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
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
- 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
Nutritional estimate
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
Claudia says
Hello! I am Claudia from Italy 🙂 I hope you are doing well! Could you please tell me if the lentils have to be cooked or raw? I suppose they have to be raw, since they are left to soak, but I want to make sure. Thanks!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Claudia! Yes the lentils are raw to start with, after soaking they swell up and become softer so you can blend them. Then they get cooked in the pan.
Greetings from the UK and lots of love to Italy! Sophie 🙂
Gaynelle Samuel says
Made the flatbreads today to have with some homemade red pepper houmous, and popped the rest in the freezer. Easy to make and delicious - will definitely be using this recipe again.
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks so much Gaynelle! We're delighted you enjoyed the recipe and will be using it again 🙂 The flatbreads with red pepper hummus sounds like a great combination! Sophie
Eafletcher says
I basically hate legumes with the exceptions of garbanzo beans and split green peas, which I love. Not liking most Indian spices I thought out of the box. I tried this flatbread recipe and was astonished to find I liked it with - now don’t gag- tofu and vegan BBQ sauce although the ones with pumpkin pie spice eaten with fruit were also quite good. Plain with molasses was my favorite, sort of like eating a cookie. Anyway, thanks for adding one more legume to my vegan repertoire.
Sophie and Paul says
That's awesome - we're so happy we helped you find a way to enjoy red lentils!
Anna says
Thank you Sophie, these are just yummy and great
Being gluten free it's a brilliant substitute for bread. 🙏 😁😋
Sophie and Paul says
You're so welcome Anna, thank you for your comment! We love how it's naturally gluten free and so easy to make.
Morgan says
Would split red lentils work?
Sophie and Paul says
Split red lentils are perfect for making the flatbreads! Best wishes
T says
So glad I found you guys! Your recipes and pictures are amazing! Can't wait to try this one 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
Delighted to have you on board T. Happy cooking 🙂
Mike from Ontario says
Made these last night, and wow: colour me impressed! What really impressed me is the flexible texture and it’s gluten free and sooo easy to make. I can see so many possibilities with these. Thanks S&P!
Sophie and Paul says
You're so welcome Mike! Really happy to have shared the recipe with you 🙂 S&P
Silvana says
I've been making these for years, just wanted to give a note: You can't bake these in a cast iron pan! (I cook EVERYTHING in a cast iron pan, but i've had to buy a non-sticky-pan especially for these pancakes)
Sophie and Paul says
Hey Silvana, Thanks so much for your comment! We regularly make these red lentil flatbreads in a well seasoned, preheated and lightly oiled cast iron pan, and have no issues. But a non stick pancake pan that you just use for things like this is a great thing to have too!
Helen says
Hi,
My lentils are in the process of soaking. Cant wait to have this for lunch! Can I ask a qn..would it be possible to use flax egg with this mixture and spinach?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Helen! Thanks for getting in touch. I'm not sure if I have understood your question correctly? Are you wanting to mix both the flax egg and spinach into the lentil mixture? I think you could add flax into the mix without effecting the flatbreads too much. With the spinach you'd probably want to blend it if you were adding it to the lentils, which is what we do when we make our vegan spinach pancakes. If the mixture gets too thick you can thin it down with some water of plant milk, alternatively if it's too thin then you could add some chickpea flour. I'm not sure how it would be without testing myself, but you could always just experiment with part of the mixture!
Christy says
Delicious- I had Turkish lentils on hand and used those. My husband loves foods where he knows all the ingredients and he was very happy with these. Thanks for sharing. Have you tried these with brown lentils or split peas? He was asking me if we could try those.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Christy, So glad that you and your husband enjoyed them! We've not tried the recipe with other types of lentil or peas. One of the main differences would be in how to cook them, as red lentils are very quick to cook and soften, but other lentils/split peas take much longer. If you want to experiment, I'd try soaking split peas overnight and blending with a high speed blender until smooth, but I'm not sure how it would work out without trying and you might need to adjust the amount of water. Have fun and let us know if you try it. Sophie
Joanne says
Can I keep the batter in the fridge for a couple of days?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Joanne, We've always used the batter fresh, so not sure how well it would last. You can stored soaked lentils in the fridge for a few days, so I imagine the batter will be ok too. Just keep covered, and watch out for any signs that it is fermenting (bubbling or foaming like dosa batter). You may want to adjust it with a splash of water if it gets too thick. Hope that helps!
Adam says
Can regular lentils be used the same way for this recipe? I see red all over but not as much ones for the regular. I have a bag of em and I'd like to try.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Adam, Split red lentils are quite different to most other types of lentils in that they have the skins removed and are split in half, which makes them quick to soften and cook, which works really well in this kind of recipe. I'm not sure how they would turn out, but if you want to try with other lentils, try soaking them overnight, then blending (ideally with a high speed blender to get the smoothest texture), and add enough water until you have a thick but pourable batter. Let us know if you try it! 🙂
Sasha says
Hi there, can I have a red lentil flour instead of soaked lentils please? I run out of red lentils, but have an unopened pack of red lentil flour 🙂
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Sasha, We think it should work with red lentil flour, but you might need to adjust the thickness of the batter a bit with more or less water. Combine or blend the flour with the water and then let the batter rest for 5-15 minutes before using. 🙂
Ashley says
I'm so excited to try these, but I have a wicked sweet tooth, do you have any suggestions for some sweet variations on this? Thanks!!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Ashley, we have a few ideas for sweet variations. 🙂
To make the batter a bit sweeter itself, just add 1-2 tbsp of sugar or syrup (maple, agave, date, ...). Reduce the salt to a pinch or leave out. We would then cook these a bit less hot but slightly longer, as a sugary batter burns a bit more easily.
Cinnamon or pumpkin spice instead of curry powder would go well in sweet flatbreads!
Instead (or in addition to) putting sweetness in the batter, serve like pancakes with fruit like bananas, berries, apples, mango etc., and cover them in syrup or molasses!
Hope you will enjoy these suggestions 🙂 Let us know what you think of them!
Sammy says
How many calories are per serving and can I cook it simple, whith out adding anything?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Sammy, Yes you can leave out the salt and curry powder, but I'd still recommend a little bit of oil to grease the pan so they don't stick. If you make 8 flatbreads, 1 is approximately 80 calories. Hope that helps!
Luigi says
I was sceptical but it actually works. I added garam masala and had them with a nice mushroom soup. New favourite thing for me to make... and so easy!
Sophie and Paul says
Hey Luigi! Great to hear you are enjoying this recipe. Thanks for the comment and enjoy making them again soon!
Claire says
I really wanted to love these given all the good reviews but I can’t get excited about them. I made them plain so may try again with some kind of flavouring but I wasn’t crazy about the texture either.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Claire, sorry they weren't to your taste, as you say we get great reviews on these usually. The salt and the curry powder do enhance the flavour, so we can recommend adding them if you try again. Texture wise - not sure how long you blended or how high powered you blender is, but I find the texture best when the lentils have been well processed. We hope you enjoy some of our other recipes! Have a lovely day, Sophie
afra says
Fabulous recipe! So versatile!! Really liked these.
Sophie and Paul says
Delighted you liked them so much! Enjoy cooking them again soon 🙂
Hayley says
These are great, thanks for sharing! Do you know if they could be cooked in the oven instead?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Hayley, we finally got round to testing this. It's tricky, but possible. The only way we successfully cooked the lentil flatbreads in the oven was by using a reuseable, non-stick baking sheet. Regular parchment didn't work well (flatbreads fell apart when removing), cooking directly on the baking tray didn't work at all (got stuck).
Here's what we do: Place the reusable non-stick baking sheet on an oven tray and as with the pan, brush with a bit of oil. Spoon on the mixture and spread it into a circle. Cook at 200°C for about 5 minutes, or until done. No need to turn them over. You could probably leave out the oil, but we like it better with!
Hope this helps! If you give this a try, do let us know how it worked out for you! 🙂
All the best, Sophie & Paul
Ruthy says
Hi Sophie, thank you for this recipe! My 10-month-old and I really love these. (without any salt, they're still amazing!)
Sophie and Paul says
The pleasure is ours, Ruthy! So lovely that the little one likes the flatbreads, too 😊 They are such a great base even when plain! Take care, Sophie & Paul
HELEN says
I had a problem with this recipe, as each flatbread was cooked and the next cooking, I was dipping them into my curry in the slow cooker. Consequently, only one left to have with dinner.
Sophie and Paul says
Haha your comment made me laugh! So glad the recipe was a success 🙂