Hearty and delicious Italian style plant based meatballs made with lentils and veggies! Serve with your favorite marinara sauce over noodles, zoodles, or eat them all by themselves!
Plant Based Meatballs
A few years ago I decided to incorporate more plant based meals into my family’s diet. It did not come without a struggle – as I’ve heard from many of you as well!
But I did want to incorporate more plant based meals to help increase the amount of veggies we were eating and to save money on groceries!
One of the best ways to transition to eating more plant based is to make meals that mimic classic favorites and give them a plant based element.
One of our family’s favorite recipes is meatballs! This plant based meatball recipe replaces meat with hearty lentils, mushrooms and veggies.
You may be thinking, veggies for meat? Hard to believe, but this vegetarian meatball lives up to the hype!
Follow along to see how you can make this tasty dairy free meatball.
Ingredients to Make Lentil Meatballs
Here are the ingredients you need to make it:
- Lentils: Some stores like Trader Joe’s sell already cooked lentils. I recommend green lentils for this recipe.
- Gluten Free Oats
- Salt + Pepper
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- Olive Oil
- Chopped Walnuts
How to Make Vegan Meatballs with Lentils
Here are the steps to make it:
- Add the ⅛ cup of olive oil to a large frying pan and sauté the onions, carrots and celery over medium-high heat, for about 15-20 minutes. Cook lentils according to packaged directions and set aside.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender, lightly browned and most of the moisture from the mushrooms has come off.
- Add the tomato paste, stirring constantly, and cook for another 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Add oats, walnuts and garlic to food processor.
- Pulse oats, walnuts and garlic in a food processor until they are bread crumb consistency.
- Add in cooked veggies and pulse until well incorporated (see Helpful Tips about adding lentils at this time). Remove mixture and put into a bowl.
- Add lentils and seasonings.
- Mix together well. Scoop out meatballs using an ice cream scoop to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes – monitor the meatballs during the last few minutes of cooking so they do not burn.
Helpful Tips for Making Vegetarian Meatballs
Texture is everything! When making veggie meatballs, pureeing the veggies is essential. If your family has texture issues, or you’re worried they won’t be happy with the meatless swap, you can also puree the lentils in with the veggies.
Half and half to start! If you’re transitioning to a plant based diet, you can try substituting half of the lentils with ground turkey or ground chicken. This will help you get used to the textures and tastes of eating more plant based meals.
Store leftovers for easy meals. Store meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the meatballs for up to three months.
How to serve lentil meatballs? Serve over noodles, zoodles or in a sub sandwich bun for a delicious plant based meatball hoagie.
Other Plant Based Meal Ideas You’ll Love
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Plant Based Meatballs Recipe
Plant Based Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry green lentils
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ large yellow onion
- 2 carrots chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons Himalayan salt
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 3 large portobello mushrooms wiped clean and sliced
- ½ cup gluten free oats
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Add the ⅛ cup of olive oil to a large frying pan and sauté the onions, carrots and celery over medium-high heat, for about 15-20 minutes. Cook lentils according to packaged directions and set aside.
- Cook until the vegetables are tender, lightly browned and most of the moisture from the mushrooms has come off.
- Add the tomato paste, stirring constantly, and cook for another 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Add oats, walnuts and garlic to food processor.
- Pulse oats, walnuts and garlic in a food processor until they are bread crumb consistency.
- Add in cooked veggies and pulse until well incorporated (see Helpful Tips about adding lentils at this time). Remove mixture and put into a bowl.
- Add lentils and seasonings.
- Mix together well. Scoop out meatballs using an ice cream scoop to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes – monitor the meatballs during the last few minutes of cooking so they do not burn.
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