You melt my heart.
Picture the most melty, comforting, ooey, gooey, kinda messy (in a good way), mouth watering, delicious thing you can think of. Now replace that image with this vegan lentil Frisco melt, because this patty melt will blow you away. This is like what you want to eat at Midnight, or to cure a hangover. This is comfort food. However, on that note, this is not really all that unhealthy. It may seem that way, since it is so GD amazing, but rest assured, this is definitely a step up from any late night fast food.
This vegan lentil Frisco melt is not just late night food. I must confess, I have had one for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are addictive. The lentil patties are super easy, baked and would be great all on their own. They have incredible flavor, hold together really well, and can be made gluten free very easily.
The lentil patties are mostly lentils and bread crumbs, using a flax egg as a binder. Then if you just switch out the bread crumbs for gluten free bread crumbs and use gluten free bread for the sandwich, you are all set for anyone who does vegan and gluten free.
As the lentil patties bake, you can make the most incredible vegan Frisco sauce! It is so freaking good, and I kinda want to put it on all my sandwiches. Smash the lentil patty with Frisco sauce, onions and vegan cheese if you want (it is actually delicious either way!) on bread in a hot pan. Making the outside of the bread crispy and brown, but ooey gooey on the inside.
After eating this vegan lentil Frisco melt, your life may never be the same! I know I am forever changed. I find myself just wondering off thinking of these patty melts, until I am lost and have no idea where I am.
Meaty lentil patties, Frisco sauce, onions and vegan cheese if you like. On bread, smashed into a hot pan making the outside crispy and brown and the inside ooey and gooey.
- 1 C. Cooked lentils
- 2 Tbsp. Flaxseed meal
- 3 Tbsp. Water
- 3/4 C. Panko bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 tsp. Liquid smoke
- 1 tsp. Soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
- a pinch of Salt and pepper
- 1/2 C. Vegan mayo
- 2 Tbsp. Ketchup
- 2 tsp. Sweet pickle relish
- 2 tsp. Agave syrup
- 1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. Smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. Onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- a pinch of Black pepper
- Sandwich bread of choice
- 1/4 a White onion, sliced thin
- Vegan cheese (optional)
- Vegan butter for spreading on the bread
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add your cup of cooked lentils. Then smash them, I like to use the back of a fork or a potato masher. Smash them pretty well, but so that they still have some texture, you don't want a smooth paste. It should still be chunky.
Then in a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed and the water. Set aside to thicken for a minute to make a flax egg.
Then to the bowl with the lentils, add the panko, olive oil, liquid smoke, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Then add in the flax egg. Stir everything together until fully combined. The mixture should hold together easily.
Now form patties from the lentil mixture. It will make 2 large patties or 4 small ones. Divide the mixture and roll into a large ball, then flatten into a patty.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray, then place the patties on the baking sheet, and spray the tops of the patties with more non stick spray. Then bake for 20 minutes, flipping the patties after 10 minutes. Or until the patties are firm.
While the patties are baking make the Frisco sauce. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients together. Taste, adjust seasonings, set aside.
Once the patties are done, spread one piece of bread with the Frisco sauce, then add sliced onion, then a patty, then vegan cheese if you want. Then more sauce on the other slice of bread. Put the sandwich together.
Heat a pan on medium high, and either add some olive oil to the pan, or spread the top piece of bread with vegan butter. Then place the sandwich buttered-side down in the pan.
Press the sandwich down in the pan, and brown one side for a minute or so. Then spread the other piece of bread that is on top now with vegan butter. Flip and brown that side, smashing down the sandwich.
Then, once the melt is all brown and hot and gooey, remove from the pan, and serve immediately!
To make this recipe gluten free, replace the panko with gluten free bread crumbs, the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos, and the bread with your favorite gluten free bread.
This will make 2 larger sandwiches, or 4 smaller ones.
I’ve been vegan for a little less than a year and try a new recipe or two every week, this was by far the best one yet!! My meat loving husband thought it was excellent as well! Thank you so much for the recipe, it will be a regular at our house!
This is so amazing to hear! You are so welcome! This is by far my favorite new recipe!
I love this recipe! But my dad has an allergic to flaxseed, do you have any ingredients in mind that i could use to replace them?
You can use chia seeds instead, would that work? It is the made the same way with the same ratio of seeds to water.
I’ve been told Sunflower seed is a good substitute for flax seed
What vegan cheese did you use?
I used Parmela’s Mozzarella style shreds. It is my favorite!
This looks so yumm!! Can’t wait to make it!!
I doubled the recipe and the mixture was all crumbly so I made another flax egg. Still not perfect. I used bread crumbs instead of panko. Could that be why? Did get the patties to form but I’m nervous about eating them, that they’ll fall apart easy. They smell awesome, though!
I’m not 100% sure what happened, but they definitely should hold together. I don’t think it would be because of using regular bread crumbs instead of panko. The only thing I can think of is making sure that the lentils are smashed enough so that the mixture is wet enough. However, as long as you got them to form a patty, they shouldn’t fall apart once they are baked. I hope it worked out for you, let me know how it went!
Made this on Sunday and it was so good. Thank you!
Oh, this was delicious. I doubled the recipe since I knew I’d love it and plan on putting some in the freezer. I also used real eggs and caramelized the onion. Served it on focaccia. Yummy, yummy!
I made these last night and wow, I mean wow! They were fantastic. The texture and flavor were amazing. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I didn’t change anything about the burgers and it was perfect. The sauce was great too. Thanks so much for sharing. It is difficult to find a good veggie burger and this one was bomb diggity!
Yes! This is so amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. They are one of my all time favorites!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! Patty Melts we’re always my favorite pre-vegan nosh, and I never figured I’d have that taste and texture again. These are amazing!!!! Even my non-vegan husband agrees. 🌱❤️
Yay! I’m so excited to hear that! Woohoo! You are so welcome.
Can you leave out the oil?
Sure, I would just recommend using a splash of veggie broth instead. Or you can do some other liquid you would like to use as a seasoning.
“don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – me about this sandwich
This is amazing and I literally laughed out loud!
Well unfortunately when I made this my normal vegan mayo was expired because I don’t use it often, but subbed in chipotle vegan mayo with amazing flavor, I don’t feel so bad about it now.
Love this recipe and have made it several times. It’s easy to make and has crispness when taken out of the oven. Makes a delicious patty melt. Next time I make it, I plan to sauté the onion before adding to the sandwich. Definitely a keeper recipe.
This was insanely good! With some carmelized onions and a melted slice of Daiya American cheese, this made an incredible sandwich.
This is the BEST recipe I have ever found on the internet! For real! It was amazing and my family loved it. I instantly read through every other recipe you have ever written and saved about 30 of them haha. PLEASE keep the recipes coming!!
This exceeded my expectations. Wow. SOooo good!!
What kind of bread do you use? That bread looks delightful 😋
It is just whole grain organic sandwich bread from Trader Joe’s.
Let’s just call this what it is….THE BEST DARN BIG MAC YOU’LL EVER TATSTE!!!
Wow! Love these. Made them twice in one week.
I used ground oats instead of panko and I made one big patty and used brown rice tortillas instead of bread.
YUM
I pretty much enjoy EVERY recipe you create!! You are a food genius! Honestly I have been able to slowly convert my 13 yr old twin boys to being vegan with your recipes! These were soooo delicious! They gobbled them up tonight! Bravo!! On another amazing dish! Thank you!!
I can’t tell you how many times I have made these. (at least 6 double batches) I have also eaten them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are *that* good. My husband warned me I was going to burn out. HA! Thank you for such a great recipe(s). That Frisco sauce! Great on fries, tots, tofu bites… I have also made this as a salad protein. Yum! (The original is best, but sometimes you have to throw in something green-besides pickles) :0)
This is one of my keeper recipes. I’ve made it numerous times. The only changes are to use eggs (vegetarian not vegan) and to not use much olive oil. It seems excessive and maybe the eggs mean I don’t need as much oil? Regardless this is a terrific recipe. I get requests for it from friends, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. I make double and triple batches and freeze the extras.
Hello – so excited to try this… how do you recommend cooking the lentils prior? Both times we have tried it did not go well. We have not found a good recipe or cooking time. Thank you <3
Can you tell me a little more about what the problem was with the lentils when you cooked them? For the purpose of this recipe, you really only need to worry about them being soft enough to mash.
These were amazing! I didn’t make the sauce because I was feeling a bit lazy but they were still delicious. I made my melt on Dave’s Killer Bread (21 grain) with Daiya cheddar-like slices and I used a little Just garlic mayo on the outsides. Sooooo good! The second one the next day wasn’t quite as good texture-wise, but I think that was down to how I reheated it. I used my air fryer to reheat – next time I’ll try wrapping it in a damp paper towel and microwaving it. I’ve just recently found your blog and I’m looking forward to trying a lot more of your recipes!
This was SO good! I can’t wait to make it again! I sued red lentils which made the patties really easy to mash together and stick together.
Could you provide nutrition facts for this dish?
Just made this for dinner on marble rye and I caramelized the onions a bit. This was the best patty melt I’ve ever had in my life. If someone had made this for me when I was an omnivore, I never would have guessed it was vegan, but I would have wondered what the “meat” was because it tasted a heck of a lot better than beef. Thank you for this delicious and satisfying recipe!
Your receipe is the 💣. You surely can cook. I just started cooking vegan food all the time 10 months ago. I finally found the secret of holding a sandwich together. I never cooked lentils before or used them in a receipe, but this one taste delicious. The sauce was great too….I will certainly use it again. Yum 😋! Thanks
Excellent, so delicious and flavorful….since it was so hot I didn’t want to heat my oven so I used a little olive oil and cooked them in my cast iron skillet…such a yummy sandwich!!!
I hadn’t made these for ages and was reminded of them by an Instagram ‘memory’ photo. They were still wonderful, but the funny thing is, a day later a friend sent me this recipe and said, these look like you!
These sound delicious. What is liquid smoke and can I leave it out?
Thanks!
Liquid smoke is a liquid seasoning that people usually use for BBQ sauces and marinades. It’s usually found in the store with the condiments. It gives the patties a smoky, meaty flavor. You can leave it out if you need to though. The patties will still be delicious!
What kind of lentils did you use? We have red, but they get very mushy. I’ve heard other colors do not?!
I always use brown lentils, they do seem to be a bit firmer than other kinds. I don’t generally us red lentils though, so I’m not sure quite how they compare.