Lentil bread is definitely my super healthy gluten-free nutritious go-to snack at any time. I often have a slice or two for breakfast or brunch, pre or post-workout. It is packed with protein and remarkable nutrition. It is quite filling and it takes me a long way.
I make this all throughout the year, it is a fantastic dish for a work snack, work lunch, working from home quick lunch, to take to a picnic, garden party, or in a container to snack after gym. These are just a few ideas.
We are in the process of re-doing our kitchen from scratch and this is my kinda snack to tuck in. It was such a savior. Easy to make as long as you have an oven to throw this in for 40 minutes.
I sometimes soak more lentils than I need and the extra soaked lentils will almost always end up in a delicious recipe like this.
We do love lentils in general and a good lentil recipe feel free to browse around my site to find quite a few delicious red lentil recipes like this Brown And Green Lentils With Portobello Mushrooms Salad, Vegan Lentil Meatballs (Mercımek Kofte) or this Red Lentil Dhal With Coconut Milk And Quail Eggs.
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🥘 Ingredients
There are only a few ingredients that are needed for this delicious vegetarian lentil bread dish. You will need:
- lentil - these have to be soaked for at least 1 hour or even overnight
- dill - is a versatile herb and works well in this recipe
- feta cheese - gives the dish a lovely lift
- yogurt - helps with the fermentation process
- soda bicarbonate and baking powder - help this bread to get a fluffy texture
- red peppers - these enhance the flavors and give that nice speckles of color
- olives - I just love the addition of the olives in this dish - it works really well
- eggs - these help with binding
- spring onion or scallions - you may shallow fry those for extra flavor if you wish
- cheddar cheese - is such a lovely addition - you may even double the quantity if desired
- sesame seeds - to sprinkle over but you may add some toasted ones to the recipe
- chili flakes - oh yes, I would never skip those - add as much or as little as you wish
- salt - only go for it if you like your salt but remember, feta cheese and olives add saltiness to this dish
- olive oil - I sometimes do add olive oil, and sometimes I do not
See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
📖 Substitutions
- Lentil - You may use any lentil type you like ( green, yellow, red, black (beluga) green mountain lentils. Any lentil types you have in hand, that you like and are used to eating will all do a great job in this high-protein bread.
- Fresh Herbs - use flat parsley and/or thyme, or oregano if you like. Dried herbs are great too.
- Make it Vegan - just substitute the eggs with a tablespoon of chia seeds and the dairy ingredients (yogurt and feta) with plant-based ones.
- Cheddar cheese - parmesan cheese makes a great sub - it is as delicious
🌶 Variations
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish, or long peppers for extra flavor
- Add finely chopped mushrooms - even more protein? Yes, please!
- Kid-friendly - add some crushed potatoes or some chips to one side - also drop the chili flakes as kids don't do spices unless yours can handle some.
- Make it into flatbread and cook it in a pan on medium fire by taking a couple of spoons of the mixture and adding it to a slightly oiled pan with ( just a drizzle of olive oil). Flatten and spread uniformly into a ½ cm (¼ inch) thick flatbread and cook covered or uncovered for about 5 min on each side. Soo good! You may add some flour/chickpea flour gluten-free flour and an extra egg if yours doesn't hold properly.
🔪 How To Make Lentil Bread
Here are some process shots to show you how to make this super easy and quick lentil bread recipe.
Step 1 Wash, and soak (for at least one hour) the lentils.
Step 2 Drain the lentils well and puree them in a food processor.
Step 3 Combine some of the ingredients (soaked, drained and pureed lentils, yogurt, eggs, oil, salt, pepper, baking soda, soda bicarbonate, and cayenne pepper/chili flakes) into a larger glass bowl and mix until homogenized.
Step 4 Add the remaining ingredients (mainly the chopped ones) olives, spring onion or scallion, crumbled feta cheese, grated cheddar cheese, dill, and finely chopped red pepper. Give it another mix and it is ready to go to the oven.
😉 This is what the lentil bread mix looks like before going into oven-proof tins and getting in the oven.
Step 5: Pour the mixture into the two greased bread loaf tins. sprinkle the sesame seeds over and place them into the preheated oven. Bake at 180C/350F for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown, just like these beauties here.
Pro Tip: Keep an eye on this whilst in the oven so it does not burn. You may add 2-3 tablespoons of flour/tapioca flour for a gluten-free option if you wish but I do like it nice and moist.
👪 Serving Suggestions
- This dish is great to have as a snack whenever you feel hungry. For me, a slice of this bread, just like the one shown above, makes that perfect snack to have at teatime when the sugar cravings kick in.
- It is lovely having this with some extra protein like this nice Creamy Cucumber, Fennel & Yogurt Dip a tzatziki type of dip/ side dish that pairs well with this amazing lentil bread. With a warm slice of this healthy lentil loaf and a dollop of that yogurt dip, it's plain heaven.
- It makes a fabulous party dish, perfect for sharing as little squares or made as mini muffins or mini cupcakes.
💭 FAQs
Once it has cooled, if any is left ;-), store it in an airtight container refrigerated. Ideally sliced or cut into chunks as it is easier to grab and go. These can be refrigerated for 2-3 days.
Yes, I am sure this freezes well and the best practice for using it after freezing will be to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Take out the required quantity and thaw rather than the whole thing.
Yes, this can be reheated in a pre-heated pan by placing the slice or slices in a hot nonstick pan with or without a drizzle of olive oil. It is entirely up to you. Please do remember to add the slices to the pan when this is hot, this is important to avoid or reduce them sticking to the pan.
Yes, lentils are naturally gluten-free. Lentils are a type of legume and do not contain gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. However, it's important to be cautious when buying processed or packaged lentil products, as they might be cross-contaminated with gluten during production. Always check labels and choose certified gluten-free lentil products if you have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease to ensure they haven't come into contact with gluten-containing ingredients.
🍞Other Bread Recipes to Consider...
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. Thanks for stopping by!
📋 Healthy Lentil Bread - Flourless
Equipment
- food processor
- chopping board
- glass bowl
- spatula
- ovenproof dish 8x 4 inch approx (22 x 10cm)
- knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups red lentils dry quantity
- 200 g feta cheese ( 7.05 oz) made into crumbs
- 10 sprigs dill fresh
- 6 spring onions / scallions
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt go for any 5% up fat
- 1 handful olives chopped
- 4 medium eggs or 3 large
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 50 ml olive oil ( 1.69 fl oz) 5-6 tablespoons
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate (small teaspoon) ½ U.S. teaspoon *
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 100 g cheddar cheese ( 3.53 oz) grated
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 medium red pepper diced
Instructions
- Wash and soak the red lentils for at least one hour. * See Recipe Notes for more
- Sieve the lentils once soaked (no need to rinse) and puree these in a food processor.
- Transfer the pureed lentils into a bowl and add the eggs, soda bicarbonate, baking powder, yogurt, olive oil, black pepper, and salt (if adding any). Mix well until homogenized.
- Add the remaining ingredients, the chopped olives, spring onion/scallions, chopped pepper, crumbled feta, grated cheddar, dill, and chili flakes. Add most of the sesame seeds and keep a few to sprinkle over.
- Prepare two small bread loaf baking tins * by greasing those with some butter or olive oil. Pour the lentil mixture into the tins in equal amounts. Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds on each loaf.
- Transfer to the oven and bake at 190C or 375F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve warm or cold as a snack or a main with a salad as a side. See other serving suggestions above.
Notes
- No need to worry. If you have little time for soaking the lentils and you do not have at least one hour, soak these for as long as you can in hot water. This will speed the soaking process a little.
- It is entirely up to you and your taste but I never really do for this dish because the feta cheese, the cheese, and the olives add sufficient (for me) salt. I'm not too fond of anything salty but if you do like your salt, add a pinch or two extra.
- Add a teaspoon of each - the European teaspoons should be shaved and not heaped, and for the U.S. cooks, only add ½ teaspoon as the teaspoon over there is quite a bit bigger.
- Do not worry if you do not have loaf tins, you can use any oven-proof dish whether that's round, rectangular, or any shape you have or prefer. I have made this in my larger square ceramic dish and a couple of times in my oval dish. All are approximately 8x4 in or 22 x10 cm. You may also use a single rectangular tray/dish but it will have to be larger so the bread doesn't end up being too thick to cook, especially the middle part. You can then cut it into squares and serve.
Dinah says
Hi
Looks delicious. Is the nutrition information pr 100 gr? Or for the whole loaf?
Ramona says
Hi Dinah,
The nutrition information is per actual serving 🙏🏼🤗
Diana says
Ha missed the part where you say they make great party snacks in muffin tins. Thanks
Diana
Ramona says
Yes, indeed! It can be made for any occasion in any shape or size, the cooking time will differ, thats all 😉 😉
Diana says
Could you bake this recipe in muffin tins? Thanks.
Diana
Ramona says
yes! Absolutely! 😉
Eva says
This recipe is so good. I just want to leave a note to say thank you!! I used egg and yogurt substitute instead and it was totally fine. I used oat cream and 2 tsp of flax seed meal. Skipped Parmesan cheese too. Oh and I used a mix of green lentils and yellow/green peas mix. It turned out just fine. Amazing! The recipe do need salt. I doubled the olives and used 2 tsp of salt.
Louisa Morgan says
Are the lentils cooked before blending or blended raw? Thank you in advance.
Ramona says
They are raw but soaked dear Louisa.
Clare says
Really lovely. If I left out the cheeses would it still bind together? (Wanting to make a really plain tasting wheat flour free bread )
Ramona says
Hi Clare,
It should work without the cheeses to be honest, but if you’re afraid I would add a tablespoon or two of chia seeds or flax just to be on the safer side and not end up with a crumbly loaf. Please do let me know how it all went 🙏🏼🙏🏼🤗
Sue StPeter says
I made your recipe and love the versatile way it can have doo dads added in. I'm going sweet this round. Dates, figs, soaked golden raisins and fig goat cheese. Probably add cinnamon too! So good sliced and pan fried with an over easy egg on top. Going to treat the sweet version like french toast and pour maple syrup on the fried slices. Yum!!
Ramona says
Wow, I am very impressed Sue. Going sweet with it didn't even cross my mind but I am now intrigued and I must try the sweet version too. Yummy. Thank you so much for this genius idea!
Rachel C says
Would that be whole or ground chia/flax? I would also like to try the recipe without the cheese. It looks delicious!
Ramona says
Hi Rachel,
I normally use whole chia seeds and ground flax seeds but you can use milled chia too. It’ll work as well. Yes, you can leave the cheese out completely. It’ll make no difference in texture but you may wish to add a pinch of salt in that case. I’d love to hear how you liked it and how it turned out for you. 🙏🏼😉
Ramona says
Hi Clare,
I am sure I have answered to you - I am not sure where that answer went. The cheese will not make much of a difference tbh. I am curious to know how it turned out and how you liked it though.
Elaine says
I have 2 loaves cooking at the moment but not sure I've chosen the correct size loaf tins. Is there any more detail than 'small' please?
Ramona says
Hi Elaine
I am pretty sure I have mentioned a rough size somewhere but I would say my tins are approximately 20-22 x 10cm so approx 8x4 in. you can use almost any tin as long as the loaf is not too bib so it cooks nicely throughout.
Vidya says
I like your recipe but want to make this eggless - you have mentioned that we can swap with flax - but is that 1 egg to 1 tbsp flax or just 1 tbsp for all the eggs? Please advise... I will try it soon!
Ramona says
Hi Vidya,
It is a tablespoon for each egg. The same idf you choose chia seeds. 1 tablespoon of chia seed (dry quantity) for each egg. It is best to add the chia seeds or flax in the yogurt or the lentils ahead of time for those to absorb the liquids.
Thank you so much. Please do let me know how it all went.
Judy REyes says
I just made your lentil bread with red lentils. It tastes very good -- a little like stuffing or what we call dressing here in East Texas, with all the veggies. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough. I made three smaller loaves. It's very pretty too! Thanks for the recipe! I was wondering: since there are 12 servings in your recipe, are the macros per serving? (Are there 11 net carbs per serving? Total carbs (21 g.) minus fiber (10 g.) = 11 net carbs. per serving.)
Ramona says
Hi Judy, thank you so much for your feedback - I am so pleased you enjoyd this lentil bread as much as I do.
You are totally correct, there are 12 servings here, but from what I know, when calculating macronutrient values for a food item, the fiber content is typically included within the total carbohydrates but is often listed separately on nutrition labels. So, the "Carbohydrates" value you see in the macronutrient breakdown already includes the fiber content. In other words, the "Carbohydrates" value represents the total carbs, which includes both digestible carbohydrates and dietary fiber. So, when counting macronutrients, you do not need to subtract the fiber from the total carbohydrates because it's already accounted for in the total carbohydrate count. I hope i did understand your Q but pls do let me know or tell me off if I did not. 😉
Jasson says
Very nice recipe chef👍👌👏. I make your lentil bread once a week for some time now 😋. Thank you for your effort 🌞😎
Ramona says
Thank you chef 😉 I am super glad you liked it Jasson.
Angela Tucker says
How much water do I soak the lentils with ?
Ramona says
Hi Angela,
It really doesn't matter as long as it is enough for those to get well soaked. Just make sure the lentils are submerged in the water and have a good 3-5 cm of water above. i'd say 1lb/500g lentils with approx 1.2 litre of water. You do drain the water anyways.
Lulu says
Thank you for such a creative recipe. I made this with a combination of black eye peas and mung bean (that's what I had on hand). I didn't have feta nor olive. So I omitted those two as well. Used 2 fresh red chillies and a bit celery leaves. I only did half a recipe since I'll be eating it by myself. But I love it !
I soaked both black eye peas and mung beans for 12 hours. I have a thermos pot so I boiled the beans and let them sit in my thermos pot for about 1 hour. The beans are cooked but not very tender. I just wanted to get rid of the raw bean smell. Then I drained them and let them air dry for about half hour before using them according to recipe.
Ramona says
Thank you soo much dear Lulu, the mung bean and black eye peas combination sounds amazing! I am going to try that too. Super healthy and delicious! The beauty of this lentil bread is also its versatility. A gem. I love it too and make it very often.
Kelly says
I’ve made three loaves- great bread; friends are enjoying it and think they are eating flour! My husband loves this lentil bread and asks me to make it weekly. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Ramona says
Thank you soo much dear Kelly. I have to say we love it too. It’s a truly delicious lentil bread recipe that I am so happy to have written. It only took a few attempts to come to this and I’m so glad it’s going soo well and soo many of you love it too.
Thanks soo much once again for your feedback. I’m hoping you’ll try other recipes in here too ❤️❤️
Have a wonderful weekend!! 🙏🏼🙌❤️
Sarah fraser says
Made this for the first time yesterday. I didn't have any dill but I did add a tsp of tumeric. It was delicious! It's very "cake-like" and lovely with cream cheese. It made two loaves, one of which I have frozen. Will definitely be one of my go to recipes!
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear Sarah. I am so happy you did give my recipe a try and also loved it. I need to make it again 😉 What a fab idea to serve it with the cream cheese. Thank you once again! 😉
Gwen says
Can I substitute non dairy yogurt in this recipe?
Ramona says
Hi Gwen,
That should work, no problem. Let me know how it turns out. 😉🙏🏼
Anita says
Delicious, especially when warmed. I used red lentils.
I had to bake these two loaves for over an hour. It's not my oven, because other things I've baked were right on the timing. I left out the salt as recommended, as between the baking soda (bicarb) and the cheeses, it would've been to salty (for me).
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear anita for your kind feedback and for giving my lentil bread recipe a try. It is delicious, I agree that warm is slightly better. It is funny you say that, I do have to bake these for slightly longer sometimes and I am assuming its because the moisture levels vary. Yes, I am not a big fan of salt and the saltiness from the olives, cheeses and soda bicarbonate is always sufficient for me too. I am also trying to stay lower on salt intake in general.
Thank you once again and I really hope you will be trying other delicious recipes from my blog recipe collection. Have a wonderful week ahead!!
Jane says
This recipe is delicious. I have made it a few times now. This last time, I did not have red peppers on hand so I used chopped sun-dried tomatoes and it was equally good too. (For the newbies, the first time made it I misread the word “Sieve” and I did not drain the lentils before I processed them. Luckily I had not added anything else to them so I had to strain them with a nut bag. It worked out ok though, but I had to cook it longer due to the extra moisture.)