger recipes:
- Paleo Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
- Gluten-Free White Bean Veggie Burgers
- Quinoa Gluten-Free Veggie Burgers
These red lentil burgers are a fantastic make ahead meal for lunches or as a vegan / vegetarian option for those end of summer BBQ’s. You can store the raita separately and recrisp the burgers in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes before eating.
Read on for this delicious gluten-free red lentil burger recipe with quinoa, oats, and digestive spices!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Curried Red Lentil Veggie Burgers (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoona Madras curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- ½ cup red lentils
- 1/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped mint or cilantro divided
- 1 cup full fat yogurt or coconut yogurt
- 1 jalapeno ribs and seeds removed
- 1 small Kirby or Persian cucumber roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 8 gluten-free burger buns toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium lidded stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, pepper flakes, and salt along with the quinoa, red lentils and oats. Cook for 2 minutes more or until quite fragrant. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer until the quinoa is cooked and almost all the liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and set aside until cool enough to touch. Stir in half the mint or cilantro.
- Grease a 1/3 cup measure and use it to portion the quinoa mixture into 8 to 10 mounds on the parchment-lined baking sheet. With your hands, shape the red lentil burgers into patties, 1-inch thick, patting them until compact. Transfer to the oven and bake until the patties have dried out and formed a nice brown crust on the bottom, 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the burgers and bake for 10 more minutes, until firm and crispy.
- While the burgers bake, prepare the raita: in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, remaining mint, jalapeno, cucumber, lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon sea salt.
- Serve the veggie burgers on toasted buns with the raita and a some extra herbs, or bun-less as a snack.