Vegetarian Lentil Burgers

There aren’t too many things I miss about being gluten-free, but I really miss veggie burgers. I used to eat my weight in Morningstar Farms, but everything they make has “vital wheat gluten” in it. I figured I’d just live without them, but I recently discovered Udi’s Gluten Free bread (almost as good as the real thing!) and started to miss my veggie burger sandwiches.

I used a base of cooked lentils and some leftover basmati rice; mixed in sauted onions, garlic, carrots and baby bella mushrooms; then spiced everything with garam masala, fenugreek, ground ginger, and a little curry. A few eggs and some gluten-free flour bind everything together, and viola! Homemade veggie burgers. And the best part is, the ingredients will allow you to make 2 batches and 24 burgers, at the price of about $0.30 a piece–only a fraction of what a store-bought veggie burger will cost you.

I sandwiched my burger between 2 toasted slices of Udi’s white bread. Yum. Just yum.

Vegetarian Lentil Burgers

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cups brown lentils
1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
6 baby bella mushroom, finely chopped
1 cup cooked basmati rice (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup gluten free flour

Directions:

1. Heat water in medium stock pot. Pick through and rinse lentils. Add 1/4 tsp salt and lentils to water. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer 20-25 minutes until lentils are tender. Stir in spices.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and reduce heat to medium. Cook 4-5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, carrots, mushroom, and remaining 1/4 tsp of salt. Cook 8-10 minutes until carrots are soft.
3. Mix together lentils, vegetable mixture, and rice. Stir in eggs and flour.
4. To shape each burger, spoon about 1/4 cup of lentil mixture into a patty shape about 1/4 inch thick on a greased baking sheet. Use the back of the spoon to spread the mixture into rounds. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping burgers halfway through.
5. Store in the fridge for up to a week, or individually wrapped in the freezer for up to 2 months.

The cost:
lentils: 1.49
onion: .49
garlic: .15
carrots: .69
mushrooms: 1.99
pantry items: <2.00

Grand total: $7.32; makes 12 burgers ($0.61/burger; ingredients will make 2 batches or 24 burgers, only $0.30 per burger!)