Moong Dal Frittata (vegan egg bake)

This moong dal egg bake is a hearty, protein-packed, savory breakfast that cooks up in a single pan! The lentil “egg” batter is packed with herbs, veggies, sundried tomato and amazing flavor to make a fantastic satisfying frittata bake!

Moong dal, which is petite yellow lentils, or green moong beans with their skin removed and split, is a great substitute to make an egg-like batter. You can use these lentils to make omelettes, egg patties, frittatas, egg bakes, or even scrambles. This lentil omelet bake is versatile and delicious and a great option if you don’t want to make a chickpea flour omelette/frittata(which can taste bitter to some).

I have several savory breakfast options for you that use lentils, mung beans/moong dal, and chickpea flour as an egg substitute. You can try my moong bean omelette, chickpea flour omelette, chickpea flour frittata, and moong egg sandwich. 

If you don’t have moong dal, it is easily available online on Amazon or in Indian stores. Many stores ship as well. If you just can’t find it, you can use split red lentils instead, but the flavor will be slightly different. Many different lentils and chickpea flour can work here, but each of these has a slightly different flavor and texture. Play around with them, try my other recipes, and decide which batter you like best for which application.

These omelettes, frittatas, and egg patties type dishes made with these different lentils have been in Indian cuisine for a really long time. They’re just called different things and use slightly different spices. For a more egg-like flavor and texture, we add some kala namak, which is Indian sulfur salt. If you don’t have that, just omit it. If you can find some, it’s great for adding that extra eggy flavor to vegan egg dishes like this lentil frittata.

This lentil frittata is also pretty high in protein. There is protein from the moong dal, protein from some crumbled tofu that we add to it, and protein from some cashews or hemp seeds that we use to make the batter, as well as some nutritional yeast. All of that protein makes it a hearty and satisfying breakfast!

If you want to make this soy-free, omit the tofu, or you can replace it with chickpea flour tofu or white beans instead. If you don’t want to add nutritional yeast, you can omit that as well.

Why You’ll Love this Moong egg bake

• hearty, protein-packed, savory vegan breakfast
• cooks in a single pan
• very little active cooking time
• super flavorful and easy to make
• naturally gluten-free with easy soy-free and nut-free options

Ingredients and Substitutions

• dried moong dal – Split and skinned mung beans or petite yellow lentils. This is the base for your omelette batter.
• salt and spices – You’ll season the batter with garlic powder, onion powder, kala namak, and black pepper. Kala namak gives this an eggy flavor, but you can omit, if you can’t find it. You season the veggies with smoked paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper and sprinkle some black pepper on top before baking the lentil omelet.
• baking powder – Helps the omelet get fluffy.
• nutritional yeast – Adds umami and is optional.
• cashews – Adds richness. You can use hemp or pumpkin seeds, if you prefer. Or, you can omit the nuts and seeds entirely and use non-dairy milk instead of water (add 2 teaspoons oil to the batter when blending if using non dairy milk) .
• water or stock – Adds moisture to the eggy batter.
• oil – To sauté.
• veggies – You’re going to roast up mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion before adding the batter to the pan. Along with the batter, you will mix in sun dried tomato, green onion, and baby spinach.
• tofu – Adds texture and more protein. Omit or use chickpea tofu, if you don’t want to use soy. Or add some cooked beans
• vegan parmesan – For topping.

How to Make a Moong Dal Frittata

Wash moong dal once or twice, and soak in some fresh warm water for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Drain the soaked moong dal, and add it to a blender. Add salt, garlic powder, onion powder, kala namak, black pepper, baking powder, nutritional yeast, cashews, and water. Blend for 1 minute, then let the mixture sit to let the cashews rehydrate for 2 to 3 minutes, then blend again for half a minute until the mixture is super smooth. You might have to do another round of blending, depending on your blender. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a tablespoon or more of water, and then blend again.

Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C) and line a 9×11” baking dish with parchment paper. Spread most of the bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions evenly in the dish. Drizzle with oil, then mix the smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper together and sprinkle that all over the veggies. Toss to coat, even the veggies out with a spatula, and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the baking dish from the oven.Reserve a third of the mushroom pepper mixture into a bowl. Add crumbled tofu, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and green onions to the pan.

Pour the moong dal batter all over the pan. Lightly mix together, and smooth out the top. Top with the reserved mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Sprinkle with vegan Parmesan and black pepper.

Bake for 30 to 35 more minutes or until the center is set when you test with a toothpick. If it’s not done, let it bake another few minutes, then test again. When it’s fully set, remove the frittata from the oven, and let it sit for a few minutes before removing it from the baking dish using the parchment paper. 

Slice and serve. You can serve this frittata warm or cold. You can serve with some a side of sourdough with vegan butter, or hot sauce, or vegan egg Benedict sauce. Or, you can make sandwiches with it, because this is kind of like an egg patty.

What to Serve with a Moong Dal frittata

You can serve this as part of a breakfast spread with breakfast potatoes and toasted sourdough. This also makes a great filling for a vegan breakfast sandwich piled onto your bread of choice with lettuce, tomato, onion, vegan mayo or hummus, vegan bacon, roasted red pepper, etc. It’s also delicious topped with vegan hollandaise!