Veggie burgers that pack a punch! Although neither my husband nor I are vegetarians, we are attempting to reduce the quantity of poultry and pork we consume because it is so expensive. Here, lentils work well since they are inexpensive, simple, and delicious. Instead of mayo, serve on large buns with tomato slices, onion, ketchup, and avocado!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- water to cover
- 1 cup dried lentils
- ½ cup wheat germ
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped green chile pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, divided
Instructions
- Pour enough water into a pot that will cover lentils and wheat germ; bring to a boil. Add lentils and wheat germ, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are tender, adding more water if needed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pot from heat and cool slightly; mash lentil mixture until thick and lumpy.
- Transfer mashed lentil mixture to a bowl. Mix onion, green bell pepper, mozzarella cheese, egg, green chile pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper into lentil mixture until thoroughly mixed; shape into 8 patties.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Lower heat to medium-high and cook 4 patties in the hot oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining oil and patties.
- Chicken or vegetable stock can be used in place of (or in addition to) water for boiling lentils and wheat germ.
- Cracked wheat can be used in place of wheat germ.
- Cheddar cheese or kashkawan cheese can be substituted for mozzarella cheese.
- Sunflower oil can be substituted for vegetable oil.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 195 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 26 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 35 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
These were “OK Good”, but not delicious. I wish someone (anyone) would tell me why Wheat Germ was one of the included ingredients.
I gave this recipe a rating of three only because the burgers were rather difficult to keep together. In fact, one time I ditched the idea of making burgers altogether and used the mixture as a sambousa filling. Those were tasty! Despite the failures of this recipe, I have now made them four times tweaking the ingredients each time. I’ve added an extra egg the last three attempts and resorted to using two spatulas to flip them to try keeping the burgers in one piece start to finish. Next time, I will add a few tablespoons of flour like another review suggested. The reason I keep coming back to this recipe is the flavor as I am in the habit of cooking lentils with dried onion (1/2 t) and red chili flakes (1 t). This makes a world of difference for the flavor. I even keep a bowl of lentils like this in the refrigerator as they add a little protein pop of spice to salads. Also, I make them for my vegetation daughter, who eats one at a time, so I freeze the rest between sheets of wax paper. I reheat them from their frozen state in a small glass pan given a light coating of nonstick cooking spray. Then, I pop it in a 400 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes – until heated through. This allows for them to be heated without disturbing them in the process affording them less of a chance to fall apart.
These were surprisingly really good!!! I think I ‘d like mine in a pita pocket topped with yogurt or hummus. I made a few slight changes in that I left out the cheese, used oats instead of what germ and ended up adding a few Tbs of flour to tighten it up. I cooked them in a nonstick skillet with a little olive oil. I will gladly make more of these. Oh and because I didn’t have a hot pepper, I made no substitutions. Still good!!
Had to add another egg to this to even get any binding to it. Took three (3) days to make it. Flavor was flat, had to use about 1/3 cup of a special blend of spices to even give it a hint of flavor. Better use of this recipe, with spices adjusted, would be as a dip, in a casserole, or possibly more in a stew/chili.
Best tasting veggie burger I have made, everyone loved it.