food to glow

A hearty, vegan lentil and quinoa burger stuffed full of herbs, olives and marinated peppers then slathered with an incredible avocado-dill tzatziki sauce.

*Jump to Recipe*

For those of you looking for a truly scrumptious vegan burger recipe that you would happily serve to non-vegans, this is the one. Although it is based around the now-classic vegan burger combo of lentils and quinoa, I assure you there is nothing “worthy” about them. And, the texture and mouth-feel is soft and, dare I say the “m” word, moist. No coughing or water gulping with these babies. 🙂

These are honestly the burgers I prefer when we crave a burger. They’ve got the protein and umami to satisfy even the most dedicated of meat lovers. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but I think most omnivores will find them worth trying. Especially with the gorgeous avocado-dill tzatziki. The whole recipe is super healthy and very easy to put together, too.

Any shortcuts?

If you have cooked lentils and quinoa in your fridge, freezer or even from a supermarket pouch (in the UK we have loads of choice with these products), these burgers and sauce make a speedy supper for the family. But quinoa and red lentils need no pre-soaking and cook quickly. You can even swap the red onion for chopped spring onion and add this and the minced garlic straight into the mixture without cooking. I’ve given instructions for prepping both cooked and uncooked ingredients.

How should I serve the burgers?

I like them with salad leaves, thinly sliced cucumbers and ribbons of carrot, but Andrew likes them squashed between a bun. You could also make them as mini burgers and serve them in a wrap or pitta pocket, stuffed with salad and drizzled with the tzatziki. Leftover burgers are gorgeous crumbled into pasta with feta, extra herbs and lashings of extra virgin olive oil.

As for accompaniments, perhaps bung some sweet potato wedges in the oven too: slicked with olive oil and dusted with a small amount of dried dill or oregano, plus some cumin seeds. Or how about some garlic bread or focaccia, or a vinaigrette-based potato salad or coleslaw?

Can I make substitutions?

Of course! Cooked brown rice or a brown rice and wild rice mix would be fabulous. Anything that you can squish up and gets a bit sticky is perfect. Barley, buckwheat and amaranth also spring to mind. As for the lentils, cooked, well-mashed chickpeas would work, as would other cooked lentils. But I’ve not tried this recipe with anything other than quinoa and red lentils. As for the flavourings, steer away from Greece towards Spain with smoked paprika and oregano, ditching the Kalamata olives for oil-marinated semi-dried tomatoes. Serve with a thick pepper and tomato sauce. Be creative and make this recipe your own. I’ve even got a Provencal version with tapenade, from 2014 (fried!).

How healthy are these burgers?

Plenty healthy. Nutritionally, pseudo-grain quinoa is considered a wholegrain, and gives us essential protein, magnesium, folate, iron, zinc and fiber – among other things. I find it indispensable, using it in my everyday cooking. And the lentils have a similar profile but, I would say, they are even more super-charged, especially when it comes to folate, fiber and iron. Plus, of course the added carrot, chia seeds and being baked not fried. The tzatziki gives a good dose of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Anything else I should know?

The burgers are best eaten freshly made as they will dry out a bit on reheating. But, as I wrote above, they are great crumbled into pasta. These burgers will not freeze well. So, fresh is best!

**Remember to follow me on Pinterest and, if you make my Greek Lentil & Quinoa Burgers, click on the pin at the bottom and leave a photo of your make with a comment telling me what you think, or any awesome changes that you made. Similarly, any Instagram posts tagged @food_to_glow using my recipes will go on my Story if I see them. I’m always so proud when you share my recipes with the world. Yay!!!

Whether on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or of course here on the blog, I love to see what you do with my recipes, and I welcome your comments, star ratings, tweaks and suggestions.**

5 from 1 vote

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Greek Lentil-Quinoa Burgers with Avocado-Dill Tzatziki

A hearty, vegan lentil and quinoa burger stuffed full of herbs, olives and marinated peppers then slathered with an incredible avocado-dill tzatziki sauce.

Course DInner

Cuisine vegan

Keyword burgers, lentils

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 204 kcal

Author kellie anderson

Ingredients

• 150 g raw red lentils
• 90 g raw quinoa well-rinsed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium carrot finely grated
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 8 Kalamata olives sliced
• 8 antipasti-style peppers sliced
• 2 tbsp chia seeds or use one egg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp water

Avocado-Dill Tzatziki

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 English cucumber peeled, deseeded, grated and squeezed of most liquid
• 1 small garlic clove grated or minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried dill or 1tsp chopped, fresh dill
• 1/4 tsp dried mint or 1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint
• Oil or oil spray for the baking tray

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. Bring to the boil the lentils and quinoa in separate pans, cooking for 10 minutes . Drain well and let air-dry to cool a bit.

2. When the lentils and quinoa are cooled (you should have around 300g of cooked lentils and 200g cooked quinoa) add them to a mixing bowl with and use your hands or a potato masher to really squish it all together. Add in the herbs, olives and peppers and stir well. 

3. In a separate, small bowl mix the chia seeds, lemon juice and water, and let sit to form a gel. This is your egg. You may of course use an egg if you wish. After about 15 minutes add this gel to the mixture and really stir it in. Cover the bowl and pop in the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven now to 180C fan/200C/400F

4. Shape the mixture into burgers - about 6. Oil a baking tray and lay on the burgers. Brush the burgers with a little oil if you like - I used garlic oil. Bake for 10 minutes on each side.

5. Serve warm on buns (or not), with the avocado-dill tzatziki and salad bits. These reheat well - about five minutes at 180C.

The Avocado-Dill Tzatziki

1. While the burgers are chilling, make the avocado-dill tzatziki by putting everything in a food processor or blender. Blend just until mixed.

Recipe Notes

These can be made with an egg instead of the chia "egg". 

 

If using precooked lentils and quinoa, this recipe requires 300 grams of cooked red lentils and 200 grams of quinoa.

 

I used Peppadew peppers as my antipasti-style peppers. 

Nutrition Facts

Greek Lentil-Quinoa Burgers with Avocado-Dill Tzatziki

Amount Per Serving

Calories 204 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Sodium 95mg4%

Potassium 420mg12%

Carbohydrates 29g10%

Fiber 10g42%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 9g18%

Calcium 62mg6%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Vitamin A 1765IU35%

Iron 3.3mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I have a couple more burger recipes for you: Juicy Teriyaki Portobello Burgers with Wasabi Mayo + Kimchi Quinoa Burgers with Jalapeño-Avocado “Mayo”

RIPE FOR PINNING!