May 06
It really felt like a Summery Cinco de Mayo weekend, didn’t it?
I spent the better half of it with my face in a bowl of chips and guac… like you would expect anything less from me. I’m just going to be honest and say that I’m hoping to repeat it every single weekend for the rest of my life.
But seriously.

I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to Summer. My ears are longing for Lana Del Ray and old Mariah Carey beats.
Everyone knows Minnesota summers are the BEST EVER! Probably because we endure a solid six months of Winter? Nevertheless, a completely irresistible three months are coming soon. I can’t wait to lounge by the lake and catch the pink-painted sunsets with a drink in hand. YUM!
Anyway I was thinking we’d start enjoying the flavors of Summer a little early with a bit of mango avocado pico and burgers packed with fresh flavors. I already know you’re down.
(If you don’t know what that means, the just make the burgers and enjoy how freaking healthy delicious they are.)
Again, I don’t know what’s up with the slew of vegan recipes on my blog, but lately most of what I’ve been creating just happens to fall into that category. Like I mentioned last week, I’m certainly not vegan… heck I’m not even a vegetarian! I ate a massive omelet with mozzarella for dinner last night and the other week I had lamb meatballs. Just in case you were curious.
Anyway I suppose that this is my chance to prove to you that healthy CAN BE and IS super freaking delicious. And yes the phrase ‘super freaking delicious’ is my new favorite. But really if you haven’t tried lentils, they are to die for! I love them in salads, but since I only had red lentils in my cupboard, I opted to make burgers. Red lentils they tend to become mushy when cooked, so they’re very good for burger making! You can learn more about how to properly cook lentils here.
These burgers are packed with spices and herbs: chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cilantro AND jalapeno. Total goodness. And the pico? It’s the most magical thing I’ve ever put on a burger.
I hope you’re convinced!
- Serves: 6
- Serving size: 1 patty with 1/6th of pico recipe
- Calories: 225
- Fat: 6.1g
- Carbohydrates: 34.9g
- Sugar: 7.7g
- Fiber: 12.7g
- Protein: 9.6g

- 1/2 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1-15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, very finely diced
- 1 large carrot, very finely chopped or shredded
- 1/4 cup oat bran or oat flour, gluten-free if desired
- Lettuce or Hamburger Buns, to place patty in
- For pico:
- 1 large ripe mango, diced
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
- sea salt, to taste
- To make mango avocado pico: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Add salt to taste. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Place a medium saucepan over medium high heat, add lentils and 1 1/2 cups of water; bring water to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer lentils for about 10-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and lentils are very soft and a bit mushy. Drain any excess water and set aside.
- Place the chickpeas, cooked lentils, garlic, cilantro, sea salt, cumin, and chili powder in a food processor and blend until the beans and lentils are very smooth.
- Transfer mixture into large bowl. Stir in onion, jalapeno red pepper and carrot. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Add in oat bran a little at a time, and work into mixture with your hands. You want to be able to form patties, but you don't want too much oat bran, or the burgers will fall apart. So use as much as you feel necessary. Because these burgers do not use an egg to bind them, you'll have to firmly shape the patties but still keep them pretty thick so that they don't easily fall apart. Divide into 6 equal portions and shape into thick patties with your hands.
- Heat skillet over medium high heat; add in a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (sometimes I spray both sides of the burger with olive oil cooking spray too). Place a few burgers in at a time and cook for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. Repeat with remaining patties and continue to add olive oil as needed.
- Place patties in lettuce or in a bun and top with mango avocado pico.
I love these burgers with a dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream (not vegan).
Serve in lettuce or on a bun of choice. Calorie count does not include bun or lettuce.
Adapted from Whole Living.
This is beautiful and sounds so yum!!
I love chickpea burgers! I like the idea of adding in lentils and the mango avocado pico sounds awesome!
The flavors in this recipe sound so incredible!
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. Absolutely delicious! I was wondering if the inside of the burger is supposed to be moist? Mine was hummus consistency.
Can't wait to try this!
if not vegan could you swap in an egg for the oat bran?
I would not. The mixture is somewhat wet, so the oat bran/flour dries it up some. I just used rolled oats that I zipped through the coffee grinder. Turned out awesome!
Looks so delicious! Do you think it’s possible to grill this, for a oil-free alternative? 🙂
I mean bake in the oven, of course! 🙂
Have to try this, vegan way of coarse!
Just prepared these to cook tomorrow. I formed them into patties and placed them in the fridge. I'm so excited to eat them! I'm not a pico fan, so I'm just going to top them with mashed avocado. They smell amazing and I had a wonderful time chopping up all the veggies. I think being a sous chef is my calling…
I made these a few days ago and they turned out so tasty. I think its my new favourite. You can see the photo on my Instagram. I served it up in a giant red cabbage leaf. http://instagram.com/brookeasemple
Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! Do you have the nutrition info for the burgers without the pico?
How Many Servings Does This Make.
Where do I put the Jalapeño peppers in… I can't find in the instructions what to do with them???
Where do I put the Jalapeño peppers in… I can't find in the instructions what to do with them???
Six servings. It's listed in the nutritional info. 🙂
Hi
What about the carrots do they just get finely chopped with the onion ?
So sorry, you can add them when you add the onion! I will fix it now. 🙂
Can you replace the oat flour with gluten free breadcrumbs?
Yes you can!
Delicious! When I make it again, I plan to use quinoa instead of flour to hold it together
This recipe is excellent! Very yummy. The next time I make it, I am going to try using cooked quinoa instead of flour.
Are they supposed to still be mushy inside or are they supposed to get firm?
I just made these with black beans because it’s what I had on hand and they were fantastic. Prepped 5 of them for my lunches this week. Thank you!
Do you freeze these fresh or after cooking or does it matter? 🙂 Thanks!
Hi
What about the carrot does it just get finely chopped with the onion and thrown in at the point of jalepeno ?!
Hi! Yes – per the directions you can finely chop it and add it with the onion, red pepper and jalapeño 🙂
These are delicious! I would rank them hands down as the best veggie burgers I’ve ever made! I will definitely be making them again 🙂 I will admit I didn’t have oat flour/bran so I used brown rice flour instead. I had to add more than 1/4 cup but I think that may be have also been because I didn’t drain the lentils enough. Next time I make them I will attempt to drain the lentils more successfully 😉 But regardless, they came out great!
Danielle | https://solongusa.blogspot.com
So glad you enjoyed these, Danielle! And yes, using a different type of flour usually changes the texture a bit, but happy to hear that they turned out well.
Mine turned out a little soft and mushy. What can I do to make them firmer so they hold together better?
I would try adding about 1-2 tablespoons more of flour!
I substituted the oat flour for coconut flour and it tasted amazing! Love this recipe!
Great! So glad you enjoyed.