I usually buy my veggie burgers at the supermarket. Anyone who has bought any specific veggie goodies knows that you are not only paying for the actual food but also the marketing trend of such products.
Although I support vegetarianism and veganism and I feel like it’s worth paying for some foods that end up being a little more expensive, there are some others that you can better cook yourself. This way you can know what you are putting into your body, you can decide which ingredients you like and which ones you don’t, and it is going to be definitely cheaper because with what you buy two pre-cooked burgers you can make six on your own.
I wanted to try to make my own veggie burgers for a while but I never had the time…Let me tell you that we all have the time, we just don’t know how to administrate it wisely.
If you are a student, you probably have better things to do before taking 45 minutes to cook for yourself, been there, done that. But after years of being the laziest human possible, I highly recommend you to grab those kitchen utensils and cook yourself a meal. It feels good, and if you play smart, you can actually save yourself time in the following days.
Here is my second attempt of making them and I can happily share this as a successful recipe with you. The first one involved a blender and it was pretty messy, but this version is easier and nicer.
Lentil Burgers
Ingredients
Instructions
Rinse lentils and boil them in 2 1/2 salted water for 30 minutes (I added more water than what is shown in the picture).
Cooked lentils look like this, they should be soft and most water should be gone (time can vary depending on your kitchen, check tenderness).
Fry the onion and garlic cloves in the oil until soft for 5 minutes and add the greated carrot for 1-2 more minutes.
Mix all the cooked ingredients together, adding the tomato sauce, 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup of oatmeal. In this recipe, I only had oatmeal, but if you have finely ground oats it is better, and you can substitute the breadcrumbs with those. Form the mixture into burger shapes while it’s still warm, set them on parchment paper and into the oven for 20 minutes (you should flip them after 15 minutes).
Serve them in a plate full of vegetables and enjoy you pieces of art!
You can eat them as classic burgers, adding all the ingredients you love or if you prefer the healthier option, you can prepare own eggplant buns!
And remember, if you only cooked for yourself you can freeze them and save a lot of time later.
Enjoy your burger!