Lentil Cakes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Easy to make and delicious to eat, these healthy lentil cakes are great served with a fresh yogurt sauce for an appetizer or as part of a fuller meal. Packed with plant-based protein they are one tasty way to get the goodness in.

Ingredients & substitutions

• Green cooked lentils: You can use any lentils you’d like. Make sure to cook them according to package instructions. While the recipe does work with red lentils, they can be more soft, so you may need to add more oats to give them better structure if you use the red variety.
• Onions and garlic: Sautéed for a rich layer of flavor in each bite.
• Mushrooms: Crimini, or Baby Bella, mushrooms are widely available and perfect to use in this recipe for a great earthy flavor.
• Oats: Use rolled oats to give the lentil cakes texture. This makes them bulky while keeping the recipe gluten-free. You can however substitute with breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs.
• Eggs: To bind the ingredients together. To make these lentil cakes vegan, you can substitute with a flax egg.
• Spices: Paprika and salt.

How to make lentil cakes

1. Cook the onion until soft.
2. Add mushrooms and cook until brown before stirring in the garlic.
3. Add the mushroom mix and the rest of the lentil cake ingredients to a food processor.
4. Mix until combined and the mixture holds well.
5. Shape the mixture into patties to make the lentil cakes.
6. Cook on both sides in a skillet until golden brown.

• Place the fried patties onto kitchen paper to absorb any oil and serve with yogurt sauce or tzatziki.

Tips for making lentil cakes

1. Fry the onions, mushrooms and garlic. You might be tempted to skip that part since everything gets cooked later on with the lentils. But this first step adds so much more flavor by releasing the aromatics of the raw ingredients first before blending.
2. Feel the texture. You’re looking for pasty texture to start to form a ball in the food processor when combined. It should hold well together before cooking, so feel free to adjust as needed if it doesn’t stay compact.
3. Make it in less time. You can buy pre cooked lentils to make these patties super quick to make, or batch cook your lentils as they will be good to use for about a week.
4. Oven bake or fry. It’s best to pan fry these lentil cakes as they get nice and crispy, but you can oven bake them at 350F for around 30 minutes if you prefer.

Frequently asked questions

So simple and easy to make, these protein loaded lentil cakes are great for a healthy appetizer, lunch or main meal. Perfect for dipping, this is a recipe the whole family will love.

More similar appetizers:

• Chickpea Fritters
• Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
• Zucchini Fritters
• Mushroom Tartlets
• Cauliflower Fritters

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Lentil Cakes recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!

Print

Pin

Review

Lentil Cakes

Lentil cakes with a creamy lemon dill yogurt dip make for an easy, healthy and delicious appetizer. Simple to make and packed with protein.

5 from 103 votes

Author Yumna Jawad

Servings 6 servings

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Calories 351

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Video

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the cakes:

• ▢ 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• ▢ ½ medium yellow onion chopped
• ▢ 8 ounces crimini mushrooms sliced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic clove sliced
• ▢ 2 cups cooked brown lentils
• ▢ ¾ cup rolled oats
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the yogurt sauce:

• ▢ ½ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• ▢ ½ lemon zested and juiced
• ▢ 1 garlic clove finely grated
• ▢ Kosher salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1 tablespoon olive and cook until mushrooms are golden brown, 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Remove from heat and wipe out skillet.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add mushroom mixture, lentils, oats, eggs, smoked paprika and salt. Process until the mixture is fully incorporated and starts to ball. Roll into golf ball sized spheres and press down slightly to make a cake-like patty.
• Make the yogurt sauce by combining all ingredients in a medium bowl, and season to taste.
• Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in wiped skillet over medium high heat. Add patties, working in batches, and cook until golden brown, 3 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Serve with yogurt sauce immediately.

Notes

Storage: These lentil cakes will keep in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 433mg, Potassium: 1088mg, Fiber: 18g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 490IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 244mg, Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Cuisine American

Course: Appetizer, Main Course