Lentil patties or lentil fritters are a quick, easy, and tasty recipe you can make in less than 30 minutes.
You’ll love the Mediterranean-inspired flavor of this dish with cooked lentils, spices, fresh herbs, and garlic.
Lentil patties are satisfying and nutritious, rich in protein and fiber that will keep you healthy and satiated.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet if prepared with chickpea flour.
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What are lentil patties?
Lentil patties—or lentil fritters—are a tasty and fulfilling meat-free, egg-free, vegetarian, and vegan recipe.
They are inspired by two of our most popular recipes: chickpea fritters and falafel.
You can make them with canned or dry lentils. If you are interested, here’s our guide on how to cook lentils at home.
They are seasoned with fresh herbs, spices, and vegetables, are flavorful, and rich in minerals, plant protein, and gut-healthy fiber.
Also, lentil fritters are easy to make in a food processor and cook fast in a skillet, oven, or air fryer.
Like our zucchini fritters, they are excellent as a main course or appetizer.
Serve them next to refreshing salads like tabouli, fattoush, shirazi salad, or a simple cucumber-tomato salad.
Dip them in other Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern dips and spreads like hummus, chermoula, baba ganoush, muhammara, and tzatziki sauce.
Add some Moroccan couscous on the side or even pasta with marinara sauce to complete the meal.
Finally, you can stuff them in a sandwich with warm pita bread, quick pickled red onions, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and plenty of tahini sauce.
Lentil patties video
Ingredients and substitutions for lentil fritters
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Lentils
You can make lentil patties with canned lentils, rinsed and drained well to remove excess liquid.
You can also use dry lentils—best if black, green, or brown lentils—cooked in water until tender.
Here, we used cooked, dry brown lentils.
This is our guide on how to cook lentils if you need guidance.
Can you make red lentil fritters?
Sure! For red lentil fritters, you’ll need to cook 1 cup of dry split red lentils in plenty of lightly salted water or vegetable broth for about 10 minutes or until tender but not mushy.
Drain excess water well and add lentils to the food processor with the other ingredients.
Pulse a few times, then shape the red lentil fritters. You might need to add more flour until you can shape them.
Alternatively, check out our “How to cook red lentils” guide, which includes several of our favorite red lentil recipes.
Fresh herbs
Fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh cilantro (fresh coriander) are delicious with lentils.
We recommend using at least one of the two herbs.
Substitute dill and chives for parsley and cilantro.
Spices
We season our lentil patties with ground cumin and ground coriander.
You can also use smoked paprika, turmeric, curry powder, cinnamon, chili flakes, or chili powder.
Optionally, you can add a grating of lemon zest for freshness.
Onion
You can use red, white, or yellow onion.
Substitute shallots, green onions, or spring onions for onions.
Garlic
Fresh garlic is best for a more fragrant aroma.
Substitute garlic powder for fresh.
Nutritional yeast or parmesan
Nutritional yeast or grated parmesan cheese are excellent ingredients to add flavor and umami to the lentil fritters.
Pick your favorite; they are both delicious in this recipe. Nutritional yeast is vegan.
Flour & Water
Flour is needed to bind the fritters. You can use all-purpose flour or chickpea flour.
Chickpea flour is gluten-free.
We also add two tablespoons of water to help the cakes stick together.
Salt & black pepper
We recommend sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
How to make lentil patties
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Before you start: If you are baking the patties, preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. This is unnecessary if you air-fry them or cook them in a skillet.
1. Blend all ingredients
To a food processor, add drained and rinsed lentils, coarsely chopped parsley and cilantro, coarsely chopped onion, chopped garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, flour, salt, and black pepper.
Pulse for a minute or two until the ingredients are well combined and coarsely chopped. Don’t overblend!
Tip: Stir in 1 – 2 tablespoons of water if the mixture is too dry to be shaped into a patty.
2. Shape the lentil patties
Shape the lentil mixture into 12 small cakes and arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
You can do so by hand, pressing the mixture between the palms of your hands.
Or you can do so with a round cookie cutter.
Put some of the mixture in the cutter and press down with the back of a teaspoon.
Tip: This method is cleaner, and the lentil fritters look prettier.
3. Cook the lentil patties
You can cook them in the oven, air-fryer, or skillet.
OVEN-BAKED: Arrange the lentil patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Optionally, you can brush them with olive oil for extra flavor.
Note: Oven-baked patties are less crisp than pan-fried or air-fried ones.
PAN-FRIED: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet or frying pan for every 4 fritters. Add the fritters and fry them on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side, turning them once.
Note: Pan-frying yields the crispiest lentil fritters.
AIR-FRIED: Brush your air fryer basket with olive oil to prevent the patties from sticking. Optionally, you can brush them with olive oil for extra flavor.
Arrange the patties in the basket and air fry at 400°F or 200°C for 10 minutes or until golden brown (more brown than golden).
Serving suggestions
Lentil patties are delicious warm. You can serve them as an appetizer, snack, or main course as they are nutritious and rich in protein and fiber.
We recommend serving the cooked patties with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dipping sauce or spread, a salad, and a grain. Here are some ideas.
Dips and sauce for lentil patties
- Marinara sauce
- Tzatziki
- Avocado spread
- Hummus
- Tahini sauce
- Red pepper hummus
- Baba ganoush or mutabal
- Muhammara
Salads to go with lentil patties
- Simple side salad
- Shirazi salad
- Tabouli salad
- Cucumber tomato salad
- Tahini salad
- Greek salad
- Fattoush salad
Grains and bread for lentil patties
- Warm pita bread
- Plain couscous
- Moroccan couscous
- Pasta pomodoro
You can also serve them in burger buns to make lentil burgers.
In this case, we recommend adding our delicious avocado spread, vegan mayo or chipotle sauce, and some sliced tomato.
Storage & Make ahead
Make ahead: This is an excellent recipe for meal prep, as the lentil fritters keep well for 3 days and can be frozen.
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.
Freezer: Shape and freeze before cooking by arranging the patties on a baking tray with parchment paper, freeze for 2 hours, then transfer into a freezer-friendly bag to save space in the freezer.
You can also freeze leftover cooked lentil fritters. Let them cool down completely, transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for 3 months.
Thaw & Reheat: Defrost them in the fridge over several hours or bake them from frozen. Reheat in the microwave or air fryer.
Similar recipes
More lentil recipes
Lentil patties
Equipment
- Food processor
- Cookie cutter 2½ inches or 6 cm in diameter
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 oz each) lentils green, black, brown / sub 3 cups cooked lentils / or 1 cup dried boiled in 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt until tender.
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour or chickpea flour
- ¼ cup parsley chopped + 2 tablespoons cilantro optional
- 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast or grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 wedges lemon
Instructions
- To a food processor, add 2 cans (15 oz each) lentils (rinsed and drained well), 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ¼ cup parsley, 1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
- Pulse for a minute or two until the ingredients are well combined and coarsely chopped. Don't overblend!Tip: Stir in 1 – 2 tablespoons of water if the mixture is too dry to be shaped into a patty.
- Shape the lentil mixture into 12 small cakes.BY HAND: pressing the mixture between the palms of your hands.COOKIE CUTTER: fill cookie cutter with mixture and press down with the back of a teaspoon.
- OVEN-BAKED: Arrange patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.PAN-FRIED: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet for every 4 fritters. Fry fritters on medium heat for 4 minutes on each side, turning them once.AIR-FRIED: Brush the air fryer basket with olive oil.Arrange the patties in the basket, brush them with olive oil, and air fry at 400°F or 200°C for 10 minutes.
MAKE IT A MEAL
- We recommend serving the cooked patties with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dipping sauce, a salad, and a grain of choice.Check out our "Serving suggestions" chapter linked in the notes below for more ideas.
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked these lentil patties, you might also enjoy:
I love it. Must give it a try
I’ve made these patties a couple of times. They’re quick to make, taste great, and they are versatile.
Could you use a blender if you don’t have a food processor?
Hi Linda, If you don’t have a food processor, we recommend using a potato masher. Using a blender will quickly (in seconds) turn your lentil batter into a lentil hummus. And that is incredibly difficult to shape and pan-fry afterwards 🙂
I hope this helps, let me know if you have other questions.
How much do you use with fresh cooked lentils?
Hi Eileen,
We made these lentil patties with cooked dried lentils, so you can follow the measurements in the recipe box (which for 10 patties is 3 cups of cooked lentils).
I hope this helps, happy cooking!
I’m always looking for ways to add more lentils to our diet. We absolutely love these patties! They are easy and very, very good. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Wonderful, Peggy! I’m very happy you enjoyed the flavor of the patties 🎉
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Kindest,
Louise
Just came across site.My gosh!! WOW!!! THANK YOU FOR INVITING US. 10 STARS. KNOWING IT COVERS EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN FOODS,And other areas, it is truly wonderful. All receipes are delicious. Again thank you
Thank you, Rosemarie, for your kind feedback 🥰
Thank you for the rescipe.
I love lentils and excited to try it.
These lentil patties were a hit. My husband really enjoyed them – saying he liked these better than other types of patties I’ve tried. We have the rest in the freezer so more meals to come. Thanks so much again for a very tasty recipe.
Very tasty patties ! Love the flavor and the nutrition of this recipe. Very easy to follow recipe, i did have to make adjustments given that my lentils were very wet straight from the canned. Next time around I would let it sit and drain for a while prior to using as directed. I had a really mushy mix that was hard to shape ( and I put a lot more chickpea flour in to adjust) , but the flavors was great!
I will also make these patties regularly.
Seguo da un po’ di tempo le tue ricette. Come voi seguo una dieta con molte verdure, pochissima carne, poco pesce e qualche uovo. L’humus di tofu che hai proposto tempo fa è entrato a far parte della mia cucina. Grazie per le ricette e per averle presentate in italiano.
Siamo molto contenti che ti sia piaciuta la crema di tofu, Rosaria.
Grazie per il tuo gentile commento e bouna giornata ❤️
Great recipe. They were very tasty even without the nutritional yeast ( which I didn’t have). I will be making these patties regularly.
I’m delighted to hear, Tania!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a tip and a comment here.
Kindest, Louise