Lentil patties - The Plant Based School (2024)

Table of Contents

• What are lentil patties?
• Lentil patties video
• Ingredients and substitutions for lentil fritters
• How to make lentil patties
• Serving suggestions
• Similar recipes
• More lentil recipes
• Lentil patties Recipe

Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet if prepared with chickpea flour.

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Lentil patties—or lentil fritters—are a tasty and fulfilling meat-free, egg-free, vegetarian, and vegan recipe.

They are inspired by two of our most popular recipes: chickpea fritters and falafel.

You can make them with canned or dry lentils. If you are interested, here’s our guide on how to cook lentils at home.

They are seasoned with fresh herbs, spices, and vegetables, are flavorful, and rich in minerals, plant protein, and gut-healthy fiber.

Also, lentil fritters are easy to make in a food processor and cook fast in a skillet, oven, or air fryer.

Like our zucchini fritters, they are excellent as a main course or appetizer.

Serve them next to refreshing salads like tabouli, fattoush, shirazi salad, or a simple cucumber-tomato salad.

Dip them in other Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern dips and spreads like hummus, chermoula, baba ganoush, muhammara, and tzatziki sauce.

Add some Moroccan couscous on the side or even pasta with marinara sauce to complete the meal.

Finally, you can stuff them in a sandwich with warm pita bread, quick pickled red onions, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and plenty of tahini sauce.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Before you start: If you are baking the patties, preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. This is unnecessary if you air-fry them or cook them in a skillet.

1. Blend all ingredients

To a food processor, add drained and rinsed lentils, coarsely chopped parsley and cilantro, coarsely chopped onion, chopped garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, flour, salt, and black pepper.

Pulse for a minute or two until the ingredients are well combined and coarsely chopped. Don’t overblend!

Tip:Stir in 1 – 2 tablespoons of water if the mixture is too dry to be shaped into a patty.

2. Shape the lentil patties

Shape the lentil mixture into 12 small cakes and arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

You can do so by hand, pressing the mixture between the palms of your hands.

Or you can do so with a round cookie cutter.

Put some of the mixture in the cutter and press down with the back of a teaspoon.

Tip: This method is cleaner, and the lentil fritters look prettier.

3. Cook the lentil patties

You can cook them in the oven, air-fryer, or skillet.

OVEN-BAKED: Arrange the lentil patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Optionally, you can brush them with olive oil for extra flavor.

Note: Oven-baked patties are less crisp than pan-fried or air-fried ones.

PAN-FRIED: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet or frying pan for every 4 fritters. Add the fritters and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side, turning them once.

Note: Pan-frying yields the crispiest lentil fritters.

AIR-FRIED: Brush your air fryer basket with olive oil to prevent the patties from sticking. Optionally, you can brush them with olive oil for extra flavor.

Arrange the patties in the basket and air fry at 400°F or 200°C for 10 minutes or until golden brown (more brown than golden).

Lentil patties are delicious warm. You can serve them as an appetizer, snack, or main course as they are nutritious and rich in protein and fiber.

We recommend serving the cooked patties with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dipping sauce or spread, a salad, and a grain. Here are some ideas.

Dips and sauce for lentil patties

• Marinara sauce
• Tzatziki
• Avocado spread
• Hummus
• Tahini sauce
• Red pepper hummus
• Baba ganoush or mutabal
• Muhammara

• Simple side salad
• Shirazi salad
• Tabouli salad
• Cucumber tomato salad
• Tahini salad
• Greek salad
• Fattoush salad

Grains and bread for lentil patties

• Warm pita bread
• Plain couscous
• Moroccan couscous
• Pasta pomodoro

You can also serve them in burger buns to make lentil burgers.

In this case, we recommend adding our delicious avocado spread, vegan mayo or chipotle sauce, and some sliced tomato.

Make ahead: This is an excellent recipe for meal prep, as the lentil fritters keep well for 3 days and can be frozen.

Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.

Freezer: Shape and freeze before cooking by arranging the patties on a baking tray with parchment paper, freeze for 2 hours, then transfer into a freezer-friendly bag to save space in the freezer.

You can also freeze leftover cooked lentil fritters. Let them cool down completely, transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for 3 months.

Thaw & Reheat: Defrost them in the fridge over several hours or bake them from frozen. Reheat in the microwave or air fryer.

• Chickpea fritters
• Zucchini fritters
• Falafel
• Tofu meatballs
• Lentil loaf

• Lentil bolognese
• Lentil vegetable soup
• Creamy lentil curry
• Moroccan lentil soup
• Lentil salad