Lentil – Not Meat – Balls

These lentil – not meat – balls are delicious and full of flavour. They are umami-forward and accompanied by a rich tomato sauce.

The purpose of this recipe was not to try and resemble the texture or flavour of meat in a meat ball. However, these lentil – not meat – balls can be used exactly the same way as you would have used meat balls. They’re a super tasty, healthy, vegan (and gluten free!) alternative. If you like the idea of meat balls, but not meat or meat substitutes, then you’ll love them!

Personally, I was never a big fan of meat and certainly not of mince. However, I do like the idea of “spaghetti and meatballs” or a “meat ball sandwich”. So this recipe is doing exactly that. These lentil – not meat – balls can be eaten with pasta, in a sandwich or even on its own with some greens or a salad.

If you like what lentils, then you might also like to try these recipes:

• Roasted Carrot and Lentil Salad
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Crispy Black Beans
• Easy Homemade Baked Beans on Toast

I hope you like this recipe. Please let me know what you think in the comments below and don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram @nothangryanymore.

Annick

Lentil – Not Meat – Balls

Annick

These lentil – not meat – balls are delicious and served with a rich and flavourful tomato sauce. Perfect with pasta, in a sandwich or by themselves. They're also great for meal prepping.

5 from 2 votes

(Click on the stars to vote!)

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine vegan

Servings 4 (assumes 3 balls per serve)

Equipment

• Food Processor*

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

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Lentil – not meat – balls

• 2 cans lentils (or about 500g cooked lentils)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 15 g tomato paste
• 1 tbsp molasses (or rice malt syrup)
• 1 tbsp buckwheat flour

Tomato Sauce

• 1 brown onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 25 g capers
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 can chopped tomato (400g)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Lentil – not meat – balls

• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
• Drain and thoroughly rinse the lentils and add them to a food processor.
• Add the rest of the "lentil – not meat balls" ingredient to the food processor, i.e. ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, salt, tomato paste, molasses and buckwheat flour.
• Pulse the food processor a few times. The mixture should stick together, but should not be completely smooth.
• Take out a tablespoon of mixture at the time and roll it into a ball. Place the balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Bake the balls for 25 minutes at 180°C fan.
• Once baked, let them cool down for 2-3 minutes until they are easily peeled off the baking paper.

Tomato Sauce

• While the lentil – not meat – balls are in the oven, dice the onion and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Finely chop the celery.
• Heat up a cast iron pan (or large fry pan) and add the olive oil.
• Add the onion, garlic and celery and fry until the onion is golden in colour.
• Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar once the onions start to stick to the pan.
• Finely chop the parsley (including stalks) and roughly chop the capers.
• Add the chopped parsley and capers as well as the chili flakes to the pan and stir to mix.
• Empty the tin of chopped tomato into the pan. Then, fill up the tin half-way with water and swirl before adding the water into the pan too.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper and cook the sauce for a further 5 minutes.

Assembly

• Once the sauce is cooked and the lentil – not meat – balls are baked, remove the lentil – not meat- balls from the baking paper and add them into the sauce.
• Turn the lentil – not meat- balls in the sauce to fully cover them.
• Enjoy them by themselves with a side salad or serve them with pasta or in a sandwich.

Notes

* I have the Breville Kitchen Wizz 11 Food Processor. I’ve used mine for the past 4 years and have never had any issues with it.

 

 

 

Links marked with * are affiliate links. You won’t pay any more than normal when you purchase a product through this link, but I may get a small commission from the sale.

Keyword lentils, plant based meat balls, tomato

Nutrition Facts

Lentil – Not Meat – Balls

Amount Per Serving (300 g)

Calories 271 Calories from Fat 71

% Daily Value*

Fat 7.9g12%

Saturated Fat 1.1g7%

Trans Fat 0.01g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.2g

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 468.9mg20%

Potassium 903.9mg26%

Carbohydrates 40g13%

Fiber 10.8g45%

Sugar 8.3g9%

Protein 13.5g27%

Vitamin A 1067IU21%

Vitamin C 23.7mg29%

Calcium 110mg11%

Iron 6.5mg36%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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