I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes I can go for a good veggie burger. I have tried to make different veggie burgers in the past, but these are the ones I usually go back to. They are worth the time and effort and they freeze well. I usually eat them plain or with a topping, but recently tried melting mozzarella on top and spreading tomato sauce on a wrap for lunch and they were great!

Barley & Lentil Veggie Burgers

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lentils

1/2 cups pearl barley
1 1/2 cups water

Olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 large eggs
3 tbsp canola oil, divided

Bring 1 1/2 cups water and lentils in a saucepan to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain. Split cooked lentils in half in a large bowl and half in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add processed lentils to whole lentils in large mixing bowl.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water and barley in a separate saucepan to boil. Cover and simmer for 35 – 50 minutes until tender. You may need to check to see if cooked through.

Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and carrot; sauté 6 minutes or until tender, stir frequently. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add tomato paste, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute, stir constantly. Add onion mixture to lentils. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, barley, bread crumbs, parsley, pepper and eggs. Stir well. This can be refrigerated at this time or cooked immediately.

I like to make the patties smaller, so about 1/4 cup of mixture per patty. Heat half of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat.

Based off of Cooking Lights recipe.

In Cooking Light they serve these veggie burgers with a fruit salsa, but I served mine with a yogurt & cucumber sauce.