You might be surprised at how simple and quick this recipe is—it only calls for three ingredients—and how quickly it becomes your new go-to healthy flatbread.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Soak Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 8 flatbreads |
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Add lentils and water to a blender, or food processor and soak for at least 3 hours.
- Blend lentils until they are very smooth. Season with salt. (Batter can be used immediately, but for best results refrigerate overnight).
- To cook, heat a non-stick pan on medium-high. Grease lightly with olive oil and allow to get hot. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter to the hot pan. Use the bottom of a ladle or spoon to spread out into a 5 or 6 inch circle. Lower heat to medium, and adjust from there if needed. Cook the first side for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, before flipping over. Cook the second side for about 2 minutes, before transferring to a plate.
- Keep warm flatbreads covered with a towel while cooking and stacking.
- These can be made ahead and reheated. Or cooked and then frozen.
- Use less water for thicker flatbreads. Feel free to season with spices and herbs if you like.
Reviews
These are good! I added a large spoonful of my sourdough starter when soaking lentils (for 24 hours), to ferment and add that slightly sour flavor. Then blended and refrigerated overnight before cooking. I’m using this recipe to create a high protein/healthier option for a breakfast taco. They may look flimsy in picture but they hold together really well. It takes a few attempts to perfect cooking them. Perhaps try the cooking method for dosa: keep a cup of ice water close by, cool skillet down by dropping temperature setting (medium/low) and sprinkle with ice water between cooking flatbreads, then turn up heat (medium to medium high) once batter has been poured. The high heat can cause the flatbread to stick when the batter first touches the pan.
I’m off grains so this is a tasty alternative. I added a couple cloves of garlic, onion powder and a dash of cumin for savory meals. I added sugar-free maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon for a sweet treat. Both turned out well. Refrigerating the blended lentils for at least a few hours really makes it easier to handle.
Excellent idea. I have major gluten problem so this is awesome recipe. I will just pressure cook lentils after soaking it over night to get ride of all lectins( gut causing inflammation) with touch of sea salt or smoked salt yum can rub on ghee butter & make into taco or eat as bread on side with my homemade soups too. Thank you very much 🙂
I love chef John and I’ve made many of his recipes in the past. To my surprise, this is one of the few recipes he has created that isn’t good. I followed the recipe down to the T, but the batter was just too liquidy and hard to flip. I had to add 1/2 of flour and only then was I able to flip the bread. I will make this recipe again because once the flour was added, the finished product was delicious. But the Initial recipe just isn’t good
Seriously, why didn’t i know about this when i 1st started cooking years ago? I will never buy bread or flour tortillas from a store ever again. I prefer making things from scratch & this is so easy & perfect (lentils water & salt…BAM!), not to mention way healthier than the processed stuff on the grocery shelves. Will be making these often for the rest of my life
I have the misfortune to be grain intolerant so I’m always searching for alternative breads and was delighted to try this recipe. The flatbreads came out great but I found I preferred the flavor and texture when I reheated them in the skillet as opposed to freshly cooked. Thank you so much!
These take a bit of practice to cook, one or two and you can better work with your batter. Added taco seasoning to some for fish tacos and they were so super fantastic! Lighter than corn tortillas and kept their shape! Will make these again! Leftovers made great breakfast tacos!
I made this with green lentils since that is what I had on hand, but I followed the instructions otherwise. The batter came out much thicker — more like a paste. After letting it sit in the fridge overnight, I melted butter in a non-stick skillet and spread the lentil paste to cover the bottom. On top, I sprinkled Everything Seasoning then cooked both sides until browned. They came out more like pancakes than crepes like Chef John’s, but they were delicious!