Indian Lentil Burgers

Since I had the heart attack, most processed foods are right out. Even the best of them have too much sodium and fat. Living in an RV, we rely heavily on veggie burgers. As much as I enjoy cooking, after a long travel day, we need something quick!

So I started hunting around for whole food plant based burger recipes. There are a few out there, but almost all of them seem to require a food processor. I don’t have one. All I have is a NutriBullet.

After remembering how much I enjoy the recipes on Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, I was browsing Susan’s site for other suitable recipes. And boom! I found one that could work: her Simple Black Bean Burger recipe.

The recipe does call for a food processor, but I figured I could do each part separately and mix in the end. These are the kinds of things you look for in recipes when you live in an RV with limited equipment. You look for places where you can make a compromise and make it work.

And it did work! These burgers were so tasty and easy that I decided I needed to make other variations with different flavor profiles. And it took me a couple of tries, but this is how the Indian Lentil Burgers were born.

These burgers have a light curry flavor with a touch of sweetness from the mango. You’ll get plenty of protein from the lentils and pumpkin seeds. And oats are heart healthy! What you won’t find are any added fats. The salt is optional. But if all of your ingredients are salt-free, you might have room to add it.

Leftover burgers freeze well and are ready to go when you are! If you have some cooked greens handy, add them for an added nutritional boost!

This post is part of a series for McGoverns RV & Marine called Recipes in RVs. Check out their site to find out what other RVers are cooking up in their tiny kitchens.

Print Recipe

Indian Lentil Burgers

An easy whole food plant based burger perfect for the RV kitchen.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time18 minutes mins

Total Time48 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan

Servings: 6 burgers

Calories: 185kcal

Equipment

• parchment paper
• baking sheet

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground hot chilies or cayenne powder
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon salt optional
• 1 small mango peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils

Instructions

• Process the oats with the pumpkin seeds and spices in a food processor or high powered blender until it's partially flour and there are still a few oats visible. Add to a medium bowl.
• Add mango to the food processor or blender and run until it's mostly pureed with a few small chunks left. Add to the bowl with the oat mixture.
• Process the lentils until they're chopped up or mash with a fork and add to bowl with the oats and mango.
• Thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes. Longer is fine if the mixture is in a well sealed container.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cover a baking sheet with parchment. Form the mixture into 6 patties and place on the parchment. Bake for 10 minutes, flip the patties, and then bake for another 8 minutes until each side is lightly browned. Eat immediately or refrigerate or freeze to enjoy later. Bonus: cut the parchment you used for baking into squares to place between the patties so they don't stick together when they're stored.

Notes

No food processor or blender? Use oat flour instead. Whisk in spices and finely chopped pumpkin seeds. Use store-bought mango puree or even mango salsa.