These Red Lentil and Bulgur Patties were made from the last of the big batch of bulgur I made last week. They’re based on a recipe from Food & Wine called Red Lentil Kofte. From a $1.49 bag of bulgur we had bulgur for breakfast, bulgur for salad and now red lentil and bulgur patties. (Full disclosure, only the salad was a full recipe, the others I halved to feed two people). You’ll find the patties are dead simple to make and with cumin and smoky paprika they taste great, too.
Where to find red lentils and bulgur
I found the red lentils in the local Indian store, but I’ve also seen them in the health food store and occasionally in the upscale grocery store. They’re not as easy to find as the everyday green or brown lentils. Red lentils cook quickly and if you’re not careful they’ll cook to a mush, especially if you purchase the split lentils.
Bulgur is a wheat product. It’s convenient to use in recipes because it’s been parboiled and really only needs to be reheated. Usually bulgur is reheated by allowing it to absorb some sort of hot broth. Look for it where the cereal grains are located.
This is a good recipe for improving your knife skills as the onions and carrots should be diced very finely in order to more easily mix them with the lentils and bulgur and form a patty.
After mixing all the ingredients, the directions call for spreading the mix out on a baking tray to allow everything to cool quickly. It helps the mix dry out a little and makes for easy portioning. We made our patties slider sized because we served them falafel style in a pita. We’ve found refrigerating the mix (before or after forming the patties) helps them to hold their shape a little better but it’s not strictly necessary for a smaller patty. If you feel the mix is still too wet for the patties to hold their shape feel free to add some flour or bread crumbs to help hold everything together.
To accompany the patties, Rick made a quick tzatziki sauce with just yogurt, cucumber, garlic and dill. It was nothing fancy, but it did the job. Try this one from Kalyn’s Kitchen which is similar (Rick didn’t use a food processor)
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 cup bulgur (2 cups cooked)
- water to cook the lentils
- 1 medium onion chopped finely
- 1 carrot chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons smoky paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- flour for coating
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Using a large saucepan, saute the onions and carrots in a little olive oil until soft.
- Stir in the tomato paste, paprika and cumin.
- Add the lentils and cover everything with 3 - 4 cups water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are softened.
- Stir in the bulgur. There should be enough liquid but add a little more if needed. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand until the bulgur is soft.
- Spread the mix on a baking sheet and allow to cool. If the mix seems really wet, place the pan in the fridge for an hour or so.
- Put about 1/4 cup flour in a plate and season with salt, pepper and a little paprika.
- Form the mix into patties and coat on both sides with flour.
- Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet, and heat over medium high until the oil shimmers.
- Carefully add the patties and cook undisturbed for 3 - 4 minutes to allow a crust to form. Adjust the heat as necessary.
- Flip and cook a couple minutes more.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
More lentil recipes:
Hello,
We tried this recipe and it came out very tasty though there was no ingredient to prevent the patties from falling apart. So we added the flour in the dough as well as around it and it worked quite well.
Other than that, very tasty and nutritious vegan recipe!
Glad it worked out for you, Tim! Thanks for letting me know, I’ll add a note to the post.
These red lentil and bulgar patties are great. I just finished a bunch and want to make some more. Not only are they good for you, they’re great for a take along snack or to grab when you’re hungry and in a hurry. I eat them stuffed in half a pita pocket topped with tzatzki dip, yum! Can’t wait to try your cucumber soup. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Bina, for the feedback! I hope you enjoy the cucumber soup, too 🙂
They look delicious! Thanks for the shout-out for my Tzatziki recipe.
You’re welcome, it’s a good one! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment 🙂
This sounds really delicious. I have never used red lentils but it sounds like a great idea. Will share.
I think I would really like these. Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
Thanks for sharing on Whatever Wednesday on Thank You Honey! Your recipe looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it! Hope you have a fabulous week!
Thanks Sarah! Hope all is well with you 🙂
I’ve never had a lentil burger before… but I desperately want to try this recipe now that you’ve shared it because it sounds fascinating… and I kind of ADORE anything that you add tzatziki sauce to, so this sounds right up my alley. Thanks for sharing!
Also, this was one of my favorite recipes from last week’s That’s Fresh Friday Link-Up, and I’m sharing it over at The Speckled Palate today as a feature! Happy Friday, and keep up the great work!
Thanks for the feature 🙂 I hope you like the patties.
As always, another great recipe. I’ll have to check into both of these. I have not seen red lentils before, and will have to find out more about bulgar. Thanks for sharing with Countdown in Style.
I’m pretty sure you could use regular brown or green lentils for this if you can’t find the red ones. Bulgur is often found by the rice. Have fun!
Mmmm, it’s 9am and guess what I’m craving now. I’m so ready for Spring, so this cake sounds heavenly. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday on Organized 31.
these look yummy! Thanks so much for sharing on The HomeAcre Hop! I hope to see you back again today. 🙂
I love recipes like this. I wish the rest of my family would want to try these lentil burgers. YUM! Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.
I know what you mean. I get strange looks and sneers all the time. I guess it’s just more for me 🙂
How interesting!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Hi Lydia! I’m hopping over from Let’s Get Real. You really know how to dress a lentil burger. It looks fantastic! Do red lentils have a different flavor than other lentils? My father has started cooking with bulgur. I’ll have to show him this recipe.
Hi Christina, glad you could make it 🙂 The difference in flavor is like the difference between different types of beans in my opinion. Please let me know if your father makes the patties.
What a fantastic recipe! We thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you so much for attending Weekend Social Blog Hop and Link Party #13 ! We hope to see you there Friday at 9 PM to kick off week 14! We can hardly wait to see what you surprise us with!!
Heidy L. McCallum of The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch
This looks wonderful! Thanks for bringing it by and linking up at the Weekend Social on http://www.KitchenDreaming.com! We hope to see you again next week.
Sounds like a great new recipe for me to try. Thanks for sharing it with us at the Four Seasons Blog Hop. I am pinning this for later.
Oh, these look so amazing! I just bought red lentils and bulgur for another recipe, I will use up the rest trying yours!
Linking up and saying hello from the Countdown with Style hop.
Maria
http://www.musicteachingandparenting.com
These look amazing! I am definitely trying them!
Thanks!!
Please let me know how you like them, Nancy 🙂
I’m always looking for new ways with lentils and these look great. It’s funny but in the UK, red lentils are far easier to find than brown or green! They are in every supermarket.
Nice to find your blog – I’m visiting from the link-up.
I hope you like them 🙂
I tried lentil meatloaf before and we loved it. So i printed the recipe and am gonna do the burgers for the weekend. It is always nice to try some new creative meat free recipes. somehow they feel lighter.
Thanks for the great recipe
Passing by from the family fun friday link up
I hope you like them! I have a lentil and rice loaf recipe on the blog. We eat a lot of lentils around here 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!
Hi! Hopping over from Allie’s blog for the link up! I love burgers like this! I made a chickpea one recently that was really good. This looks amazing! Plus I love tzatzkii!
I hope you’re able to give them a try Britt. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
Great article, love this recipe! Sending some ♥ from Epic Friday Party
Thanks, Emily! Hope you get a chance to try it 🙂
I’ve seriously got to stop reading your blog in the middle of the night/early morning because I’m super hungry now! 4am is a bad time to find red lentils and bulgur…
Pinning!!!
– Brooke –
Hope you like them, Brooke 🙂
Stopping by from The Wednesday Roundup. A big thank you for joining our party and sharing this delicious sounding and looking recipe! Pinned! ~Angela @ LeMoine Family Kitchen
Thanks Angela for sharing and taking the time to comment 🙂 Have a great week!
I love red lentils! Never mixed them with bulgur to make a patty before, though. Fun idea — thanks.
I hope you give them a try, John. They’re delicious!
Lydia these lentil burgers look so delicious! Your photos are awesome. Red lentils are now on my shopping list for next week. Pinned! Thanks for sharing.
We frequent a Persian owned restaurant where the owner uses the red lentils to make an amazing lentil soup. You won’t have any trouble using them 🙂 Which reminds me…I should make some soup this week.
I’ve never tried lentil burgers at home, but I’m quite eager to now!
Let me know how you like them. They tend to be “soft” without some other ingredient to bulk the patty up…