These simple lentil flatbreads have just four ingredients. Made out of split red lentils, they're gluten free, vegan and couldn't be easier to make!
We're kinda low on flour right now, so we had a play round in the kitchen to see if we could come up with some tasty flourless flatbreads.
And we're so pleased with the result - we'll for sure keep on making these even when we do have flour again!
We think you'll love how easy these red lentil flatbreads are to make:
- They’re gluten free and vegan
- They’re protein rich
- And there’s no flour, no yeast and no baking powder needed!
There’s just four ingredients:
- Red lentils
- Water
- Curry powder
- And salt
The curry powder and salt are optional, but they make things just a bit more yummy!
The process is simple: just mix all the ingredients together, leave to rest for one hour, then blend together into a thick batter. Then cook them in a pan on both sides. It’s that simple!
STEP 2 - Soak for 1 hour
STEP 3 - Blend until you have a very thick batter
STEP 4 - Cook on both sides in a non stick pan or oiled skillet
What's the texture like?
The texture of these red lentil flatbreads is a bit like a firm pancake crossed with a naan bread. They've got a slightly crispy crust when they are fresh.
The most important thing when making these flatbreads is to blend well, so the lentils are well broken down. If your blender is not so powerful and doesn’t puree the lentils the first time you blend, then let the batter soak for another 15 mins, and blend again.
The resulting batter should be relatively smooth and thick enough to hold it’s shape, but still fluid.
Serve them
These flatbreads are best eaten when they’re freshly made, but you can also heat them up again in a pan or a toaster.
We like to eat them with some mango chutney and a yummy vegan curry. Especially our Apple Curry!
More tasty lentil recipes
We really love red lentils, we eat this Red Lentil Dal almost every week, and we even served it at our wedding!
We also love this satisfying one-pot Potato and Lentil Dahl with Spinach. It’s got a secret ingredient you might not expect!
Hope you enjoy these flatbreads!
Sophie & Paul
📖 Recipe
Red Lentil Flatbreads
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180 g) red lentils
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) water
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl or directly in your blender.1 cup (180 g) red lentils, 1 ½ cups (360 ml) water, 1 tsp curry powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Leave to soak for 1 hour.
- Blend the mixture (don't drain it) until you have a thick batter. The batter should be like very thick pancake batter and relatively smooth (a bit grainy is normal). If your blender isn't very powerful and the lentils are not well blended, then rest for another 15 minutes and blend again.
- Heat up a non stick frying pan or seasoned cast iron skillet with a small amount of oil in.
- For each flatbread, spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of batter into your pan. Cook on medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until the surface has some bubbles. Then flip with a spatula, and cook for 1-2 minutes more until lightly brown on the underside and cooked all the way through.
- Continue until you've cooked all your flatbreads. You can keep the flatbreads warm by stacking them on a plate and covering with a tea towel.
Notes
Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
Patricia L Brenner says
I made this without the curry powder to start, I think I must have had the temperature too high as it did not work out well. I used a non-stick skillet with a little bit of oil. But the flatbreads tore apart when I tried to turn them. I will try again but use my cast iron skillet the next time and hope for a better turn out.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Patricia, Sounds like perhaps they weren't cooked enough to hold together when flipping? Did you see bubbles appearing on the surface of the batter toward the centre? The temperature may be too high as you say, so yes a lower temperature would help them cook through if that was the case. I would still make sure that the pan and oil was well heated though as this helps to make sure the batter doesn't stick, and then reduce the heat. I also find a spatula or thin flipper to be the best tool for easy flipping, like with pancakes. Hope that helps you next time!
Jacqueline Hay says
Made these today. Very easy.
They were very good. Great addition to our vegetable curry, mango chutney and natural yogurt.
Will definitely make again
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks for your lovely feedback Jacqueline! Hope you enjoy them again soon,
Ann Little says
yummy. I made mine a little thick. Next time I will spread more thinly. I used a bit of oil to cook, well more like fry. I might experiment with other flavours and maybe a sweet version for dessert
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks Ann! Have fun experimenting.
Linda Warner Constantino says
Mine totally stuck to the bottom even after putting olive oil down first. Any solutions?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Linda, What kind of pan are you using? It needs to be non sitck or well seasoned cast iron. It's also important to make sure the pan is fully heated before adding the batter, and giving them enough time to cook and release from the pan before turning them over. Hope that helps! Sophie
Charlotte says
This recipe looks simple and easy to follow! I'm excited to try it, but I'm a bit worried about the lectins in the lentils. I've heard that soaking them removes them, but should be done for at least 2 hours? Plus you should replace the water that was used to soak them in for fresh water? Would you recommend this for this recipe to ensure there is no chance of getting ill?
Thanks 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Charlotte, Thanks for your question. We aren't able to give health advice, but here's a couple of recent articles which I have read about lectins https://zoe.com/learn/lectins and https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/anti-nutrients/lectins/ which suggest that cooking inactivates lectins. We did have a reader make the flatbreads with a longer soaking and replacing the soak water with the same volume of fresh water, but they found the batter to be much too watery so I suggest if you want to experiment with longer soaking and fresh water, that you first try blending the soaked and rinsed lentils wihtout adding fresh water and only adding more water if it needs it. The batter should be thick but pourable as you can see in the process pictures. If the flatbreads don't hold together as well due to not using the soak water, a spoonful of gram flour or cornstarch might helps to bind them. Hope that helps! Sophie
Nicki says
Hi we are having so much trouble with them sticking to our non stick pan. Tried them on high heat and medium small amounts of coconut oil and lots nothing is making a difference. Any advice please ?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Nicki, Here's a few things you could try: Swap the coconut oil for something like vegetable or canola oil and making sure this completely greases the surface of the pan. Make sure that the pan is hot before you put the batter in. Try not to turn them over too soon, as sometimes they need time to release from the surface and cook through. It's also possible that the surface of your pan is starting to wear and not be so non stick. Really hoping one of these tips can help you. Fingers crossed. Sophie 🙂
Pia says
Shouldn’t you rinse the lentils at all? The dried lentils are quite “dusty” 😊 I understand that you should not soak the lentils, but does a quick rinse remove the starch from the lentils?
Kind regards
Pia 🇩🇰
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Pia, we haven't had any issue with dusty lentils, but I think a quick rinse would be ok if necessary. It typically takes several rinses to wash the starch out so hopefully just a brief rinse should be ok. Let us know how you get on! Sophie 🙂
Wilthric Marshall says
looks delicious, couldn't find the dry red lentils at my grocery store. do can lentils give the same texture?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi, We've not come across any canned red lentils before so I can't test that for you. However I think the flatbreads would be less likely to hold together as the lentils would be already cooked, and the texture will be wetter. Dried red lentils are often stocked at Indian or Asian groceries stores if you have any accessible to you. They are also called 'masoor dal'. Hope that you can find some to try out this recipe 🙂
Kim Tee says
Excellent! Was too watery at first, but the 15 minutes extra, as directed, did the trick. My coeliac guests couldn't believe they we so simple to make ... and delicious 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
So glad the recipe delighted your guests Kim! Thanks for your review 🙂
Sylvia says
Any idea how long this batter would last in the fridge? We get our vegan daughter back for the holidays soon, and this might be a good standby for a quick nourishing snack.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Sylvia, I don't usually keep refrigerated batter for longer than 24 hours, so I'm not sure how much longer it would last. You could also freeze the flatbreads and thaw them in the toaster for a quick snack. Wishing you and your daughter a happy holiday!
Susie says
How do you thicken up this recipe? It's so watery!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Susie, Sorry to hear you're having this issue. The ratio of lentils to water always works perfectly for us to make a thick batter. Not blending enough, a mistake when measuring or using already cooked lentils could be reasons why the batter would be watery? To fix a more liquid batter you could add some gram flour, or if you have a good high speed blender you could pulse some red lentils into flour and then gradually add that until you have a thicker texture. Hope that helps, Sophie
Annie says
I can see why these are a favourite - they are quick and easy to make, taste good and are filling. When I eat a vegetable curry, with no legumes - and I eat a lot of Indian food - I find flatbread aren't that satisfying, but I don’t want rice every time. Or quinoa,. These flatbread/pancakes are perfect. I used moong dal and the batter was a bit too thick, made to the recipe -maybe they absorb more water than lentils. Anyway, I just added some more water and it was fine. These will become e part of my standard repertoire. Many thanks!
Ellen Carson says
I have found my red lentil flat bread bitter the only time I ever made it in the past so rinsed the lentils and then soaked them 3 hrs in the mixing water, then noticing the cup marker on my glass liquid measuring pitcher, drained the water out, rinsed and replaced it exactly, leaving it over night. Then next morning I blended it like crazy in my Vitamix. But alas, something went wrong and the batter is much too watery!
Can my batter be retrieved?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Ellen, I expect that your batter is more watery because the natural starches in the rinsing/soaking water are gone and they have a thickening effect. For this batch you could simply try soaking more lentils, draining and adding them in with the rest to reduce the wateriness. Alternatively adding some gram/chickpea flour could also be a quicker possibility. I haven't had the experience of bitter lentils, but according to several sources older lentils can taste more bitter, so you could also try using fresher lentils next time. Seasoning the batter with salt also helps to balance bitter flavours. Hope that helps! Sophie
Ron says
Are they supposed to be slightly gummy/mushy in the inside?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Ron, I find the texture normally comes out as a cross between a naan and a pancake, so not completely bready but not mushy. Perhaps they were a little undercooked or had too much liquid? I have found them to be mushy and gummy when I tested the recipe with other types of lentils than red lentil. Hope that helps, Sophie
Russell Henley says
I've just made some of these and they're absolutely gorgeous.
The only problem I had was I first made one too thin and it soaked all the oil up, but even the thicker ones seem to soak up too much oil? Could it be I'm using too much oil or is this natural, it's just they are a bit too oily to make them nice ?
Sophie and Paul says
So glad you loved them Russell. As long as you have a good non stick pan or well seasoned skillet you really don't need much oil - I usually use about 1/2 a teaspoon to coat the pan - you can spread the oil out with a spatula so it's a thin coating. Also, things tend to absorb more oil if you don't heat the oil enough, so next time you might like to heat the pan up for a bit longer before you put the batter in. Hope that helps! Sophie
Lotus says
Some how I missed the ratio of water to lentils and how much curry powder.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi, Are you seeing the recipe card at the end of the post (and just above these comments)? All the quantities of ingredients are listed there. Hope you enjoy the flatbreads!
Julie says
can you freeze these, an how long will they keep in the refrig,? Thanks
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Julie, yes you can freeze them! They should be great if you just put them in the toaster straight from the freezer. In the fridge, they should keep for a couple of days.
Hope this helps! x
Sara says
hello, do you can I make these with canned lentils? or does it have to be dry? thank you!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Sara, We always use dry red lentils. Canned lentils are already cooked, and a lot more moist, so I suspect that they would make a wetter batter which may not work so well. I have never seen canned red lentils, but if you have some you could try blending them and then cooking with the same method, but without testing it ourselves I am not sure how well it would work. Hope that helps! Sophie
Alyssa says
While this recipe looks wonderful I really l think you should credit this dishes origin and call it by it’s real name, Dosa.
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks Alyssa, hope you try the recipe and enjoy them! They are similar to dosa in that they are lentil-based flatbreads. However dosa are traditionally made from a mixture of lentils (urad dal) and rice, which is fermented overnight and gives them a slightly tangy taste. Dosa are also much thinner and crisp in texture than these flatbreads.
Juli says
I will definitely be making these again. So easy and delicious.
Sophie and Paul says
Thank you, Juli! 🙂
Janet says
My first attempt & although my first pancake didn’t have much of an aesthetic appeal, they did look better as I progressed. Having said that, we all enjoyed them very much. I have decided that I need one of those wooden tools which the French use to spread their crepes evenly. An investment, as I will definitely be making these again (& again). Thank you.
Sophie and Paul says
So glad you loved them Janet and have fun making them again soon!