Made from scratch Vegan Lentil Meatballs made from healthy, plant based ingredients without too much prep needed! Gluten Free + Grain Free

Okay so maybe these aren’t exactly ‘meat’balls but you catch my drift. Even without the meat they’re still every bit as hearty and even more nutrient packed than the real thing.

Originally, I came up with these lentil meatballs when I was brainstorming recipe ideas for my cookbook that I’m writing with Page Street Publishing. The cookbook is going to be all about lazy gluten free/vegan recipes – good for you food that you can make for those days when you’re just not feeling it in the kitchen.

In the end though I decided it was a recipe best shared here on site. While these (not)meatballs are pretty easy, I wouldn’t exactly say they’re best for lazy cooking.

That being said, the extra bit of work involved in blending and rolling out these meatballs are totally worth the effort. Let’s get into it!

How to Make these Lentil Meatballs

1. Starting out: sauté the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Cook and soften for just a few minutes.
2. Moving on, add all of the remaining ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until mixed together. You can blend until mostly smooth or leave a few chunks in for added texture.
3. Next, scoop out the dough into little balls, about the size of a heaping tablespoon.
4. Place your ‘meat’balls on the baking tray and bake for about 20ish minutes.

And that’s it! From here you can mix these balls into your favourite marinara sauce and enjoy. Serve over gluten free pasta or zoodles or make your own vegan meatball sub.

These are easy enough to enjoy in a weeknight meal and you can even make these and freeze for another time. They’ll keep in the fridge for about 5 days so you can even include them in your next meal prep.

Enjoy!

More Vegan Recipes Like This:

• Vegan Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo With Chickapea Pasta
• Zucchini And Cannellini Tomato Stew
• Baked Vegan Pesto Pasta
• Red Pesto Pasta With Chili Kale
• Sun Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers
• Cilantro Lime Pesto Toast & Tomato Salsa

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this lentil meatballs recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Vegan Lentil Meatballs

Yield: 18-20 meatballs Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

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Made from scratch Vegan Lentil Meatballs made from healthy, plant based ingredients without too much prep needed!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml)
• 1 cup white onion, diced (125 g or 1/2 a large onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1 flax egg
• 1 cup cooked green lentils (150 g)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt + pepper, each
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons gluten free soy sauce/tamari
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup ground almonds (100 g)
• 2 cups marinara sauce for serving

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and set aside. 
2. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to a large skillet over a medium heat. Once warm add the diced onion and saute about 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute until fragrant. Remove from heat.
3. Add the onions and garlic to a food processor along with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until a slightly sticky dough forms. Make sure you don't over process the mixture or it will be more difficult to roll and shape into balls.
4. Scoop out the mixture, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time and roll into little balls. Place on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch space in between each ball. You should end up with about 18-20 balls. 
5. Place in the middle of the oven and bake 25 minutes. Halfway through the cook-time take the lentil balls out and flip.
6. Once done, let the balls cool for a few minutes and then mix into a warmed marinara sauce and serve.

Notes

How to Make a Flax Egg:

1. Mix the 1 tablespoons ground flax with 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Stir and set aside about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens up and then you're ready to use it. Once ready, use it as you would a regular egg.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Mains Cuisine: Italian