We LOVE burgers here at The Vegan Larder! While there are some great ones you can buy, it's actually so easy (and tasty!) to make them. That's right - we make big, juicy burgers! With loads of trimmings and full of yummy ingredients that when whizzed together and made into a patty become so much more than a sum of their parts. This delicious Beetroot and Lentil Burger recipe made with wholefoods is satisfying as well as being healthy!
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💗Why you'll love these burgers!
When making a vegan burger, using protein in the form of a pulse is pretty much essential. Lentils are perfect for the base for a burger! They lend a peppery, meaty (in the nicest plantiest way!) depth that squishes up easily to form a burger patty.
Beetroot with its earthy, sweet taste is a natural partner for lentils. It also lends a lovely red colour as well as a juicyness to the burger patty. Add in some fresh herbs and the spicyness of cumin and a hit of chilli and this burger is as delicious as it is easy to make and cook.
It's also gluten-free, tastes delicious and super filling from the protein! If you want more information on the best protein sources, check out our guide.
Beetroot and Lentil Burger ready to eat.
🥚How to hold burgers together
First of all, these beetroot and lentil burgers hold together VERY well! You may be used to using eggs to hold burger and patties together. However, it could be easier (and healthier) to bind vegan food and replace eggs. For binding burgers and patties, it's best to use either milled linseed/flaxseed or milled chia seeds. Milled just means blended, so it's a powder. You then mix this powder with water and it forms a kind of gel, that binds everything!
Check out our guide on the best vegan egg replacements! You can buy linseed/flaxseed ready milled, or just do it yourself. Chia seeds you generally have to mill yourself. Both are great egg replacements. I've used linseed/flaxseed for these lentil and beetroot burgers, but chia seeds will also work just fine.
🍔Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for the lentil and beetroot burgers:
- Raw beetroot - you'll love the colour this adds!
- Lentils - you can also use any kind of bean instead if you want
- Onions and garlic
- Spices - I've used cumin and chilli powder, but you can omit chilli and add smoked paprika if you want a different taste
- Milled linseed/flaxseed - this holds it together and makes a vegan "egg" when mixed with water. You can use milled chia seeds if you want instead
- Fresh parsely or corriander
👩🍳How-To
Here's how to make these delicious lentil and beetroot burgers:
- whiz up your raw beetroot
- add the lentils, onion, garlic and spices
- make your linseed/flaxseed "egg" - you do this by mixing the linseed and water together and letting it form a gel
- add the linseed/flaxseed "egg" to the burger mix, and combine well
- form into your lentil and beetroot burgers, and fry or bake!
Raw Beetroot, Lentils, Ground Flaxseed, Onion, Garlic & Spices. Whizz up the raw beetroot Beetroot Ready. Now whizz in the lentils, onion, garlic & spices. Add water to ground linseed and let hydrate Add linseed mix to beetroot/lentil mix Shape patties with a spoon. 
Gently fry patties on each side. Ready to serve.
❓FAQ
Here's what people often ask me about these beetroot and lentil burgers.
The ground linseed/flaxseed is the binder for the burgers. I suggest squishing them really well into a patty shape before pan-frying. A good non-stick pan is essential.
Yes you can! I suggest brushing with a little oil and baking on some baking paper so they don't stick.
Yes! Put them between layers of greaseproof paper to freeze. They can be cooked directly from frozen. Or you can freeze the burger mix.
Yes! Just grate the beetroot and use a potato masher to really break up the lentils. (use gloves when grating the beetroot unless you want pretty pink stained hands!). Then mix everything up by hand.
🍔Try these with...
How you eat your beetroot and lentil burgers is up to you! Stack them with all the condiments you can think of... Here are my top suggestions:
- Why not try making your own garlicky mayo to slather on top? Our foolproof aquafaba recipe is perfect!
- Or perhaps you would prefer to buy your mayo- We're big fans of the Follow Your Heart brand
- And of course all burgers need some yummy vegan cheese slices - we're big fans of the vegan Applewood cheese for burgers! or you can make your own healthy vegan cashew cheese.
- And obviously, a big old splodge of ketchup is always a good idea. Our fave is Rubies in the Rubble's!
I can't wait to make more of them... and create some more yummy burger flavours to bring in the warmer weather.
📖 Recipe
Easy Beetroot and Lentil Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 250 g (1¾ cups) raw beetroot
- 300 g (1½ cups) cooked lentils (*drained well.)
- ½ onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoon milled linseed/flaxseed (mixed with 6 tablespoon water, this is the binder for the burger)
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 25 g (⅓ cup) fresh parsley or coriander (about a handful)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- In a food processor, whizz up the peeled beetroot roughly.
- Add all the rest of the ingredients and whizz up again until you have a burger-ish kind of mass. NB Don't over process! You want some texture.
- Form into patties. How many you make depends on how big the patties are. I usually get 4 burgers out of this.
- If the patties are looking a little wet, add more dry linseed into it to soak up the juices. This will help bind it further.
- Refrigerate the patties for an hour (or freeze overnight) to allow them to firm up.
- Pan fry or oven bake until crisped up on the outside and cooked through. (about 5 mins each side).
- You need to form a 'crust' before flipping the burger to help these hold together, so be patient while the burgers get a little bit of a crust. Use a thin slice to flip the burgers. They are a little big breakable so you want to pan fry these on a flat surface or use a flat griddle on the BBQ. Alternatively oven baking works really well too. (Bake at 180℃/360℉ for around 15 minutes or until crispy)
- Serve on a bun with ALL the burger things you love.
Kimberly B says
I have been wanting to try adding beets to my burgers for quite a while. The other day, someone gave me a beet, so it was a sign; I had to do it. I think maybe my lentils were not dry enough. I placed them on a cutting board and took a towel to try to absorb any moisture. I added 2 Tbsp of vital wheat gluten. My husband likes meat and despises beets, and he loved them. I let the mixture sit overnight in the refrigerator before making the (9) patties. I then placed them on a silicone sheet in the freezer before cooking them, and put the rest in the freezer in a storage container.
I see others using flour in their recipe, and they don't use as much beet. I chose your recipe because based on clean and healthy ingredients, as well as being simple to prepare.
Maria San Juan says
OMGGGGG! Looks very yummy! Would love to make this for my family! Thanks for sharing!
Dannii says
Burgers always go down well at our house and these beetroot burgers look amazing.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
Sarah James says
What a tasty looking burger. I make lentil burgers but never made lentil and beetroot. Looking forward to trying your recipe.
Natalie says
I never tried beetroot burger but now I definitely will. This looks delicious. I'm saving the recipe right now. Thanks!
Angela says
I love alternative burgers. These are easy to mix up and taste great. I plan on freezing a batch.
Jane says
I have made these before and loved them but can’t now access the recipe, the link doesn’t work : (
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Thank you for letting us know. We'll try and fix the problem.
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Just to let you know I fixed the recipe and now it is back up! Thank you so much for letting us know it had disappeared!
Kim says
Your recipe calls for 300g lentils. I've just cooked them and that, to me looks a lot! You sure you got that right?
louise says
Whoops- should have been 300g of cooked lentils!
Nicolette says
What temperature and for how long ?
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
To pan-fry, use a medium heat and fry for a few minutes each side. For oven baking, 180C/356F for around 15 minutes (Until cooked and a little crispy on the outside. It might vary depending on your oven)