These *NEW AND IMPROVED* Sweet Potato Fritters with lentils and kale are a fantastic high iron first food for baby led weaning, especially for vegetarian and vegan babies.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that we love to share baby led weaning recipes on the feed! When I started solids with my first born, I wanted to introduce some of the major allergens right out of the gate via the baby-led weaning approach.
This meant that instead of relying on infant rice cereal for baby’s first sources of iron, I had to get a bit more creative in the kitchen. This was the inspiration for these sweet potato fritters with lentils which have since become an absolute favourite with my son even now that he’s a full blown toddler!
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
My Big Boy E would be the first to tell you that these sweet potato fritters are the bomb dot com and not to sleep on them! Besides the fact that they kinda taste like a yummy crispy falafel, here are a few more reasons why these sweet potato fritters are great for baby led weaning.
- Packed with with antioxidants and fibre
- Good for regularity
- Easy for baby to eat
- vegan source of iron and protein
- Requires less than 10 ingredients
Key Ingredients
Red Lentils – we use split red lentil to make these sweet potato fritters because they are super easy to work with and prep! All we do is soak them over night to soften and thats it, no pre-cooking required.
Oats – I will typically use rolled oats for this recipe, but you might find it easier to use quick cooking oats as they are smaller in size which may help to soak up the moisture from the sweet potato fritters slightly better. Otherwise, you can use rolled oats and grind them up a bit in the food processor.
Kale – I love to add a healthy dose of greens anywhere I can when i’m feeding my little one so I threw in some kale to make these sweet potato fritters. But you can of course add any green of your choice. Spinach would work great here as well!
Sweet Potato – Rather than pre-cooking the sweet potato here, we grate it and allow it to cook at the end when panfrying. I would also be mindful to press any excess liquid out from the grated sweet potato with paper towel before combining with the rest of the ingredients as the extra moisture might make it too wet to bind together.
Flax Egg – To make this recipe vegan we use a flax egg as a binder by combining 1 tablespoon of flax seed with 2 tablespoons of almond milk and letting it thicken in the fridge for 15 mins. But if you don’t need to make these vegan, you can use an egg instead.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1-2: To a food processor, pulse the lentils, garlic, kale, sweet potato, cumin, paprika, and flax egg.
Step 3: Transfer to a bowl and stir in the oats.
Step 4: Shape into long finger like “sticks” and place on a lined baking sheet.
Step 5-6: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet, and pan-fry on all sides until golden brown. Serve at room temperature.
Expert Tips
These sweet potato fritters are great for batch cooking which is why I like to make a big batch of them for the week! I keep half in the fridge for the week, and freeze the other half. Then every few days, I pull out a few little fritters and let them thaw in the fridge before dinner. Honestly, I’ve eaten a lot of these fritters myself since I like to model the eating in front of my son while he’s having his meal. If I enjoy them even without salt, I know they’re pretty good.
Also, let’s talk about shape. These fritters are easy for baby to pick up and hold because of their finger shape. They’re also soft enough inside that they can chewed on even without teeth.
I also really wanted to introduce kale or other dark nutritious greens, and since it’s hard for babies to eat salad, pureeing them into these baby fritters seemed like a perfect idea.
Recipe FAQs
You definitely can! Although they wont turn out as crispy and golden as they do when pan fried. I’d suggest baking at 375F for 30-35 mins and flipping them halfway.
You can store these fritters in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for about 3 months.
If you don’t need to make these vegan then yes definitely! I also like to use flax seed here because it boosts the omega 3 fats.
To get 1 cup of soaked lentils you’ll need 1/2 cup dry soaked in about 1 cup of water (the lentils will expand significantly).
I’d suggest mixing in more oats (1 tbsp at a time) to help soak up some of the moisture and make it easier to work with and shape. Otherwise, you can also try sprinkling in a bit of flour or bread crumbs as well.
More Recipes You Might Like
If you loved these sweet potato fritters for baby led weaning, then you are going to LOVE these recipes for your little one.
- Salmon Sweet Potato Fritters
- Sweet Potato Apple Muffins (High Iron)
- Mini Broccoli and Egg Muffins
- Hummus Baby Meatballs
Now loves, let me know, what are some of your baby’s favourite homemade snacks that are high in iron?
Sweet Potato Fritters with Lentils & Kale (Vegan BLW Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup soaked red split lentils soaked overnight in water, measured after soaking
- 1 cup minced baby kale
- 1 cup grated sweet potato
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 flax egg 1 tbsp ground flax with 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup gluten free oats
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- To a food processor, add the lentils, garlic, kale, sweet potato, cumin, paprika, and flax egg. Pulse for 3-5 minutes until fully combined, scrapping down the sides if needed.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the oats. If you find the mixture is too wet to shape, add more oats 1 tbsp at a time.
- Shape into long finger like "sticks" and place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or baking sheet.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet, and pan-fry on all sides until golden brown. Fritters might be delicate when flipping so use a spatula and carefully flip them.
- Serve at room temperature.
Video
Nutrition
Leave me a comment below with your thoughts on these sweet potato fritters!
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Mandish says
Do you think frozen kale (thawed and drained) would work? Thanks! Look forward to making this!
Fanny says
Hi, Why do you need to soak the lentils? Do you need to soak them if you are using green lentils instead of red lentils?
Abbey Sharp says
Soaking them makes them softer and easier to digest! Red lentils are softer than green lentils so soaking is sufficient. But if you are using green lentils, I would recommend cooking them before adding them into the fritters.
Lisa says
Hi abbey, mine was very crumbly as I tried to shape them. Any ideas? Thanks
Abbey Sharp says
Oh thats odd! Did you soak the lentils overnight?
Lisa says
Yes I did, I substituted flax egg with an actual egg and kale with spinach (which I’ve read in previous comments should be fine).
Emily says
Hi Abbey, we’re doing BLW with our 6.5 month old, no teeth. Are these safe for early BLW or would you recommend waiting a couple more months to tackle these?
Abbey Sharp says
Safe! Babies do not need teeth to do BLW!
Lauren Day says
Hi Abbey,
How long do I pulse the ingredients? Should the mixture look like a dough or a bunch of minced ingredients?
Thanks!
Abbey Sharp says
It’s really up to your own preference! As long as you can shape them into fingers you’re good.
Michelle says
Hi there!
Could you clarify if the lentils are 1 cup of measured out (post soaked) or if you use 1 cup of lentils and soak them overnight and use the amount they expand to be? I find the instructions a bit confusing (my husband and I both looked at it and were both a bit perplexed!).
Thanks so much in advance! Looking foward to making them!
Abbey Sharp says
thanks for the feedback, I will clarify the notes. But it would be a cup presoaked (measured after soaking).
Michelle says
Thank you! My daughter gobbled them up – will be making again!
Min says
Do you soak the lentils in room temperature overnight or in the fridge?
Sarah says
I’ve been making these for my little guy since he was 11 months old and they are a hit! A great way to get him to eat his veggies too. I often also put some avocado on top.
Abbey Sharp says
love the avo idea!!
JJ says
Hi, is it 1 cup of lentils pre-soaking or after? Of course the lentils expand when being soaked!
Abbey Sharp says
pre-soaked overnight 🙂
Min says
After soaking the lentils overnight do I rinse away the outer shells (throw out?. Or do you use it too?
LIELLE says
Can i soak lentils for 3 hours instead of overnight?
Abbey Sharp says
That should be fine.
Madi says
Hi. Quick question: can you substitute yams for the sweet potatoes?
Abbey Sharp says
Yup, for sure.
Jasmine says
Hi Abbey,
Can I substitute ground flax with wheat germ or chia seeds to make the flax egg?
Thanks a lot!
Abbey Sharp says
yes the chia seed would work! I’ve never tried with wheat germ
Kk says
Do you cook the potato first???
Abbey Sharp says
Nope, just grate it.
Lauren says
Do you not cook the lentils before processing them?
Abbey Sharp says
Nope just soaking them is fine. The red lentils are much softer than green lentils
Nico says
The potatoes are not too hard to swallow or chew for the baby if not pre-cooked? Also, can I use drained canned lentils?
Abbey Sharp says
because the potatoes are grated, they cook in the fritter. And yes you can totally use canned lentils just give them a rinse
Krysta Phalen says
These were amazing. I added extra 1/2 cup oat flour. Also nutritional yeast!
Definitely time consuming making them into little nuggets but we lovedddd the flavor. Baby loved them too. Thanks Abby! I watch your videos on YouTube All the timeeee. More vegan videos please!!
Abbey Sharp says
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
Nathalie says
I wanted to love these, and they do taste great! Buuut I’m an experienced cook and even I feel like the instructions are too vague. It wasn’t clear to what extent the mixture needed to be processed. Usually pulsing means to leave it a bit coarse so that’s what I did, but with no idea of *how* coarse it should be I was just guessing. The coarseness made them hard to form, and I realized later that the consistency looked a lot mushier in your finished product, almost like it should have been processed into a creamier texture. So it would be nice if you had explained what the texture should be like at the end of processing 🙂 I used quick oats for my oats, but again it wasn’t clear if that was the right texture for the recipe? In the end I added an egg and managed to get finger shapes with a good deal of frustration. They break when my baby picks them up but he’s managing to eat them between picking up some chunks and me feeding him the ones he can’t get (we just experiment with BLW).
Abbey Sharp says
So sorry about that. We will review the instructions and create some more clearer steps. Thanks for your comment.
Laura says
Hello, Abbey. Do you think I can try baking these instead of pan frying?
Abbey Sharp says
Yup, you can try!
Verena says
Hi, do you leave the lentils uncooked for processing and until frying?