These lentil sweet potato patties deliver a healthy, filling vegetarian meal with crispy edges and a soft center, giving you a delicious way to enjoy lentils and sweet potatoes without complicated steps or special ingredients.
For more easy fritter recipes, check out our chickpea sweet potato patties, Greek zucchini patties, easy lentil patties, and Greek chickpea patties.
Why You’ll Love These Lentil Sweet Potato Patties
Louise and I make these lentil sweet potato patties when we want an easy meal that feels filling and comforting without much effort. One bite usually does it — the sweet potato makes the patties soft, flavorful, and so good that you’ll want to use it in all your patties from now on. 🥔✨
The best part is how fast they come together. The sweet potato gets tender in the microwave in about 7 minutes, so dinner comes together quickly.
You can make them bigger like patties or turn them into smaller vegetarian fritters — the recipe works either way. 🍽️
Made with lentils, olive oil, one egg, feta cheese, and herbs, they’re super tasty, nutritious, fiber-rich, and protein-rich, and fit easily into a Mediterranean-style eating pattern. 🌱
Ingredients
Full ingredients and substitutions are in the recipe box below.
- Lentils: canned lentils keep this recipe fast and easy. Cooked brown or green lentils also work well for these vegetarian lentil patties.
- Sweet potato: adds flavor and keeps the patties soft inside. You can swap in butternut squash or pumpkin purée for a twist on these sweet potato patties.
- All-purpose flour: helps everything hold together. Substitute whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, or a gluten-free flour blend.
- Feta cheese: adds flavor and creaminess. Try goat cheese, ricotta, grated parmesan, or a dairy-free feta-style cheese for flavorful lentil sweet potato fritters.
- Egg: binds the mixture. Replace with more flour for an egg-free option.
- Red onion: gives mild sweetness and crunch. Yellow onion or scallions work just as well.
- Garlic: adds depth and aroma. Use garlic powder if fresh isn’t available.
- Dried oregano: brings a Mediterranean feel. Thyme or Italian seasoning are good swaps.
- Ground cumin: adds warmth. Smoked paprika or coriander also work nicely.
- Olive oil: best for pan-frying. Avocado oil or sunflower oil are good alternatives.
How to Make Lentil Sweet Potato Patties
Step 1: Microwave the Sweet Potato
Pierce the sweet potato a few times with a fork. Microwave until very soft, about 5–7 minutes (time depends on size). Cut it open and scoop the soft inside into a large bowl.
Step 2: Add the Lentils and Mash
Add the drained and rinsed lentils to the bowl. Mash everything together with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth. A few small chunks are fine.
Step 3: Mix In the Flavor
Add the flour, crumbled feta, egg, chopped red onion, grated garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Stir until the mixture holds together. It should be thick and scoopable, not runny.
If the mixture feels too wet, mix in a little more flour (one spoonful at a time).
Step 4: Cook the Patties Until Golden
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of mixture into the pan and gently flatten. Cook 3–4 minutes per side until golden and crisp.
Step 5: Serve and Enjoy
Serve warm with tzatziki, Greek yogurt, fresh parsley or lemon. These are healthy vegetarian patties that work great for lunch, meal prep, or a simple meatless dinner recipe.
Tips
- Sodium Tip: Rinse canned lentils well and quickly rinse feta to wash away extra salt.
- Drain the lentils very well – extra liquid makes the mixture too soft and harder to pan-fry.
- Mash, don’t purée – leaving a few small chunks gives better texture and prevents the patties from turning pasty.
- Let the mixture rest for a few minutes – this helps the flour hydrate and makes shaping easier for easy vegetarian patties.
- Use a nonstick skillet – it helps the patties cook evenly, turn golden, and release easily with very little oil.
- Don’t rush the flip – wait until the bottom is golden before turning to keep sweet potato fritters from falling apart.
- Adjust the heat as needed – medium heat works best; too hot and they burn, too low and they won’t crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. These patties can be mixed, shaped, and stored in the fridge before cooking, or fully cooked and reheated later. They’re great for meal prep and busy weeks.
As long as the lentils are well drained and the mixture is thick, and you cook them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, they hold together really well. Letting the mixture rest for a few minutes also helps.
Yes. You can bake or air-fry them, but pan-frying gives the best golden crust and texture.
Store cooked patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze them for longer storage. Reheat in a skillet to bring back the crisp edges.
Yes. Use a dairy-free feta-style cheese and more flour to replace the egg for a vegan version.
More Easy Lentil Recipes
- Lentil and Quinoa Soup
- Mediterranean lentil and quinoa skillet
- Lemon and Lentil Soup
- Mediterranean chopped lentil salad
- Mushroom and rice stir-fry with lentils
- Lentil potato patties
- Mediterranean lentils and orzo
- Easy Mediterranean lentils and rice
If you try this Lentil Sweet Potato Patties Recipe please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it turned out in the comments—we love hearing from you.
Lentil Sweet Potato Patties (Easy and Healthy)
Ingredients
- 1 can lentils 15 oz / 400 g can – or 1½ cups / 230 g cooked lentils
- 1 sweet potato medium to large
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup crumbled feta sub ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 large egg
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic grated is best
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin sub 1 tsp paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt + black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or more as needed to cook the patties
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potato: Poke 1 sweet potato a few times with a fork. Microwave until very soft, about 5–7 minutes or until fork tender. Cut it open and scoop the soft inside into a large bowl.
- Mash with Lentils: Add 1 can lentils (rinsed – shake water off well) to the bowl. Mash with a fork until mostly smooth. Small lumps are okay.
- Mix Everything Together: Add ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup crumbled feta, 1 large egg, ½ red onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper.Mix well. The mixture should be thick and easy to scoop. If it feels too wet, add a little more flour.
- Cook: Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of mixture, flatten gently, and cook 3–4 minutes per side until golden.
- Serve: Serve warm with tzatziki, yogurt, or a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!
Notes
- Lentils → Canned lentils for ease, or cooked brown or green lentils. Chickpeas work too.
- Sweet potato → Butternut squash or pumpkin purée.
- All-purpose flour → Whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, or gluten-free flour blend.
- Feta cheese → Goat cheese, ricotta, parmesan, or dairy-free feta.
- Egg → Extra flour (adds binding without eggs).
- Red onion → Yellow onion or scallions.
- Garlic → Garlic powder.
- Dried oregano → Thyme or Italian seasoning.
- Ground cumin → Smoked paprika or coriander.
- Olive oil → Avocado oil or sunflower oil.
- Lower the salt → Rinse canned lentils well and give feta a quick rinse.
- Drain really well → Extra liquid makes patties too soft.
- Mash, don’t blend → A few chunks = better texture.
- Let it rest → A short rest helps the mixture hold together.
- Use nonstick → Easier flipping and less oil needed.
- Wait to flip → Turn only when the bottom is golden.
- Keep heat medium → Too hot burns, too low won’t crisp.
- Storage → Store leftover patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for longer storage and reheat in a skillet to bring back the crisp edges.
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
My local market was out of sweet potatoes today so how much pumpkin puree would work in these delicious burgers? Thank you
Hi Helene,
Sure you can use pumpkin puree but you will need to add a few more tablespoons of flour before spooning it and frying the patties.
Happy you feel like cooking them 🙂 Happy Friday,
Louise
Question, How much parmesan or goat cheese to replace the feta cheese? looksgood, Thank you
Sure, Mary, you can sub 1/2 cup of grated parmesan for feta.
As for the goat cheese, I recommend substituting with a 1:1 ratio (here it really depends on the type of goat cheese you are using).
I hope that helps. Happy cooking 🙂