Easy Lentil Stuffed Buns

Ginger, garlic, onions, coriander, smoked paprika, and turmeric mingle with canned lentils and tomatoes to make these Easy Lentil Stuffed Buns a delightfully delicious and fun snack or lunch!

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Packed with tons of flavor from ginger, garlic, onions, coriander, smoked paprika, and turmeric, this canned lentil and tomato sauté is delicious. And, it is the filling for these Easy Lentil Stuffed Buns.

These Lentil Stuffed Buns are a tasty portable snack or vegetarian meal. These are a favorite in our little family as they can be made ahead and transported for a picnic or after game or school snack. The spiced lentil tomato filling inside these buns is vegan and packed with plant protein and fiber.

And the “bun” part is really rolled out store-bought biscuit dough. If you prefer to make the bun from scratch, then follow this recipe for Spiced Chicken Stuffed Buns.

Growing up in Sri Lanka, stuffed buns were more popular than sandwiches. Most of my aunts and uncles had their favorite stuffed bun recipe that they’d compare with my mom’s.

Sri Lankan stuffed buns are packed with epic flavor! Usually made with a mutton or beef or chicken filling, the Sri Lankan stuffed buns I used to enjoy were intoxicatingly delicious.

What are the ingredients needed to make these Easy Lentil Stuffed Buns?

You will need:

1. Olive oil
2. Red onion
3. Fresh garlic cloves
4. Fresh ginger
5. Can of diced tomatoes w/green chilies
6. Can of lentils
7. Coriander powder
8. Smoked paprika
9. Turmeric powder
10. Egg
11. Fresh parsley
12. Sesame seeds to top the buns (though these are optional)
13. Can of store-bought biscuit dough

I also used some salt and black pepper to season this with.

Instructions

This is an easy recipe that comes together with one pot, one baking tray, and one bowl, which means there aren’t a lot of dishes to clean up.

To start, peel and chop the red onion and garlic. And, peel and grate (or finely chop) the ginger.

Add the olive oil to a pot and add the red onion. Let the onion sauté about 10 minutes or so over medium heat, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.

Then add in the garlic and ginger and stir well. Let sauté another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Open, drain, and drain the canned diced tomatoes and add it to the onion, garlic ginger mixture.

Then drain and rinse the lentils and add these to the pan as well, along with the coriander, smoked paprika, and turmeric.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a few teaspoons of fresh parsley.

Let the stuffing cool to room temperature before stuffing store-bought buns or made from scratch buns.

To Assemble:

Open a can of biscuit dough and roll out a biscuit disc.

Spoon 2 or so tablespoons of the lentil filling into each circle.

Brush edges with egg wash.

Seal the buns by flipping the sides over the filling and pinching them together. Then lay buns down, with the sealed side on the bottom, on a parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat until all the dough and filling are used up. By the way, you might end up with some of the filling. This lentil filling is delicious with some crusty bread or roti.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the buns.

Sprinkle buns with sesame seeds and place in a 375-degree oven for 20-22 minutes.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Variations

• Onions + Ginger + Garlic
  I love the flavor of fresh onions, ginger, and garlic. However, if you prefer to save time on peeling and cutting these, there are peeled and chopped versions of these in the produce section of most grocery stores.

• Vegetables
  Instead of the canned tomatoes, a combination of fresh or frozen veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, celery stalks, cauliflower, and green peas could be used. Just make sure to chop them well and cook them until they are tender.

• Lentils
  While I used canned brown lentils in this Lentil Stuffed Bun recipe, you can easily change it up and use canned light red kidney beans or chickpeas or your favorite bean instead. You could also use cooked red lentils instead.

• Spices
  I think the combination of Coriander powder, Smoked paprika, and Turmeric powder works well in this recipe. However, if you do not have coriander powder on hand, it can be substituted with cumin. If you don’t have any of these, then feel free to use some harissa or curry powder instead. Both these options will result in a different tasting filling, but it will still be quite tasty.

• Fresh parsley
  Parsley can be replaced with your favorite fresh herbs, but do keep in mind that substitutions (as with the spice substitutions) could result in a filling that tastes very different.

• Store-bought biscuit dough
  If you don’t want to use store-bought biscuit dough, and you manage to snag some whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour and some yeast, then you can make your own bun dough like I did when I made these Chicken Stuffed Buns.

Storage + Reheating

These lentil-stuffed buns can be stored in an airtight container lined with paper towels in the fridge.

These reheat best in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place these lentil stuffed buns on a baking tray and bake them for about 10 minutes. These can also be reheated in an air fryer at the same temperature but half the time.

I’ve been trying to eat more vegetables, beans, and legumes while I stay at home, and stuffing them into buns is an easy and tasty way to do so. So, stuffed buns are quickly becoming a staple in our home. I like to meal prep a batch and enjoy it during the week.

At some of the stores we’ve been to, we always manage to find canned beans, legumes, and tomatoes on shelves, so I’ve been making a whole bunch of variations of these buns, keeping the other ingredients the same.

Here are a few more stuffed bun recipes:
Spiced Chicken Stuffed Buns,
Curried Chicken Stuffed Buns,
Black-Eyed Peas and Greens Stuffed Buns
Peanut Chicken Stuffed Buns.

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest!