Enjoy Memorial Day Weekend With A Vegan Menu Featuring Lentil Burgers With Fire Roasted Green Chiles

Top your lentil burger with a big juicy slice of heirloom tomato and sliced avocado

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Lentils, An Important Vegetarian Food
Lentils are a staple in vegetarian diets. They are a good source of protein and iron and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate and manganese. For McD lovers, replacing a few Big Macs a week with a great tasting lentil burger like this would keep blood sugar levels stable and coronary artery disease at bay! 
For an extra zing, I added a small can of fire roasted chiles to this recipe!


Memorial Day Menu
Along with these lentil burgers (recipe below), I suggest a few easy and yummy side dishes.
Lentils go really well with corn. Try this Fresh Corn Salad with Red Bell Pepper and Basil.  In this post, I'll show you a way to cut the kernels off of the cob without them flying all over your kitchen!

Together, corn and lentils make a complete protein!

Another good salad to serve with burgers is Vegan Potato Salad. Turmeric gives this salad the yellow tint that you'd find in a traditional potato salad containing eggs. 

Without the eggs and mayo, potato salad is a healthful side dish!

And for dessert, make some of these wonderful Vegan Brownies with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips. My brother-in-law lives in Hawaii and this weekend he brought me a HUGE bag of macadamia nuts! I can't wait to make my favorite brownies!

Macadamia nuts and vegan chocolate chips make these brownies to die for!

Vegan Lentil Burgers with Fire Roasted Green Chiles
[makes 6 burgers]
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons room temperature water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon for frying
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
15 ounce can lentils, rinsed and drained
4 ounce can diced fire roasted green chiles, drained
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
6 whole grain hamburger rolls
red leaf lettuce
2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 large avocado, sliced
Dijon mustard, ketchup, salsa or Veganaise


Make a flax egg by combining ground flaxseed and water. Beat until gooey and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium frying pan and sauté onion and red bell pepper for 4 or 5 minutes or until soft.
Add lentils, green chiles, pepper, cumin, garlic and salt and cook until all liquid evaporates and the mixture is pretty dry.

Cook until the mixture is pretty dry

Place mixture into a bowl and add breadcrumbs and flax egg. Mix thoroughly and let sit until the breadcrumbs absorb all moisture. 
Clean out the frying pan. You will be using it again.
Make 6 patties - make them nice and flat so they crisp up when you cook them.  

If you are not ready to cook them, place the patties on a plate covered with wax paper and put them into the refrigerator.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan and cook the patties until they are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes a side.

Cook on medium high heat until crisp and brown

Serve the lentil burgers on fresh whole grain buns with red leaf lettuce, a thick slice of heirloom tomato and avocado slices. You can also top them with a slices of red onion or sprouts. Serve with Dijon mustard, ketchup or Veganaise. For some added spice, top with salsa!


Per serving (burger only): 135.8 calories, 5.6 g fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4.6 g protein, 13.3 g carbohydrates and 5.2 g dietary fiber.

Have a safe Memorial Day and remember our troops, past and present, who have sacrificed so much!