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“Love how easy this was to make! Followed everything step by step except I used 1.5 cups of quinoa and 0.5 cups of red lentils because I ran out of lentils, and used flax seeds instead of psyllium because that’s what I had on hand! Still worked! This will be a staple in my home!”
I’m really excited to share this Red Lentil Quinoa Bread recipe with you! After the massive success of our One-Ingredient GF Buckwheat Bread, so many of you have been asking me for more bread alternatives. After testing this new bread recipe over a dozen times, I’m so happy to say it is absolutely amazing! It has quickly become a staple in our kitchen because it’s effortless to make, uses simple ingredients, and is the perfect base for protein and fiber-packed sandwiches. Good quality gluten-free bread can be pretty expensive, too… where I live, it’s usually around $10 to $15 a loaf, but this budget-friendly version comes to around $3.70 AUD ($2.50 USD)!
Red lentils, quinoa, and yogurt are staples in many homes. If you’ve done any gluten-free baking before, I bet you have some psyllium husk in your pantry. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you’ll be happy to know that it’s widely available, budget-friendly, and has a long shelf life. Psyllium husk is a key ingredient in making gluten-free bread more bouncy and elastic, qualities usually provided by gluten.
After a quick blend, short rise, and bake, the result is a soft, fluffy, and light oil-free bread. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the lentils are completely undetectable in the flavor. This bread is perfect for toasts and sandwiches, and I suspect it will have the ideal texture for gluten-free vegan French toast. Something I’ll definitely have to try soon! If you love this one, my easiest red lentil bread and gluten-free seeded bread are next on your bake list.
Why I Love This Recipe
- High in protein: from the combination of red lentils and quinoa.
- Gluten-free: making it a great option for those avoiding wheat.
- Rich in fiber: promoting healthy digestion.
- Oil-Free: perfect for those following a whole food plant-based diet (WFPB).
- Simple ingredients: that are easy to find and affordable.
- Quick to make: once you’ve soaked the red lentils and quinoa, the bread takes less than 2 hours before being ready to eat.
- Straightforward: no fermentation or complicated steps are required; this recipe is foolproof!!
Ingredient Notes
- Red lentils: These split lentils cook quickly and blend smoothly. They’re a great source of plant-based protein and fiber. Lentils are rich in minerals, including iron; two slices of this bread bring 4 mg of iron, making it a great start to an iron-packed sandwich.
- Quinoa: A perfect gluten-free grain that adds texture and boosts the protein content. Always rinse quinoa thoroughly before cooking to remove the bitter coating.
- Instant yeast: Helps the bread rise.
- Dairy-free yogurt: This adds moisture and binds the dough together. If preferred, you can substitute with olive oil, which will yield a slightly different, slightly more moist texture.
- Psyllium husk is essential for keeping the bread moist and adding fiber. It acts as a binder in place of gluten.
How to Make This Recipe (Summary)
Rinse the lentils and quinoa thoroughly to remove bitterness. Soak them in cold water for 6-12 hours in the fridge, then drain and rinse again.
Blend the lentils, quinoa, yeast, yogurt (or olive oil), psyllium husk, salt, and water until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a lined loaf pan and let it rest uncovered for 30 minutes to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a metal tray on the bottom rack. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes,
Once golden, remove from the loaf tin and let it cool completely before slicing. View recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Variations and Tips
- For a salt-free option, swap for your spices of choice. For extra flavor, add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or herbs. Garlic helps our body absorb iron, so it makes a great pairing. Garlic bread, anyone?
- Let the bread cool completely before slicing to prevent it from crumbling.
- Meal-Prep: It’s easy to prep in advance and can be frozen. I usually keep half fresh, wrapped in a clean kitchen cloth, to consume in a couple of days and slice and freeze the rest. Toast when ready to eat, and it’s as good as fresh! This way, you can toast a piece whenever you want some delicious bread.
- Cost-effective: Good quality, nourishing, gluten-free bread can be pretty expensive where we live, often costing around $15 AUD ($9.80 USD), whereas this Red Lentil and Quinoa Breads come out at about $3.7 AUD ($2.5 USD). Of course, this can vary depending on your location.
- This bread pairs wonderfully with some avocados, or our Red Lentils Hummus, or Beet Hummus, and topped with Easy Pickled onions.
- If you like the idea of using lentils in gluten-free alternatives to baked goods, try our GF Pizza Crust or 2-Ingredient Quinoa-Red Lentils Wraps.
- For another delicious, dense bread alternative, try our viral 1-Ingredient Buckwheat Bread, or Gluten-free Seeded Bread.
Why You’ll Love This Red Lentil Quinoa Bread TLDR
- Gluten-free
- High-protein
- Oil-Free
- Simple ingredients
- Healthy and satisfying
- Vegan
Red Lentil Quinoa Bread (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups (280 g) dried split red lentils
- 0.5 cups (85 g) dry quinoa
- 1 tbsp (7 g) instant dry yeast - see notes
- 3 tbsp (45 g) dairy-free yogurt - or sub 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp (10 g) whole psyllium husk
- 1 tsp (6 g) sea salt flakes
- 1.25 cups (295 ml) water
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the lentils and quinoa. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for 6-12 hours in the fridge. Drain the lentils and quinoa thoroughly. They can hold a lot of extra water, which will keep the bread from cooking properly, I recommend letting them sit in a sieve for 10 minutes to remove the excess water
- In a high-speed blender, add the lentils, quinoa, yeast, yogurt, psyllium husk, salt, and 1.25 cups of water. Blend until smooth.
- Line a 9.5x5x2.5in loaf pan with baking paper and transfer the mixture to the pan. Let it rest uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) fan forced, with a metal tray on the bottom rack.
- Place the loaf pan on the metal tray and bake for 50 minutes. Do not open the oven door while the bread is cooking. Remove from the pan and baking paper, as soon as you take it out of the oven, and place on a baking cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, keep in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Video
Per Serving/Portion
FAQ
Is this bread gluten-free?
Can I freeze this bread?
Can I use another type of lentil?
What should I serve with this bread?
Is this recipe WFPB?
Why do you need to soak the red lentils and quinoa?
Can I use regular dairy yogurt instead of dairy-free?
Can I skip the yeast or use baking powder?
What can I use instead of psyllium husk?
Whole psyllium husk or psyllium husk powder?
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Soo delicious! Now a staple for me:)
So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing, Sarah!
Hi there, tried the recipe twice, adjusting oven temp for conventional oven but both times despite rising well, the loaf has ended up dense/wet, and not fluffy bread like yours. Tastes great if toasted though. Any advice? Should I be activating yeast first? I’ve not used dry yeast before. Thanks, really want to get it to work!
Hi Trees, I’m sorry to hear you’re having difficulty with the recipe. I’m glad you’re loving the taste. This is quite a tricky one because all ovens are different. Perhaps you could let it cook a little longer. I would double-check that you got instant dry yeast (and not active dry yeast, which needs to be dissolved in hot water first and takes a little longer to ferment). If you’re using Instant Dry Yeast, it shouldn’t need to be activated first. Alternatively I’ve just made a new version of this bread that uses baking powder instead of yeast, that you might enjoy 🥰 Either way let me know how you go with the next loaf!
https://plantbaes.com/easiest-red-lentil-bread-recipe/
Thanks Sarah, oh no I wasn’t using the right yeast! Darn being from UK I didn’t understand the different types! Great will try again, and also baking powder version. Thanks so much
Hey Trees! I’m so happy we figured it out! Let me know how you go with the next batch 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, I have made it three times already, but it always sinks in the center. I am using a glass bread pan but will try with metal or iron pans instead.
Hi Liz, I’m sorry to hear that! How long are you letting it rise and is it really hot where you are right now? It looks like it was unfortunately over-proofed 🥲 Maybe try reducing the yeast slightly next time, and make sure to keep the rise time under 30 minutes. Let me know if that helps
Love this healthy high protein bread. Delicious & super simple to make.
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much, Leslie 💚
What I AP’s a serving? A slice?
Hey lovely, yes, a serving is a slice. This is based on the total bread making 12 slices. Hope you love it!
Dream come true! This was my first attempt and it came out wonderfully. A super simple recipe, affordable ingredients. Take your time and follow directions. Almost forgot to let it rise … oops. Making it again this week
Hey Alice, thank you for sharing your beautiful braid. I am so happy it worked out so well on your first attempt. Thank you for sharing!
LOVE this bread
I may now need to ration as its so moreish. I used some onion and garlic infused oil I had that provides a lovely hint but still works with my fave peanut butter.
This was so easy esp with the overnight soak. It may be a weekly treat. It sank a bit so may cook and extra 10.mins as my oven may be the problem. Thanks so much
Hi Clare, thanks so much for sharing. I’m so happy you love the bread and the idea of using infused-flavored oil. Two things that may have happened:
1. The bread might have been slightly over-proof, which could happen if it’s very hot in your house right now. You could reduce the resting time before baking.
2. It can also happen if the temperature drops too much between the oven and the house. In that case, you could just turn off the oven and leave the dough in a jar for about 10 minutes before taking it out.
Hopefully that helps to fix the problem. Let me know if you give it another go! 💚
Thanks Sarah
Yes its 30plus degrees at the moment so i will definitely reduce the resting time. I’ll be making this every week so wont be long til the next one 🤞😎
Amazing! I hope that fixes it! Enjoy summer and let me know 🥰
It turned out wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe! I used a bit more salt and toppings, everyone loved it 😍
Wow it looks beautiful Marina, love the added seeds on top! Thank you for sharing 🥰
Can eggs be a binder? If the psyllium husk is not readily at hand
Hey Julia! I’m sorry, but I can’t really help here. I’m not experienced in baking gluten-free bread with eggs. Although I do know eggs act as a binder in regular baking, psyllium husk replaces the gluten in gluten-free bread or cake and gives it its elasticity. Let us know if you experiment with the recipe 🙂
I love this recipe, but I can’t seem to be able to work it out… it always feels undone, too wet.. I used simple yoghurt. Any advice how I can make it cook well? Thanks!
Hey Ana! So happy you love the recipe. Just checking, are you using the fan setting when baking your bread? We recently had someone with a similar issue, and it turned out the fan wasn’t on, which was causing the problem.
If it helps, conventional mode uses heat from the top and bottom without air circulation, so the heat can be less even and baking can take longer. Fan mode circulates hot air around the oven, giving more even heat and usually better results for bread. If you use the fan, you generally need to lower the temperature by about 20 °C compared to conventional.
Yes, I am using the fan mode 🙁
Oh, that’s very strange. I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure what it could be then 😢 Perhaps try to cook them a little bit longer? I know all ovens are a little different.
Although I did forget yogurt, the loaf turned out pretty well.
Wow, that looks great. Thank you for sharing, Aishwarya 💚 Good to know it worked even without the yogurt. I’d love to know which one you prefer if you make another loaf and add the yogurt 🙂
What kind of quinoa to use? I see in your video white and red. There are white (mild flavor + fluffy texture when cooked), black (earthly flavor, slightly sweeter than other varieties + crunchy texture), red (rich+Nuttier flavor + firmer texture compared to white quinoa), orange (Milder taste), pink (rare color), purple (rare variety), green (unique hue), gray (Unusual type) quinoa
Hey Joe! I’ve only tested this bread with white and tricolor quinoa, which are what’s widely available to us in Australia. So I can guarantee results with this two. I haven’t actually seen the other kind, but let us know if you experiment with the recipe!
hi
i’ve made this bread two times already , and loved it , but every time it has sunk in the center of the bread during baking , what can be the reason for that?
YAEL, it may be slightly overproofed. I will try to let it rise for a little bit less time. Another issue could be too great a temperature difference between the oven and the house, which could cause it to deflate. So, when the bread is done baking, turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for a while before taking it out completely.
So happy you love the bread. Hope this helps. Let us know how you go 💚