Lentil Meatballs
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Enjoy easy and delicious Lentil Meatballs over pasta any day of the week! They’re made with lentils, garlic and breadcrumbs, are both vegan and gluten free and are great for meal prepping.
As much as I love my lentil bolognese (and I do love it a lot), I wanted to provide another option for using lentils. Insert: lentil meatballs!
Recipe features
- An easy “Meatless Monday” recipe that you can prep ahead of time
- Delicious when paired with marinara sauce, on top of salad or with pesto
- Ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredient notes:
Lentils – Green or brown
Flour – All purpose/gluten free all purpose/arrowroot/any sort of neutral tasting flour
Breadcrumbs – Preferably seasoned. I used gluten free Italian breadcrumbs and they worked great!
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Cook the lentils. Be sure to rinse the lentils first–simply pour them into a mesh strainer then run water over them–then place them in a saucepan along with the water. Bring them to a boil, then place a lid over them and reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer them for 15-20 minutes or until the water has absorbed.
Step 2: Sauté. While the lentils are cooking, you need to do two things: First, make a flax egg by combining flaxseed meal and water. Second, sauté the onion and garlic for a couple minutes, then add the dried parsley, thyme, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Step 3: Mash and form meatballs. Once the lentils are cooked, transfer them to a large bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the flax egg, sautéed onion mixture, along with the breadcrumbs, flour and vegan parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Use your hands to form the mixture into 12 meatballs.
Step 4: Sauté the meatballs in a skillet with a little oil until they’re golden brown on the outside. Serve them with your favorite marinara sauce, or your sauce of choice (pesto would be delicious as well!).
Tips and FAQs
- I like to wet my hands before forming the lentil mixture into meatballs, which not only helps them stick together better, but keeps the mixture from sticking to my hands.
Do I have to use marinara sauce?
Of course not. Besides using a delicious store-bought marinara sauce, my other recommendation would be my homemade almond pesto, which pairs perfectly with these and some pasta.
What should I serve these with?
So many options, but I’d go with either pasta or over top of veggies. The other day I ate these as leftovers with some sautéed kale, and it was delicious!
More vegan dinner recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Lentil Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups green lentils, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 flax egg, 1 tbsp flaxseed meal+2.5 tbsp water, mixed
- 2 tbsp flour, all purpose or arrowroot for gluten free option
- 2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs, gluten free
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, optional
Instructions
- Add lentils and water to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then place lid over top and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils have absorbed the water and are cooked.
- While the lentils are cooking, make the flax egg: stir 1 tbsp flaxseed meal and 2.5 tbsp water together and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Next, heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt and stir for 1 more minute; remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the lentils are cooked, transfer them to a large bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them until only a few whole lentils are left (this should take 1-2 minutes). Then, add the onion mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Last, stir in the flax egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and cheese.
- Use your hands to form the mixture into 12 meatballs. Add the remaining oil to a skillet, then sauté the meatballs until they're golden brown on all sides, approximately 8-10 minutes total. If you're adding sauce, remove the skillet from the heat (or turn heat down to low) and pour the sauce over top.
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2017. It was updated with new text and photos in July 2020.
I’m not sure what happened with these. I had to add a lot more breadcrumbs for them to stay together and they still fell apart in the skillet. I had to salvage them by finishing cooking them in the oven. And then when I ate them they were mushy. A lot of work and steps for it to not work.
Hi! I’m sorry that happened. Next time, you could try adding a second flax egg to see if that helps them hold together.
Could I make these ahead at what point should I put them in the fridge and then reheat
Yes definitely! You can either fully cook them and then store leftovers in the fridge and reheat either in the microwave or in the oven at 350 until warmed through. Or, you prep the meatballs but stop at the step before cooking them and instead place them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze them. Up to you!
Great beef alternative! I did add more onion and garlic and cooked the lentils for 25 minutes just to be sure. With sauce and pasta ill definitely be making it again.
Thanks Joe! Glad you enjoyed the meatballs!
Yummy!!!!!
Your photography is so GORGEOUS. So happy I found you!
Thank you so much!! That means a lot.