Lentil Veggie Almond Tots – gluten and egg free

Red lentils are definitely one of my favorite ingredients to cook for my kids: from a nutritional point of view lentils are one of the healthiest foods you can think about and from a culinary point of view they are creamy, delicate in flavor (and easy to cook). Definitely a win win situation 🙂

Lentils are an excellent source of nutrients like vitamins A, C, K, omega3 fatty acids, copper, protein, phosphorus, iron, and calcium. Impressive, isn’t it?

Since lentils are high in proteins (aka, difficult to be digested by a young tummy), I would recommend offering lentils to your baby starting from 8 months of age.

At around 8 months your baby’s digestive system will be enough mature to process and nicely digest the lentils without any side effect (tummy ache, gas, rashes..). At that age, also, your baby should be able to sit and to handle finger foods. That’s why this recipe is a very good one as a baby led feeding idea.

This recipe is also perfect for picky toddlers: tots are a fun food to eat and those tots are loaded with greens and veggies, nicely mixed in the creamy tots 😉

I used broccoli, spinach and carrots but you can switch them with any seasonal organic vegetable you like!!

Also, I wanted the recipe to be gluten and egg free, so that I could enjoy it too 😉 So I switched the regular flour with some almond flour for a more nutty flavor and I switched eggs with chia seeds to bind all the ingredients together (and to add some more nutritional value to the recipe).

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Lentil Veggie Almond Tots – gluten and egg free
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup dried red lentils (200gr.)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour (50gr.)
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 1 medium yellow carrot, grated
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 handful spinach leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (50gr.)
  • 1 Tbsp cream cheese
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 Tbsp dried mixed herbs
  • 1 clove garlic
  • drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions

  1. Soak the lentils in cold water overnight. Drain them and rinse under running water. Set them apart.

  2. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  3. In a food processor add the broccoli florets with the garlic, blend for 1 min.

  4. Add the lentils, carrots, spinach and blend to obtain a breadcrumb consistency.

  5. In a bowl combine the lentil mix with the cheeses, almond flour, chia seeds, herbs. Mix

  6. Take 1 Tbsp of mix and form a croquette/tot shape.

  7. Place the tots on the parchment paper, one next to the other nicely spaced. Drizzle with some Extra Virgin olive oil on top.

  8. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway.

  9. Serve straight away or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 48 hours or freeze before baking for up to 3 months. (freeze in a single layer on a flat surface and transfer to a freezer bag once frozen. Simply bake from frozen adding 5 min to the baking time)

August 19, 2017 By
7
About

In Italian BuonaPappa means “enjoy your baby food”. I thought that if I had issues cooking for my baby for the first time, well, maybe I was not the only mom in this situation. Why not start sharing what I learned with other moms and dads all around the world? That's how BuonaPappa.net was born, THANK YOU for following! I feel honored and humbled daily that you would stop by and view my recipes. Grazie mille!

7 Comments

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  • Reply
    Laura Maxwell
    September 30, 2018 at 4:17 am

    Hi! If I were to use all purpose flour and eggs, how should I adjust the recipe? It sounds amazing with almond flour and chia seeds but I rarely cook with those ingredients and wasn’t sure if I could just substitute them (1 for 1). Thanks!

  • Reply
    Jess
    January 27, 2019 at 10:09 pm

    Can these be made without the cheese? Would I need to add something else to help hold them together?
    Thanks!!

    • Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      February 15, 2019 at 10:22 pm

      Yes, you can skip the cheeses. Double the quantity of chia (2Tbsp total) to bind everything together. You might also want to adjust with a pinch of salt (if you are not cooking for babies under 12 months) to balance the flavors. Ciao!! b

  • Reply
    michelle
    May 4, 2020 at 2:53 am

    What are the dried herbs you use?

    • Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      June 18, 2020 at 6:47 pm

      Hi Michelle, I used a mix of dried marjoram and thyme. half and half. Ciao! b

  • Reply
    Julia
    August 6, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Did you pre-cook the vegetables at all!?!

    • Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      October 19, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      Ciao Giulia! No, I didn’t. I cooked vegetables in the mix in the oven for 20/25min. I find that as all the ingredients are blended in breadcrumbs texture, they cook easily in the oven. For a smoother and creamier texture you can always steam the broccoli and carrots for 15 min prior blending them. Ciao! b

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