Beet and Lentil Burgers

Say hello to my favorite veggie burgers right now! These Beet and Lentil Burgers are as flavorful as they are colorful! With hearty texture from the lentils and warm spiced and savory flavors, these veggie burgers are a hit with vegans and meat-eaters alike. Not only are these burgers crazy delicious, but they are incredibly healthy!!

Tips for success

• For grating the beets, I use my food processor but you can also use a cheese grater, mandoline, spiralizer, or even a vegetable peeler.
• Bread crumbs are key to keeping these burgers together. If the mixture is too sticky when forming patties, add more breadcrumbs! It usually takes about 1 cup of breadcrumbs when I make this recipe but I start with ¾ cup and go from there.
• For gluten-free I’d suggest using gluten-free breadcrumbs rather than grinding up oats. For years I tried using oats instead of breadcrumbs for gluten-free options and to be honest, it’s never very good. Oats give the patties a dry, dusty flavor and they don’t hold together! Breadcrumbs are where it’s at for both texture and flavor for a solid veggie burger (pun intended).
• Don’t be afraid to get your hands messy! You don’t need a special tool to mash the veggie burger mixture together, use your hands! You’ll need to form the patties anyways, so why not? I find using my hands works better than a potato masher or the back of a fork.
• Love spicy? Add spice! I love spicy everything and these burgers are no exception! A little cayenne powder in the burger mixture adds a beautiful kick that pairs with the vibrant red color and I always mix sriracha with my vegenaise for a delicious chipotle aioli.

This burger, that burger

I’ve been a huge fan of burgers my entire life but what I crave as a burger has changed drastically. For most of my life, beef was THE only burger aside from maybe a special occasion of elk or bison. When I caught wind about plant-based burgers as an adult, I associated those with cardboard. (I honest to goodness thought that they only came frozen in a box, I didn’t know people could make them at home.) I wish I could teleport back in time and hand myself a Beet and Lentil Burger whilst smacking the beef version away so I could see that beautiful plant-based burgers can be easily made at home and that they make incredible, not to mention better, food. I just didn’t know.

For far too many years, my favorite post-hike meal was a burger. A big ol’ juicy burger, dripping with cheese and topped with bacon. With a side of fries and a pint of beer. Or two. I didn’t understand nutrition and how food truly impacted the body on a cellular level, it was just something that tasted good and filled my belly.

After each and every one of those meals, I felt like absolute hell. I can still think back and remember that feeling, it was terrible! I associated that sluggish aftermath with being tired after the hike, completely oblivious that it could actually be stemming from what I was fueling my body with. I’d return home and collapse into a comatose blob on the couch for the remainder of the evening, not realizing it could be any other way.

Why was I eating that meal post-hike rather than pre-hike? That should have been an indicator right there. I thought the hike was making me that exhausted, and I couldn’t put the pieces together even though I never attempted to put all that in my body before a hike. If I ate that same meal before a hike, I would have had to call the whole trip off; there’s just no way it would have been physically possible!

Now, after even an extremely difficult hike/backpack trip, I come home and fuel my body with nutrients it actually needs. Rather than collapsing on the couch, I have so much energy that I’m still going strong all the way up until bedtime. In my 40s I have more energy post-hike than at 25. It’s not the age, it’s the fuel!

Why beets?

Colorful food is more fun to eat! It’s true that we eat with our eyes: we evolved so that our our trichromatic color vision allows us spot the colorful fruits in foliage!¹ The more vibrant colors a dish has, the more it appeals to us and in this way we get a variety of nutrients!

Beets are fun to use in the kitchen, as they give food such a dramatic appearance! Why always eat a boring brown burger when you can have a colorful red or even vibrant green veggie burger? That’s the fun thing about cooking with plants, you can create a rainbow on your plate!

Aside from being visually stunning, beets are an excellent source of fiber, folate, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. 

Beets can reduce blood pressure as well as improve physical performance and brain function. How? Beets contain nitrates, which aids in dilation of blood vessels and increases blood flow to the brain. The frontal lobe of the brain in particular, which is the area associated with decision making and working memory. Studies have shown that exercise combined with beet root intake in older adults showed brain networks that more closely resembled those of younger adults.²

So, beets improve physical performance, keeps the brain young, and makes food beautiful? I’m in!

Lentil power!

Lentils are one of the most nutritional legumes and they add the robust texture and protein to make these burgers hearty! Per one cup, lentils are packed with an impressive:

• Protein: 17.9 grams
• Fiber: 15.6 grams

% of the recommended daily intake:

• Folate: 90%
• Manganese: 49%
• Iron: 37%
• Phosphorous: 36%
• Copper: 25%
• Thiamine: 22%
• Potassium: 21%
• Magnesium: 18%
• Vitamin B6: 18%
• Zinc: 17%

Lentils are truly an incredible source of nutrients! They’re so versatile so I try to cook with them as much as possible, as it can be easy to let them fall to the way-side. Slip them back into the meal rotation, they’re delicious and nutritious!

Beet and Lentil Burgers

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5 from 4 reviews

• Author: The Wandering Veggie
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 6 large burgers 1x
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

These Beet and Lentil Burgers are as flavorful as they are colorful! With hearty texture from the lentils and warm spiced and savory flavors, these veggie burgers are a hit with vegans and meat-eaters alike.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup dry brown lentils (makes about 2 cups cooked)
• 1 small-medium sized beet, shredded (about 9 oz)
• 1/2 of a yellow onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp Liquid Aminos or Tamari

Spices + more

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp ginger powder (optional)
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 3/4–1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup almond butter (or sub peanut butter)
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal (not whole seeds)
• 1/2–1 tsp cayenne powder (optional for spice)

Optional Burger Toppings & Condiments

• Burger buns
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Pickles
• Onion
• Vegan mayo (Vegenaise is my fav!!) + sriracha for chipotle aioli
• Mustard

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. In a medium-sized pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils and reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until tender. 
2. In food processor (or by hand if you don’t have one, use a cheese grater to grate beets) use chopping blade to chop onion and garlic. Then switch the blade out for the grating attachment and grate the beet. 
3. Place onion and beet in a large skillet along with 3 Tbsp Liquid Aminos or Tamari. Cook on medium heat until onion softens and moisture has mostly cooked off, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl place ¾ cup breadcrumbs and everything else under “spices + more“, along with the cooked lentils. Once the beet and onion mixture has finished cooking, add that to the large bowl. Use your hands to knead everything together, mashing the lentils, adding another ¼ cup of breadcrumbs if needed, until a tacky consistency.
5. Use your hands to form patties. Place patties on a lightly oiled or non-stick baking sheet. If you have the time, refrigerate for an hour.
6. If baking, preheat oven to 350°.
7. Lightly brush patties with olive oil.
   Baking: Bake patties for 15-20 minutes until both sides begin to brown, flipping halfway through. (Keep an eye on them, every oven is different!
   Stovetop: In a large skillet on medium heat (non-stick preferred), cook patties until each side lightly browns. Don’t overcook! Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes.
8. Assemble Beet and Lentil Burgers on lightly toasted buns with choice of toppings and condiments. Enjoy!

Notes

Want to make a bigger batch? Go ahead and double the recipe! Don’t overload your food processor, so you might have to use a large bowl to separate and process the mixture in sections. 

Any leftover patties keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2-3 months. Defrost entirely before re-heating.

• Prep Time: 50 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: burgers and sandwiches
• Method: baking, stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Did you enjoy these Beet and Lentil Burgers? I’d love to hear! Leave me a comment below! 🙂

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11316480/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5861951/