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
- Starting out: sauté the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Cook and soften for just a few minutes.
- 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.
- Next, scoop out the dough into little balls, about the size of a heaping tablespoon.
- 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!
Vegan Lentil Meatballs
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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Place in the middle of the oven and bake 25 minutes. Halfway through the cook-time take the lentil balls out and flip.
- 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:
- 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.
Amara says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I made it for my family last night and even the non-vegan kid loved them! I’m hoping to make this recipe for my sister but she’s allergic to almonds. Could I replace the ground almonds for some other kind of nut? Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! So glad you guys all enjoyed it! Other ground nuts would also work! Ground cashews would be the best swap. Instead of nuts you can also use gluten free bread crumbs or even gf all purpose flour. Hope that helps!
Erin says
Hi Sarah,
I am going to double this recipe, do you think that the ratios would stay the same if I just double everything? I know sometimes that is not always the case with other receipes!
Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Erin! I haven’t tried doubling it myself yet but I don’t think you’d have any problems doubling it with the recipe – hope that helps!
David G says
These are phenomenal!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks David!
Heather says
I used half cup almond nd flour oatmeal and coconut flour to make up the delicious me cup
After kneading left in fridge for an hour
Btw Iadded a quarter teaspoon of Jamaican jerk seasoning. It was perfect
Sarah Nevins says
Ooh love the sound of adding Jamaican spice! Thanks Heather!
Juliana says
This didnt turn into a dough for me , once I cooked the lentils from dry they were quite moist even after I rinsed them it tasted great but I had to turn it sort of like a lentil hummus dip.
JULIANA says
Sorry not rinsed them but drained them. There isnt much instruction on the lentils, you could add it to your recipe to make it more clear. Just a suggestion
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Juliana! I recommend adding more ground almonds/almond flour next time so that the mixture forms a sticky dough that you’re able to roll into balls. It sounds like your meatballs might have needed a little extra to absorb some of the extra moisture
Sabrina says
We’re not actually vegan so I don’t have any nutritional yeast, can it be replaced with anything?
Sarah Nevins says
Parmesan cheese is a great swap for nutritional yeast and visa versa!
Tina says
Can i use red lentils?
Sarah Nevins says
That should work!
Katie says
Do these freeze well?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Katie – I haven’t tried freezing them myself yet but I do think they would freeze fairly well
tamara clarke says
what is the substitute for nutritional yeast
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Tamara! The best substitute would be to use a vegan parmesan. If you can’t use that they just leave out the nutritional yeast altogether and add an extra couple of tablespoons almond flour.
Nette says
My husband is allergic to almonds is there anything else I can use
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Nette! You could use the same amount of bread crumbs (gluten free bread crumbs if needed) or ground cashews. If neither of those options are available to you you could try 1/2 cup gf all purpose flour.
Kt says
I’m avoiding soy. What substitute do you recommend for the soy sauce?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Kt – have you ever tried coconut aminos? Those are my go-to soy substitute. You can replace them 1:1 whenever soy sauce is called for. The main difference is that you’ll need to add at least 1/4 tsp more salt with coconut aminos as it’s not as naturally salty. Hope that helps!