These lentil apple walnut burgers are vegan, satisfying, and have the zen goodness of lentils and the yumminess of little chunks of apples sprinkled throughout.

The recipe is based on Glazed Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf, Revisited from the Oh She Glows blog.  I converted the recipe into burgers, because they are more approachable than a loaf — and cook much faster.

The photos show:

• a finished veggie burger with ketchup
• chopped carrots
• an apple ready to be chopped
• the dough mixture
• a batch of burgers that are ready to cook
• and, finally, a cooked burger waiting for toppings.

If you need a nut-free version, try replacing the walnuts with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (without shells).

I usually serve these without a bun, but if you want to use a bun these burgers should be delicious that way too.

Serves 4, at three bun-free burgers per person.  With buns you could probably feed six.

Print Recipe

Lentil Apple Walnut Veggie Burgers

These vegan lentil apple walnut veggie burgers are satisfying to eat. They are full of the soothing Zen goodness of lentils, mixed with crunchy good bits of apple.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: veggie burger

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 veggie burgers

Author: Valerie Mates

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked green or brown lentils
• 1 cup carrot or baby carrots
• 1 cup celery
• 1 1/2 cups mushrooms - optional!
• 1 cup walnuts chopped
• 3 tablespoons ground flaxmeal
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 apple
• 2 cups of a crispy rice cereal such as Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal blended in a blender, or 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• pepper
• 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Put lentils in a pot with 2 cups water. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until water is absorbed and lentils are soft.
• While lentils are cooking, chop or grate the carrots, celery, and optional mushrooms and add them in to the lentil pot. The pieces should be smaller than 1/4 inch.
• Mix the ground flaxmeal with the 1/2 cup of warm water (temperature matters!) and let sit.
• Chop or grate the apple.
• When the lentils are cooked, add all of the other ingredients, including the flax gel. Stir gently but thoroughly, until all is well-mixed.
• Shape the mixture into 12 patties on two cookie sheets. Each patty will use between 1/2 and 2/3 cup of the mixture. My cookie sheets are super-nonstick, but if yours are not you may want to line them with parchment paper before shaping the patties.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Serve with ketchup or salsa or carrot ginger sauce.
• Serves 4, at three burgers per person. If you add buns you could probably serve six people.