Beet Red Lentil Flower Crackers

⏱️ Prep: 25m

🔥 Cook: 28m

👥 Servings: 1

These vibrant pink flower crackers are made with red lentils and beetroot, creating a naturally colourful, savoury snack without refined flour. They’re crisp, flavourful, and a fun way to add plant-based protein and fibre to your snack plate. The dough can be prepared ahead of time and frozen, allowing for fresh-baked crackers whenever desired. This recipe details how to prepare the lentil and beetroot dough, roll it thinly, cut into flower shapes, and bake to a perfect crispness, with options for oven or air fryer methods.

Instructions

Rinse the red lentils and soak them for 3–4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and rinse well. Dry-roast the soaked lentils in a pan over medium to high heat, stirring regularly, until the excess moisture has evaporated; it gets ready in 7-8 minutes. The lentils should be dry but not mushy. Let them cool completely, then grind them into a coarse powder.
Peel and chop the beetroot, then steam until tender. Mash it into a smooth mixture. For the smoothest dough, use a food processor or chopper. If you mash the beetroot by hand and small pieces remain, you may need up to 2 tablespoons of beet juice or water to help bring the dough together.
Combine the ground lentils, mashed beetroot, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, ginger powder and oregano. Mix until a soft, workable dough forms. Add liquid only if necessary. The amount of moisture in the beetroot can vary, so start without extra liquid.
Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out thinly and evenly. Roll from the centre towards the edges to help maintain an even thickness. Use a small flower-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the crackers. Carefully remove the excess dough and reroll it to make more crackers.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Arrange the crackers on a parchment-lined baking tray in a single layer. Bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, checking them as they bake. Thinner crackers and those near the edges may brown sooner, so remove any that are ready while allowing thicker ones to bake longer. Let the crackers cool completely. They will become crisper as they cool. If needed, air-fry them at 350°F (176°C) for 2–3 minutes to help them crisp up further, keeping a close eye on them.

💡 Chef’s Notes

Soaking Time: 3–4 hours (or overnight) for lentils. Additional Crisping Time: 2–3 minutes, if needed, in oven or air fryer. The prep time assumes you prepare both vegetables, dry-roast and grind the lentils, mix the dough, roll it, and cut the crackers; actual prep time may vary. The recipe also includes an air fryer method: air fry at 350°F (176°C) for approximately 15 minutes, flipping after 7–8 minutes. Tips for perfect crackers include making the dough ahead and freezing, thawing before rolling, keeping the dough evenly thin, watching the edges for browning, allowing crackers to cool completely for crispness, and storing in an airtight container. If crackers lose crispness, briefly air-fry again. Storage: Refrigerator (airtight container, very crisp), Room temperature (4–5 days in airtight container), Freezer (2–3 months). Unbaked dough is also freezer-friendly. For extra crispness, try the oven-off crisping trick: after baking, turn off the oven and leave crackers inside for about 10 additional minutes with the door slightly ajar to remove remaining moisture. Nutrition facts are provided per batch.