Vegan Lentil Meatballs [GF]
The BEST gluten-free & vegan lentil meatballs! Hearty, healthy and absolutely delicious. A true resemblance of authentic Italian style meatballs.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry green lentils
- 2 cups veggie broth Do NOT sub water! See notes
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil + a touch more for the baking sheet
- 1/4 cup oat flour Certified GF oats if needed
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- About 4-5 fresh medium basil leaves
- 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1/8 tsp salt more to taste
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Saute fresh garlic, onion and olive oil over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.
- Add dry lentils and veggie broth to the saute pan with the onions and garlic. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, immediately turn down heat and simmer on low. Stir frequently. Check on your lentils often-you don’t want them hard and you don’t want them overly cooked and mushy. About 15-20 minutes should do it.
- Put the lentil mixture in a strainer to get rid of excess liquid but don’t dry the lentils! You want them slightly wet.
- Let your lentils cool down.Once cooled, and all remaining ingredients into the food processor. If you don’t have oat flour on hand and only whole oats, just add them to the food processor first to make oat flour then add everything else in.
- Pulse slowly! You don’t want to over-pulse, you need some texture. You want the mixture to be mushy with bits of texture throughout. See notes for texture info.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl. Mix well again and taste test.
- You’ll want to check on texture at this point. If it’s too dry, add a tiny bit more of coconut aminos or a tiny splash of vegetable broth. If it’s too wet, add an additional half to 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast.
- Roll mixture into medium size balls and place on a baking sheet that has been lightly coated in oil. I like to sprinkle a bit of nutritional yeast on top of the meatballs but it’s not necessary.
- Bake for a total of 18 minutes, flipping the meatballs over at the 9 minute mark.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- The key to getting the perfect texture on the inside is the consistency of the mixture before it goes into the oven. You want your mixture to be mushy but malleable. It should not be doughy. It will be slightly sticky and wet. I’ve made this recipe multiple times and each time the texture has been perfect following those exact directions. Follow the instructions above if mixture comes out too wet or dry.
- I recommend using green lentils for this recipe but I’ve made it before using a lentil trio of red, black and green and it worked fine. Just be extra careful when pulsing and make sure to check on your mixture.
- Do not sub water for the veggie broth. The veggie broth is vital to the recipe as it provides a lot of the flavor!