Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
‘Tis the season for veggie burgers! Of which, I eat an absurd amount of. I loved burgers before I went vegetarian and I love veggie burgers now. If I’m out to dinner and see a homemade patty on the menu, odds are that I’m ordering it.
My basement freezer is stocked with all different kinds- the bulk bag from Costco, homemade ones from a few weeks ago, and at least a few packages from my favorite meatless brands. They are so easy to put together, especially on days when I am tired of cooking. Yup, it happens to all of us.
For those evenings, veggie burgers are key to our survival. Sometimes we eat them plain and sometimes I muster up enough energy to throw together a pasta salad or roasted veggie for a side. Sometimes BL and I finish an entire jar of pickles or sauerkraut alongside and call it a day. It’s always a great dinner.
These patties are super easy to put together, vegan AND stay together! The trifecta of veggie burgers. They aren’t sturdy enough where I would trust them to a grill, but they hold up beautifully in a cast-iron skillet.
I’m relying on pre-cooked lentils that I buy from the produce section of the grocery store, but you can also cook lentils before making these. Just know that the prep time will be longer.
From there, it’s time to give thanks to your food processor. Throw everything in, pulse together and form into patties. That’s it! These are lightly spiced and taste ah-mazing with the red cabbage slaw piled on top. Actually, I think that’s what makes these veggie burgers one of my favorites- the contrast of textures from the patty and the slaw. It’s so good, you almost don’t need a bun. Almost.
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
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Vegan Tahini Lentil Veggie Burgers
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: main
- Cuisine: American-Inspired, burger, vegan
Description
Vegan Tahini Lentil Burgers! These vegan burgers are super meaty! Perfect for summer cookouts.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: main
- Cuisine: American-Inspired, burger, vegan
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: main
- Cuisine: American-Inspired, burger, vegan
Scale
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
- 1/4 cup tahini paste, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup freshly grated carrot (pre-grated carrots won’t work the same way)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- burger buns, for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, but not browned. Set aside to cool slightly. Wipe out the skillet once done, you will use it again to cook the patties.
- Place the cooked onion mixture, lentils, 3 tablespoons tahini, cumin in the base of a food processor and pulse 6-8 times until coarsely chopped.
- Add the carrots, cilantro and bread crumbs to the food processor and pulse another 2-3 times to just combine.The mixture should be able to pinch off into a ball; if it’s too dry, add more tahini. If it’s too wet, add some bread crumbs. Remove and place into a large bowl. Season to taste and add more salt/pepper/cumin if needed. I find that the burgers need to taste well uncooked to taste seasoned once cooked.
- Divide the mixture into 4; then shape into patties.
- Toss together the cabbage, remaining tablespoon of tahini, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a bowl until well combined; I usually use my hands to get the cabbage well-covered. Set aside.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Add the patties and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
- Serve on buns with the cabbage slaw!
Notes
To make things easy, I use pre-cooked lentils that I find in the produce section of the grocery store.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
- Calories: 474
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 334 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 59 g
- Fiber: 11 g
- Protein: 22 g
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(10 comments) leave a comment
Hi Alex,
And thank you for sharing this lovely recipe.
I did it today… Beautiful!! How couldn’t be, with such lovely ingredients…I loved it.
It wasn’t made exact the same(eg: I haven’t blend the ingredients, no measurement of the ingredients).
What I did was, to create two dishes. One as a burger with side salad and the other one as little balls with rice and salad.
I took few pictures and happy to share them with you, but I don’t do Instagram…
Thank you again for taking time to share…
Be well… Anastasios xx
★★★★★
Glad you liked it! Thanks!
Ok, I’m on the hunt for some delicious, vegan, veggie burgers that I like, and that I can make at home, in order to reduce the amount of processed foods I eat and eat healthier. Unfortunately, I don’t like cilantro (coriander), or cumin (or curry very much either for that matter …I know! I know!) ♀️ and they seem to be in a lot of veggie burger recipes! Do you think I should just give up on this recipe & try to find some others without any of the 4c’s?
🙂 Thanks for any suggestions!
Peace✌️Love♥️Vegan
Hi Elizabeth, why not just use another seasoning? I think that would work.
These were very good, but I think the nutritional information may be incorrect. I think the calorie (and protein) count is much smaller per burger. Just calculating based on French Green Lentils. Maybe that made a difference?
★★★★★
I’ll redo the nutritional information and see if it changes- sometimes it pulls the wrong food and I don’t catch it.
These burgers look great but that is a high calorie count! Does that include the bun? Otherwise very impressive nutritional stats.
Thank you!!
★★★★★
Hi Susan- these burgers don’t include the bun but it does include the slaw. They are fairly big patties as well. The high calorie count is because of the oil and tahini paste- you can decrease the amount of oil as you make these and it will decrease the overall calorie and fat count. That said, these are much more nutrient dense than a beef burger, with comparable calorie counts.
Alex, are the nutritional stats given including the whole grain bun you are using? Seems like a lot of calories but the protein content is awesome!
Thank you!
ps: I began subscribing to your blog when I made your red lentil soup I had found elsewhere. Loved it 🙂
Hi Susan- these burgers don’t include the bun but it does include the slaw. They are fairly big patties as well. The high calorie count is because of the oil and tahini paste- you can decrease the amount of oil as you make these and it will decrease the overall calorie and fat count. That said, these are much more nutrient dense than a beef burger, with comparable calorie counts.