These easy lentil patties with butternut squash are crisp on the outside and flavorful on the inside. Serve them as veggie burgers, appetizers, as a side, or on top of salads for a boost of protein!
Today’s world is all about multitasking, so why shouldn’t our foods multitask too? As a busy mom and business owner, I love these vegan lentil patties because I can make a batch, freeze them, and have dozens of potential lunches and dinners—they never get boring!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Lentil Patties
- A multitasking recipe. Use them for burgers, crumble them onto salads, dip them as an appetizer—there are so many ways to use these!
- Naturally vegan. It’s not always easy to make lentil patties vegan because egg is such a great binder, but quinoa flakes and butternut squash do an excellent job without needing to use store-bought faux eggs.
- The perfect cooking method. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve found that baking produces the best lentil patties by far. They’re crispy on the outside, fully cooked through, and they won’t fall apart on you!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Dry green lentils – I like using green lentils here because they hold their shape more than red lentils, but they fall apart a bit more than black lentils. Basically, they’re PERFECT for lentil patties that hold together but still have some texture.
- Water
- Bay leaf – For infusing the lentils with flavor while they cook.
- Butternut squash – A small squash is perfect, or buy pre-cubed squash if you’re in a time crunch.
- Olive oil
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, and chili powder.
- Quinoa flakes – These help hold the patties together and add some extra protein.
- Nutritional yeast – For cheesy flavor without the cheese.
- Spinach
How to Make Lentil Patties
- Cook the lentils. Add the lentils, water, and bay leaf to a small saucepan, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender and the water is absorbed.
- Roast the squash. Toss the squash with oil and seasonings, then roast on a baking sheet in a 400ºF oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Mash the squash. Transfer the squash to a bowl and mash it with a fork.
- Process. Add the squash, lentils, spices, and 1/3 cup of the quinoa flakes to a food processor and pulse to combine. Fold in the remaining ingredients.
- Make patties. Use your hands to form the mixture into patties and place them on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 30 minutes, flipping at the halfway point.
Tips for Success
- Don’t over-process. You want to pulse the lentil patty mixture, rather than just turning on the food processor and letting it rip. This helps retain some of the texture of the lentils.
- Adjust the seasoning. The beauty of vegan lentil patties is that there’s no egg, which means you can taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning before you even cook them.
- Use firm pressure to form the patties. Firmly press the mixture together to form patties so they stick together. If you’re having trouble, you can also scoop the mixture onto the baking sheet and then pat it into shape there.
Serving Suggestions
- On a bun. Serve the lentil patties on your favorite buns with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and condiments for a satisfying vegan burger.
- With dipping sauces. Make small patties and pair them with sauces like cilantro lime sauce or Greek yogurt dip for an appetizer or snack.
- In a salad. Crumble the patties over a bed of mixed greens with your favorite dressing. (Here are some of my go-to healthy salad dressing recipes.)
- In wraps or pitas. Use these patties like falafel and stuff them into wraps or pitas with hummus.
- With meal bowls. Add them to Mediterranean quinoa bowls or autumn harvest quinoa bowls.
How to Store
Place lentil patties in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can reheat them in the microwave, air fryer, a 350ºF oven, or in a skillet on the stovetop with a spritz of nonstick spray.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Absolutely! This recipe for lentil patties is amazing for freezing; just put them in a freezer bag or airtight container once they’ve cooled and they’ll keep for up to 3 months. For even reheating, I recommend letting them thaw in the refrigerator before warming them up.
More Recipes With Lentils
- Ethiopian Lentils (Misir Wat)
- One-Pot Lentils + Quinoa with Spinach
- Lentil Chili
- Quinoa & Lentil Vegan Taco Meat
- Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal
Lentil Patties
Crispy lentil patties are packed with plant protein and perfect to serve as veggie burgers, appetizers, or as a side. So easy to make too!
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry green lentils
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash about 1 small
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder divided
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika divided
- 1 teaspoon sea salt divided
- ⅔ cup quinoa flakes divided
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Add lentils, water and bay leaf into a small saucepan. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are soft and have absorbed all the water.
- While the lentils are cooking, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the butternut squash in the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, paprika and sea salt. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the squash is tender.
- Remove the squash from the oven, place in a separate bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F.
- Once everything is done cooking, allow it to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to the bowl of a food processor and add the rest of the spices and 1/3 cup of quinoa flakes. Pulse to combine, scraping down the sides as needed (about 12 pulses). Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and fold to combine with a spatula.*
- Form the mixture into small patties and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Broil at the end if you want a little more browning, but they definitely don't need it.
Video
Notes
* if stirring in the food processor proves to be difficult, transfer it to a bowl to combine everything evenly. I find using a small spatula to get into the corners works well.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cake | Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4875IU | Vitamin C: 10.1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Hi there, thanks for the recipe. Instead of quinoa flakes can I use either rolled oats or plain quinoa both of which I have at home? Thanks for your response. Julie
Rolled oats would work well as a substitution for quinoa flakes!
Where’s the sauce for this recipe?
The sauce in the pictures is just a simple tahini sauce mixed with garlic powder, lemon, salt, pepper and water. This Everyday Tahini Sauce or Chili Lime Tahini Sauce would be great with these patties.
Could I substitute oats or ground oats for the millet flakes? Or cooked millet?
I think that would work, yes!
Hi, thank you for the response so I did find the flakes but I do not have the nutritional yeast what can I replace with? Thank you!
You could use parmesan or another cheese like that!
Can’t wait to make them, but I have a question, Can I use millet flakes instaed of quinoa? btw where do you buy the quinoa flakes? Thanks!
Yes, that would def work!
Can I use quinoa instead of quinoa flakes, and if so, how much?
I haven’t tested so I’m not sure! I think you could use flour instead of flakes though!
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks for the recipe; it sounds great and I can’t wait to try it.
In my experience veggie burgers tend to be on the dry side, so I wonder if you can share the recipe for that sauce you are dipping the burger in in one of the photos in this recipe.
Many thanks.
Hi Bob – it’s just a simple tahini sauce mixed with garlic powder, lemon, salt, pepper and water 🙂
Hmm I’m going to make these today! Question: can I also mealprep those? That I store them in the freezer? 🙂
Absolutely!
Hi Alyssa, this recipe looks great and I want to try it . I have a question …the recipe Asks for quinoa flakes , can I sub quinoa flour ? And if so would I use the same amount .
Thanks Chris
I would go with about 2/3 the amount if you use flour as it’s a bit dryer and more dense L:)
Hi Alissa – How did you get 95 calories per pattie? My recipe calculator gets:
233 calories
46g carbs
2g fat
12 g protein
If these numbers were close, I wouldn’t be concerned, but they’re VERY different.
Thanks!!!Can’t wait to make these! YUMMY!!!
Hmm I’m not sure why yours would be more. I just re-did it and got 95 calories again. Check out this screenshot to see my exact values!
Mmm yum, thanks!
I love these guys – what sort of dressing/sauce do you think I should serve them with?
I think they would be delicious with a spicy mayo or yoghurt sauce. Sometimes I’ll just throw a little sriracha into some mayo and call it a day. It’s delicious!
These look awesome! I’ve been looking for a good vegan/GF quinoa-lentil burger recipe ever since I had an extremely delicious one at a restaurant in DC. The addition of butternut squash sounds exciting! Totally making these tomorrow night, maybe with some sauteed peppers and portobellos on top!
Sounds delicious! I never even thought about making burger/patties with butternut squash!
So happy they turned out. Pumpkin is such a good idea! Did you use fresh or canned? I bet the flavor was great! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Experimenting with quinoa is the best! There are so many different ways you can use it! Hopefully you get a chance to try these and please let me know how they turn out!
I tried these after reading the recipe. It was easy and most important delicious! Pumpkin instead of butternut squash went into my burgers.
I love this idea – I have some quinoa in the cupboard and am always looking for new ways to use it.
Mmm pumpkin, I hadn't thought of that one! If you try these with pumpkin, please let me know how they turn out. That sounds scrumptious. Happy Sunday!! 🙂
These look delicious. I'm going to try them! And, BTW, you could probably also use pumpkin. 🙂