Lentil-Chickpea Veggie Burgers with Avocado Green Harissa
Gluten-free and vegetarian lentil burgers topped with a spicy, herbed avocado sauce. This easy veggie burger recipe can be made in a food processor.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 12, 2024
In case naming this website after my dog didn’t automatically qualify me as a crazy dog lady, I just did something even crazier. I ordered a dog DNA test. My curiosity about which breeds created my spotted companion got the best of me. I’m supposed to just swab the inside of her cheek and send the swabs back.
My suspense is growing. What kind of dog is she? A blend of two pure breeds or lots of mutts? Shall we make this more interesting and turn it into a betting game? I bet you a pan of my best brownies that Cookie is half Australian shepherd and half obscure small dog breed, like a Danish Swedish farmdog or schipperke.
Here are some clues: Cookie has merle coloring, floppy ears and a bushy tail that curves slightly over her back. She’s smaller than she appears in photos, about 18 pounds. She’s fast, smart, energetic and ornery. She herds me out of bed in the morning to feed her breakfast. She is not yippy or overly protective. She is a jaunty, outgoing, friendly little clown. What do you all think?
Cookie would have given her left paw for one of these veggie burgers last night. These are the second veggie burgers to make it to the blog. Their incredibly popular black bean and sweet potato burger predecessor is tough to beat. I can’t say that these would win in a veggie burger competition, as they were more difficult to shape (probably because I over-processed the beans) and aren’t flavored with sweet-and-spicy sweet potatoes, but they are a tasty runner-up.
These burgers are made with mostly lentils and some chickpeas, as well as carrots, spices and oats. The recipe caught my eye in Feast: Generous Vegetarian Meals for Any Eater and Every Appetite, Sarah Copeland’s new cookbook. Sarah is the food director at Real Simple Magazine.
Feast is full of utterly gorgeous, unfussy, gourmet vegetarian recipes. Her publisher sent me a review copy, which has been at the top of my cookbook stack since it arrived. Well over half of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful photos, but this photo-less recipe intrigued me because it reminded me of my recent lentil-chickpea salad.
Sarah served her burgers with a yogurt/red harissa spread, but the mention of harissa kept reminding me of Ashley‘s green herb and jalapeño harissa that I’ve been eager to try. I opted for the fresh green harissa and couldn’t resist throwing an avocado into the mix.
The resulting creamy, spiced, herbed goodness would be fantastic on any veggie burger or sandwich. For those of you who have fallen in love with my avocado salsa verde, you’re going to love this one, too.
I have no idea if this untraditional harissa should even be called harissa at this point. I was curious about the difference between the spicier, red harissa paste and more herby green harissa, so I researched the matter last night. Aida Mollenkamp says that while they go by the same name, green harissa is a more mellow Persian condiment and red harissa is North Africa’s fiery flavoring of choice.
These burgers contain a couple of eggs, which seem to make a big difference in turning the wet patties into well-formed, solid patties when cooked. Vegans, you might be able to substitute some other binder, like ground flaxseed like Angela just did with her Moroccan yam veggie burgers, but I’m not sure how they’ll turn out.
Before pan frying, I experimented by sprinkling three of the burgers with oat flour and the other three with regular flour. The oat flour actually produced a better, more crisp-on-the-outside burger and kept the burgers gluten free. If you want to grill the burgers, you’re going to have to cook them in a pan first (see notes).
Perhaps the best feature of this meal is that both the veggie burgers and harissa can be made entirely in a food processor. I even grated the carrots and chopped the onion and garlic in the food processor (hi, I’m lazy). Then I cleaned out the bowl while I was pan frying the burgers and whipped together the harissa. That was easy!
A NOTE ON FOOD PROCESSORS:
I really do try to keep my equipment to a minimum, but my food processor is an indispensable tool. It can do some things that a blender can’t, like grate carrot and slice zucchini in seconds.
I recently experienced some food processor drama—my grandma wanted her 7-cup KitchenAid back at the same time that a company offered me a super fancy 16-cup food processor, which seemed serendipitous. However, I soon loathed my new fancy-pants processor with all of its bowls and attachments. The machine and accessories could have taken up half of a coat closet, not even kidding! I couldn’t make anything in the smaller nesting bowls without dripping into the larger bowls, so then I had to wash them all. Those bowls took up the entire top rack of my dishwasher.
I finally sent the food processor back and bought Cuisinart’s classic 7-cup food processor for about 100 bucks. So far, it’s been perfect. It has just the features I need and nothing more. I can process lots of vegetables and just dump them into my mixing bowl if I need to process more. The food processor’s bowl, lid and blade only take up one-third of the dishwasher’s top rack.
All this is to say that if you’re in the market for a food processor and don’t have a big family to feed, I recommend the small and affordable, aforementioned Cuisinart. Full disclosure: links to my favorite products on Amazon and elsewhere are affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage of your total purchase, which helps me pay my bills. Thank you for your support!
Lentil-Chickpea Veggie Burgers with Avocado Green Harissa
Gluten free and vegetarian lentil burgers made with chickpeas, carrots and oats. The avocado green harissa is a spicy herb mix blended with avocado! To make this recipe extra easy, use canned chickpeas and pre-steamed lentils. Just be sure to rub excess moisture off of the chickpeas and lentils with paper towels before adding them to the food processor. Recipe yields 6 burgers.
Ingredients
Veggie burgers
- 1 carrot, peeled
- ½ medium yellow or white onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cups cooked green or brown lentils
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- Handful fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, optional (not shown in pictures)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce, sriracha or other hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- *Oat flour (can be easily made from oats, see step 1) or flour of choice, for dusting
- Avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
Avocado green harissa
- 1 medium to large avocado, pitted and sliced
- 1 cup lightly packed mint leaves (or parsley)
- 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems (or parsley)
- 1 to 3 jalapeños, seeded and coarsely chopped (save seeds if you want extra-spicy harissa)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Burger assembly
- 6 buns of choice (English muffins, hamburger buns, or flatbread), toasted
- Add some crunch: dill pickles, quick-pickled red onions, or thinly sliced radishes or cucumbers
- Greens, like arugula or spinach, optional
- Tomato slices, optional
- Whatever else strikes your fancy
Instructions
- *Before you get started, will you need oat flour? If so, blend up some oats in your food processor using the S-blade. Blend until the oats have a fine, flour-like texture. Transfer the oats to a bowl for later.
- To make the burgers: Use your food processor’s grating blade to coarsely grate the carrot. Transfer the shredded carrot to a bowl for now. Remove the grating blade and switch to the S-blade. Cut the halved onion into a few slices before adding the onion and garlic cloves to the food processor. Pulse until the onions are roughly chopped, but no more.
- Add to the food processor: towel-dried lentils and chickpeas, eggs, oats, handful of herbs (optional), all of the spices, salt and black pepper. Process only until the mixture has the consistency of a chunky hummus (err on the conservative side here). Stir in the grated carrot.
- To prepare the burgers: Divide the lentil mixture into 6 portions and shape them into patties about 1-inch thick (if your mixture is unmanageably wet, stir in a couple tablespoons of oat flour first). Dust the patties lightly with flour on both sides.
- To cook the burgers: Heat a thin layer of oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, cook the veggie burgers in batches. Cook until the burgers are crispy on the bottoms and the mixture holds together, about 4 ½ to 5 minutes. Flip the burgers carefully with a spatula and continue cooking until the second sides are firm and brown, about 4 ½ to 5 more minutes. Transfer the burgers to a plate, then add more oil to the pan and repeat with the remaining burgers until they are all cooked through.
- To make the avocado green harissa: First, clean out the bowl of your food processor. Then add all of the harissa ingredients to the food processor except for the olive oil. Turn on the food processor and drizzle in the olive oil while it’s running.
- To assemble the burgers: Toast your buns, if you’d like. Top the lower bun with a veggie burger patty, then spread a generous amount of avocado green harissa on top. Top with crunchy condiments, greens, etc. and eat!
Notes
Veggie burgers adapted from Feast: Generous Vegetarian Meals for Any Eater and Every Appetite by Sarah Copeland. Green harissa adapted from Ashley Rodriguez via Food and Wine.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats/oat flour.
Storage suggestions: Sarah says to let the cooked burgers cool completely, then transfer to an air-tight container with a layer of parchment paper in between each burger. Freeze for up to a month. The harissa is best served fresh, but if you have leftover sauce, store it in a small bowl and press plastic wrap against the top to prevent oxidation. The harissa will keep for a day or two.
A note on grilling: Sarah suggests that these burgers can be grilled IF you cook them in a pan first (I think the raw patties would fall right through the grates). Once the burgers are cooked, preheat your gas/charcoal/stovetop grill on medium-high. Rub the grill plates or pan with olive oil, then grill the cooked burgers until the outsides are deeply brown, about 5 minutes. Don’t move the burgers other than flipping halfway though cooking. If you want to melt cheese on top of the burgers, add it during the last two minutes of cooking, then close the lid to help the cheese melt.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi Kate, We lived in Kansas City for 20 years–just south of Overland Park actually. So glad I stumbled onto your site as we have a family member who needs to go grain-free with more emphasis on beans and complex carbohydrates. (thanks–Dr. Perlmutter, Dr. William Davis, Dr. Peter Osborne) for health reasons. I will definitely try this burger.
Quick question: What can be used instead of the oats in this recipe? Would a microwaved potato or sweet potato work? Chickpea flour? Any other thoughts on this? This looks great, thanks so much for all the recipes and great photos. P.S. We’re now living in northern California, home of the organic movement!
Hi Shirley! I’m writing from Prairie Village. I’m glad you found my site! I’m not sure on the oat flour replacement. You’d need something that absorbs moisture, so chickpea flour might work. I think you’d be better off with my sweet potato and black bean burgers. They are one of the most popular recipes on the blog and you can make them with cooked millet or quinoa: https://sooka.info/2013/sweet-potato-black-bean-veggie-burgers/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Kate, P.S. Forgot to add this to my last comment. I’ve been cooking, usually from scratch, for a long time. Nothing beats a Cuisinart Food Processor or a Vitamix Blender.
Made these last night. They were easy to make and turned out awsome!!! Thank u!!
Hooray! Thanks, Kate!
Hi Kate, i recently found your site & love it! I have made a few of the items including the chickpea & lentil burger & they were amazing! i brought some into work and everyone loved them!
I was wondering if you ever used just one egg instead of 2? I found that the batter was a little wet so i added a little more oat flour to absorb some of the liquid. Maybe i”ll try it next time! they were still delicious!
Thnak-you!
Hey Marisa! It’s so nice to hear from you. Glad you enjoyed the burgers. No, I haven’t tried making the burgers with just one egg, but that sounds like a good idea. Eggs bind the burgers together, so I just wonder if the burgers would still hold together with just one.
These are the best veggie burgers I’ve ever made! The consistency is perfect, and they hold together so well. So much flavor, too! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Amy! Happy to hear it!
hello!
i’m not eating any grain at the moment–any suggestions for a replacement for the oats?
thanks,
sarah
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry, I wish I knew what to suggest. I really don’t know.
I haven’t even finished reading the recipe yet, but want to say, THANK YOU for starting the recipe with the bit about making your oat flour in your food processor first. Most people would not think of that and I love that you thought of that for us. I might have thought of that on my own, maybe. :) I am loving your blog and just found you last week. I was feeling blergh and thought I wanted lentil soup for dinner. Do you have any idea how wide the range of lentil soup recipes is? There are a lot of options. I chose yours. And it is amazing. Thinking about these for this weekend.
You are welcome, Bettiegee! Oat flour is so fun to make in the food processor. I just have to tell everyone about it. :) So glad you enjoyed my soup!
The harissa was outstanding. My husband and I loved it, even will only one jalapeno (it’s all I had). I’m giving the harissa five stars (and the burgers get about a three…I just didn’t like touching them to form them, and they stayed wet even with flour. That’s probably my mistake though. I cooked the lentils earlier in the day, and they probably retained too much liquid even after sitting on a towel for a while.)
Thanks, Nicole! The burgers are a little tricky. If you want to give my sweet potato burgers a shot, they are much more manageable. Glad you loved the harissa!
Hi Kate! I just made these burgers for my family and we absolutely LOVED them!!! They have become a new dish in our week day dinner repertoire. I can’t wait to try more of your delicious recipes. Everything looks incredible.
5 Star Recipe!!!
Thank You!
-Liv
Hi Liv! That’s so great to hear. Thank you for letting me know! Hope you enjoy the other recipes just as much!
I am a new vegetarian and am still finding my feet as such and I just wanted to say that this recipe makes me wonder why I waited so long! I made these tonight and they were better than any meat filled burger I have ever had. Thank you so much, I look forward to trying more!
That’s so awesome, Kelly! Glad you found these burgers and enjoyed them so much!
I made avocado,arugula,coriander,basil spread, which I invented from your avocado harissa. I really enjoyed my burger with this spread. You have awesome recipes on your website. They all are vegetarian,that is like “jackpot” for me. I am a big fan!
That spread sounds great! Thanks, Seth!
This might be the best veggie burger I’ve ever eaten, delicious! I cooked the lentils and let them dry in a finemesh strainer while preparing pickled red onions and making the harissa. By then they were quite dry. Had no issues with the consistency of the burger batter, easy to form and just the right amount of chewy when cooked.
Thank you, Kate!
Thanks, Emma! Glad to hear yours turned out great!
I made these burgers tonight and they were great! Love all the flavours. They were a a bit wet so I added some flour as you had suggested. What’s the ideal consistency for the filling (I’m thinking I made the burgers too thick because the filling was somewhat uncooked)? the harissa was absolutely wonderful – I added mint, cilantro and parsley and I can’t put the bowl down. Thank you for the great recipe!
I just made this and oh my gosh…How amazing! I am a meat eater but had a craving for homemade veggie burger and came across this recipe. I cooked the lentils in water with a halved onion and crushed garlic for some flavor and to keep it vegetarian. I didn’t have cilantro or parsley so I subbed a handful of basil in addition to the mint. It was great! I blanched the herbs before adding them so the sauce is still super bright. I took your advice and added homemade pickled red onions…what a perfect addition to an already perfect recipe! I can’t wait to bring these to work for lunch this week!
Was looking for a chickpea lentil “meatball” recipe. I like the ingredients in this recipe and was wondering if you’ve ever tried making balls? Either way, would you pan fry them or oven bake? I’ve got a great meatball baking tray that has scooped out spaces which help to brown up the meatballs. Thoughts?
Many thanks!
Bonnie
Hi Kate – do you think I could freeze these after assembling, but prior to cooking, so that I could easily whip one out of the freezer when I want to cook? There are only 2 of us, so I like to prep for more than one meal so I don’t have to cook every day. Thanks in advance!
Thank you so much for this delectable recipe!! I love how I can also save all your recipes to my pinterest rather than wasting so much paper by printing!! Loving it!
My omnivore husband declared these the best veggie burgers he’s ever had (made even better with the avocado harissa!). I used enerG egg replacer (I’m vegan) and subbed oats with quinoa flakes (he can’t tolerate oats) and they were perfect pan fried in coconut oil. Thank you!!!!
Awesome! Thank you, Paula!
I love the sound of these veggie burgers!!! I want to make them tomorrow for dinner, but the only problem is that I don’t have a food processor…. I have a ninja master instead, can I just use that instead?
Hey Tess, I’m sorry, I don’t have experience with those so I’m not sure.
One of the BEST veggie burger recipe I have ever made! Going to be a huge hit at my house! Thanks for sharing! ~Joy
Thank you, Joy! I’m so glad you loved these!
Hi Kate and Cookie,I follow your blog from France and I love it.Thank you for all these delicious recipes. I’ve just made those burgers, they’re so good !
I’m excited to try these but woth gluten free flour not oat flour. This recepie is NOT truly gluten free though as oats and oat flour are not recconended for coeliacs who have to follow a strict gluten free diet. Please be aware of this when advertising gluten free recepies as this may confuse some people new to the GF life.
Hi, Elinor. I appreciate your concern! Please check the notes next time– I made sure to note that certified gluten-free oats are what you need to be looking for in the store. They are not made using any equipment that has come into contact with gluten, so there isn’t a cross-contamination issue.
These were freaking delicious. I make veggie burgers fairly often in the summer, and these might be the best I’ve made. The avocado harissa was also really good. Thanks for a great meal.
I’m glad you had such good results, Jeff! Thanks.
Made these tonight with no egg and no egg substitute. They worked great and they cut down on labor because not only do you not have to thoroughly clean the food processor bowl, but you can simply make all of the patties and then store them raw for the next few days!
Perfect! That sounds great, Steph.
Made these on the weekend. Absolutely delicious. I don’t know if I can go back to a beef burger!!
Right? So glad you liked these, Shauna!
Hi Kate! This recepi is amazing! I just made it for dinner. So delicious I had two! The only thing I thought mine came out a little dry. I don’t know why. Any idea? Thank you!
Hi Anna, I’m so glad the recipe turned out well! I’m sorry, I’m really not sure what to suggest on the dryness factor. Hope your next batch turns out just right.
Wait a minute. The burgers look great, but what kind of dog is Cookie??? I poured through the comments and don’t see that the answer was ever posted. Did you find out? Can you tell I’m a crazy dog lady too?
She’s half schipperke, half mutt—the mutt side is part Australian koolie, dachshund, etc.!
I LOVE this recipe and make it all the time! Going to make it tonight – I wonder though if you could replace black beans for the chickpeas? I don’t have any chickpeas on hand but I do have black beans (and I don’t have sweet potatoes so I can’t make your awesome black bean/sweet potato burger). What are your thoughts on the swap?
So sorry for the slow response, Jen! I’m glad you enjoy these veggies burgers. I want to say that black beans would work. I just haven’t tried myself to be sure!
OMG these look deeeeelicious – they’re going on the BBQ as I type and they smell divine!!! Thanks Kate always adore your recipes x
Thank you! What did you think of them, Sam?
Thoughts on how to bake these ?
I wouldn’t recommend baking these, Jessica. The frying or grilling allows them to get nice and crispy. Sorry I don’t have baking specifics. Thanks!
OMG! what flavor! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I honestly never tasted a veggie burger THIS GOOD. Definitely a new staple in my home!
Win! Thank you, Malka.
Green harissa?!! I always use my own red harissa with recipes but I’m very intrigued by your harissa recipe, going to try this for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing!
What did you think?
I made these last night and they were SO delicious! I was afraid that they were too liquid, but once they start cooking, they get that nice crispy texture outside and they surprisingly hold very well.
Thank you for the lovely recipe, I will definitely be making these again soon! :) And that green harissa is superb!
You’re welcome!
Hello! Is the calorie count just for the patty? :)
Sorry I can’t help here! You can use an online calorie counter with just the ingredients of the patty if you like. I focused on a whole meal for this one. :)
Thanks for finally talking about >Lentil-Chickpea Veggie Burgers with Avocado Green Harissa – Cookie and Kate <Liked it!
You’re welcome! I’m happy you liked it, Chloe. Thanks for the review!
Made these last night, and we all absolutely loved them! We have tried lots of different veggie burger recipes over the past few months and these are definitely one of the top nicest ones we’ve had! I only used one egg because I was worried about them being too wet, and it worked out perfectly for me. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! Will definitely make again :-)
I’m so happy to hear that, Kim! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I really appreciate the review.
No surprise, another winning recipe! I froze the formed patties on a parchment lined baking sheet for an hour before sautéing, which seemed to help them stay together. These are great to include as meal prep to have on hand for quick meals.
Thank you, Kristen!
Made this and love it!! I tried swapping the oats in the burger for milled flax seed which worked well and made it just a little more healthy.
Thanks for sharing!
Amazing! I made this on Friday night after school and I loved the simplicity of just sticking everything in the food processor. The avocado green harissa was most likely the best burger topping of all time! I am planning to make this at least once a week for the next few.
Thank you for sharing, Mikayla!
Hi Kate!! These are great. Enjoyed them with out the avocado harissa. Delish!!! Can you let me know how many calories these would be without the dressing?? Trying to be calorie conscious. Keep up the good work!!
Sydney
Hi Sydney! I don’t have the breakout, sorry. I would recommend using an online calculator (see ones I use here:https://sooka.info/nutrition-disclaimer/%3C/a%3E%29.%3C/p%3E
I made these tonight for a party tomorrow evening. Since I’ll be cooking beef burgers at the party, I wanted these to be done in advance. What’s the best way to reheat them when we’re ready to eat? PS, I sneaked one tonight – delicious!
I recommend reheating in the oven, gently in the microwave or you can heat stovetop too!
Looks absolutely amazing, gonna make this recipe! One question though, how long can the burgers lie in the fridge (not freezer)?
Hi DB, they should be ok for a few days!
Did it yesterday and left enough for two days in the fridge and the rest in the freezer (meal-prepping here) just to be sure. But we’ve had them for lunch today and they were simply delicious! The green harissa sauce is a perfect match to these burgers. Will certainly do them again!
This sounds yummy. Is there a way to make this vegan (i.e. omit the eggs)? What would I substitute them with? I assume they are there to bind.
I haven’t tried it, but you could try flax eggs here?Let me know if you try it!
I made these burgers without eggs, and they were quite nice actually. They held together well. (But i use a burger press).
Thank you for answering my query and suggesting flax eggs. I have found flax seeds and I will have a go at that next time. Yes, I will definitely make them again. Hubby loves them too.
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kate,
Thanks for this giving your awesome recipes to the world.
I would love to make these for my daughter. She is unfortunately celiac and sensitive to all oats even those labeled GF (apparently the case in 10% of celiacs)!
What can I use instead?
Thanks-
Tzipora
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t have something off the cuff. Possible try rice or quinoa? I wouldn’t know for sure without trying it.
Can you sub In flax egg?
I haven’t tried it, but you could try flax eggs here?Let me know if you try it!
Any thoughts on whether this would work with a higher ratio of chickpeas to lentils? I’ve got lots of chickpeas to use up! Thanks!
Hi Amelia! That’s a good question. To be honest, this recipe is a little finicky as is, so I’m hesitant to suggest that will work.
Can you make these veggie burgers with red lentils instead? I have red lentils in the house and want to use what I have in the kitchen.
Hey Taylor! I haven’t tried with red lentils, but I *think* they would work. The trick is to not overcook them, as red lentils tend to turn mushy the minute they are overcooked. Here’s my guide to cooking lentils, which offers timing for red lentils.
I made these tonight but unfortunately I didn’t have the ingredients for the harissa. The burgers were fabulous. Thanks so much. I can’t wait to try them with the harissa.