Lentil and Eggplant “Burgers”
By: Roni | Posted in: 2 WWP, Dinner Ideas, Food Photos, Lunch Ideas, Sandwich Ideas, Vegetarian Ideas | 15 Comments
This is my first entry for the Royal Food Joust! A monthly contest the Leftover Queen hosts on her site where she identifies three ingredients and we see what everyone can come concoct in their kitchen. Then her readers vote for a winner at the end of the month.
I think this is genius! What a fun idea! And you may not know this about me, but I LOVE a challenge.
This month’s ingredients are lentils, eggplant and cinnamon. For some reason I was immediately inspired to make a veggie/lentil burger. I had one at a local restaurant a few weeks ago and the idea stuck with me.
If you believe it, I actually got the husband to try a bite! He didn’t like the texture at all, which I understand. You are either a person who likes lentil burgers or you aren’t. It’s that simple, they hold together nicely but do have a “mush factor” to them. 
- 1 cup (128g) dry lentils
- 1 can (14oz) broth of choice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp sage
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 cup (82g) cubed (small) raw eggplant (I left the skin on)
- Kosher salt
- 1 small carrot (or 2-3 baby)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Thick slice of sweet onion
- ½ cup (40g) quick oats
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
Bring the lentils, broth, cinnamon, curry, sage and paprika to a boil over high heat. Then lower to a simmer. Continue simmering for about 45 minutes to an hour until the lentils soak up most of the broth.
While the lentils are cooking, cube the eggplant. Lay it out on some paper town and sprinkle with kosher salt to draw out some moisture.
After the lentils have been cooking for about 45 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the eggplant. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Add the lentils and eggplants to a large bowl. Grate in the carrots, garlic and onion. Stir in the quick oats, breadcrumbs and egg.
Cover with some plastic wrap and let it sit for a about 10 minutes in the fridge (note: I made half in 10 minutes and left the rest of the mix in the fridge overnight, the next morning the lentil mixture was even thicker).
Form the mixture into 6 patties and brown in a nonstick pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium heat for about 3 minutes a side.
I served it on a whole-wheat English muffin with baby spinach and tomatoes slices. It was a bit soft (compared to a traditional burger) but tasty and ohh so filling! I can’t believe I just made my own veggie burger!
| Servings | Calories | Fat | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 150 | 2g | 8g |
Other ideas you may enjoy... |
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Hey Roni,
I’m assuming you’re using dry lentils here not canned?
Yup! Good Point!
I didn’t know there was canned lentils.
You love a challenge? I just starting coming here and even I knew that :-)
This looks like a great new way to try lentils ~ I’m pretty boring and stick to soup, but I’m always up for new things.
Wow – Those look great! I am not a huge fan of eggplant. Would zucchini be an alternative?
LOVE this idea Roni!! It’s on my meal calendar :)
please excuse my spontaneous drooling–i have no control over it and this time it’s your fault. :)
Wonderful recipe! I found you through the Food Joust link – it’s my first month for entering, too. I should have kept up with the comments, there!
Do you think that instead of typical breadcrumbs, the “Fiber-One” breadcrumbs could be used?
Thanks! It looks awesome!
Oh. my. gosh. I’ve never cooked lentils & had no idea what to expect. These are amazing! I used veggie broth & the lentils had actually soaked up all the broth in about 25 minutes. I just added the zuch (didn’t have eggplant, & the zuch worked great) & turned off the heat & covered it with a lid for about 20 minutes. I followed the rest of the recipe to a T. The flavors are amazing. I really could have eaten just the lentils & zuchini straight! I can’t wait to have them for lunch tomorrow (I had a small one tonight–couldn’t resist). Thanks for a fab recipe!
Made these tonight. I had to add additional broth, as there was no liquid left after 45 minutes. I refrigerated the mixture for a few hours before making the burgers. Everybody liked them! The flavor was very good. They held together pretty well, with just a few crumbles off the edges. The husband requested no sage next time (not a fan, I guess). I’ll definitely try them again, maybe with a little different seasoning and maybe an additional egg-white to help bind them. They are so filling!
am v. excited for a new use for eggplant other than fries/parm! Will be making these this weekend :) I love going through the archives!
I made this to use up extra eggplant from a lasagna recipe. My lentils were done in about half the time. I mixed it up last night and left it in the fride until tonight. They tasted good, but didn’t stick together very well. Very crumbly around the edges. Any ideas for next time?
Oh, it’s been awhile since I made these!
You may want to increase the egg. It acts as the binder.
Hi,
I tried making these today, and they fell apart. I even added an extra egg, and they still would not stick together. I cooked half of them and am leaving the other three in the fridge overnight to cook tomorrow. I hope that will help with them sticking together. Do you have any other ideas? Thanks!
My DH liked the ones I made, even though they fell apart. He just put them on top of a salad.
Sherry
This is, by far, not my best idea. I made it to enter a contest and haven’t revamped it at all. I may give it another whirl to make them heartier.
Grinding up some oats and adding with another egg may help.