Vegan Lentil Meatballs
by: claire cary
Easy to make and full of flavor, these vegan meatballs are made with a base of lentils and mushrooms for a simple dinner. Serve over your favorite spaghetti with plenty of fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups cooked brown or french lentils about 1/2 cup uncooked
- 8 ounces mushrooms I used baby bella
- 1 medium/large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup homemade cashew parmesan click for recipe
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes see notes
- ¾ cup plain, gluten free breadcrumbs
- ⅔ cup fine almond flour
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to package instructions and set aside to cool. Cook in vegetable broth for extra flavor if desired.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and add in the chopped onion. Saute for about 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook down for 5-10 minutes or until softened. Next, add in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for about 1-2 extra minutes to toast the tomato paste.
- Add to a food processor with all remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. Careful not to over mix, you want to retain some texture so it's meaty. If the mixture looks too wet, add in more flour or breadcrumbs until easy to handle (you can also add in about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or another starch to absorb more moisture). It should be firm, but not dry. If it seems at all dry you can add in some more olive oil or a little splash of broth.
- Use a spoon or a small cookie scoop (my preference) to form into roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. Add to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Don't worry if they aren't perfectly shaped, we can reshape in a bit! You will have around 20-24 meatballs depending on the size.
- Bake for 15 minutes, carefully re-shape with your hands as needed and flip over.
- Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- You can then enjoy as is with pasta & sauce (delicious with my pomodoro sauce) or transfer to pan and lightly saute with olive oil, then top with sauce and let simmer. Enjoy!
Notes
For a nut free option, sub the cashew parmesan with nutritional yeast and use oat flour in place of almond flour.
With 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, this recipe will be a mild spice level. Feel free to add more or less depending on your preference.
Serving: 5meatballs / Calories: 361kcal / Carbohydrates: 38g / Protein: 17g / Fat: 18g / Saturated Fat: 2g / Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g / Monounsaturated Fat: 5g / Sodium: 514mg / Potassium: 654mg / Fiber: 11g / Sugar: 5g / Vitamin A: 631IU / Vitamin C: 10mg / Calcium: 139mg / Iron: 6mg
