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I made this Lentil Meatball recipe today and I was very pleased with the results, I was looking for an easy lentil meatballs recipe that would be packed with flavor yet fancy enough to be served even at the holiday table and enjoyed by everyone including meat-eaters. They actually remind me of Swedish meatballs.
I knew I found a winner vegan meatballs when I serve them and my husband couldn't stop saying how much he loves them and that they are definitely a keeper! They remind me of Swedish Meatballs, the kind you find at Ikea.
I love making vegan meatballs because they can easily feed a crowd, they are perfect for potlucks, and you can easily estimate the number of people you will be serving and make the right amount for them. My Vegan Tofu Meatball recipe is also a huge hit!
Health Benefits Of Lentils
Lentils are healthy and rich in nutrients and should be included as part of the diet: Want to gain muscles while on a vegan diet? Then you should eat more lentils. They’re high in fiber, protein, and folate. The fact is they can help you live longer, and they’re pretty much the perfect food. The little legumes have 250g of spermidine.
1 cup of cooked lentils contains:
- 226 calories
- 39 grams carbohydrates
- 18 grams protein
- 16 grams fiber
- 3.6 grams sugar
- 0.8-grams fat
How To Make Lentil Meatballs (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
To make these vegan lentil meatballs, first sort and wash dried lentils. Use green, brown or black lentils for this recipe, saute onion, garlic, herbs, add lentils, along with water or vegetable broth and cook until tender and liquid has evaporated.
While lentil is cooking, make oat flour, followed by finely chopped walnuts in a food processor, then stir them in the lentil mixture along with ground flaxseeds, yeast flakes, and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
Form into meatball shape and place onto a prepared baking sheet and baked for 30 minutes. While lentil meatballs are baking prepare the cashew gravy.
The cashew gravy is easy, you basically rinse cashews, and add all the ingredients except the herbs in a high-speed blender and process until creamy. Pour gravy into a saucepan, add herbs/seasonings and cook over medium heat until bubbly, while stirring with a whisk.
I wanted a dish that was very tasty so I adapted the filling from my Jamaican Lentil Patties recipes.
I was going to add a gluten-free flour to bind the meatballs and prevent them from breaking up, but to my surprise, the balls were quite sturdy without flour.
Feel free to add about 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour of your choice, rice, oat flour or sorghum flour should work fine for this recipe.
I added my gravy when I'm plating my dish, just before serving, so that the meatballs aren't sitting for long in the gravy. It is delicious served with rice or mashed potatoes, green beans.
If you are still searching for recipe ideas for the holiday, don't worry we have you covered! Here are 25 DELICIOUS VEGAN RECIPES FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
Check Out More Lentil Recipe Ideas:
- Lentil Shepherd's Pie
- Vegan Lentil Stew
- Jamaican Lentil Patties
- Vegan Lentil Loaf
- Creamy Lentil Pasta
- Loaded Taco Fries
- Vegan One Pot Taco Spaghetti
- Vegan Bolognese
- Lentil Curry Lettuce Cups
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
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- Energy:
- 335 kcal / 1400 kJ
- Fat:
- 21 g
- Protein:
- 13 g
- Carbohydrate:
- 25 g
Ingredients
Lentil Meatballs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 cup dried lentils
- 2 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons oatflour
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 teaspoons Bragg's liquid aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Creamy Cashew Gravy
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour then drained
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder, or cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pinch of Cayenne pepper
- Preparation:
- 20 min
- Cooking:
- 1 h
- Ready in:
- 1 h 20 min
Instructions
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, parsley, paprika, and lentils to coat.
Add water and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cover the pot. Cook until lentils are tender and water has completely evaporated about 30 minutes. (Make sure lentils are dry and not soggy)
Transfer lentil mixture to a large bowl and set aside. Using a food processor, process/pulse walnuts until finely chopped. Stir walnuts into lentils along with the *oat flour, flaxseeds, yeast flakes, Bragg's Liquid Aminos and salt.
Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Prepare baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper.
Scoop mixture, using about 1-2 tablespoons. Form into balls and placing them on prepared sheets in a single layer until mixture is all gone. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown and crispy on the outside.
To Prepare Cashew Gravy
Combine cashews, water, yeast flakes, onion powder, garlic, arrowroot, Bragg's Liquid Aminos in a high-speed blender and process until smooth.
Pour sauce into a saucepan and add thyme, Italian seasonings, paprika. Heat on medium-high, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until sauce thickens.
Place meat balls in serving plate. Pour gravy on top and garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
1. Substitute your favorite marinara sauce for the creamy cashew gravy.
2. Substitute cashews with sunflower seeds for a nut-free creamy gravy.3
3. *To make oat flour, I place rolled oats in a blender and process until smooth. I store it in an airtight container in my refrigerator and I love to use it to make gluten-free pancakes as well.
4. The gravy is thick so you might want to add extra water to make it thinner.
This looks delicious, but I’m allergic to oats and all other grains. Can you describe what the oats are for so I can maybe figure out a substitute? I’d love to try these!
Hi Amy, the oat is for the integrity of the meatball, without it, the lentils would disintegrate because when cooked the lentils are soft. A possible substitute would be quinoa flakes (quinoa is a seed and not a grain).
My very much meat loving family just ate these for dinner and again as leftovers, This recipe is great,
Wow Cyndi, that’s awesome, I’m so happy your family loved them. Thank you for your feedback.
I Absolutely loved the gravy. It was the best gravy I ever had. Also, I was excited about the meatballs because I’m not really interested in cooking store bought vegan mock meats. This recipe made me so happy because I’m finally enjoying cooking as a gluten free vegan as I did when I was not vegan.
Is this 1 cup weighted out to 8oz walnuts or just whatever fits into a 1 cup measuring cup?
Chikaya, whatever fits into 1 cup is fine, this is a very popular recipe that works every time and I have made it countless times using 1 cup. Hope you enjoy.
My SO is allergic to walnuts. Can you substitute it with something else or skip it all together?
Abbie, pecans are a great substitute. I hope you enjoy it.
I have just made the lentil meatballs, they smell and taste delicious! 😍Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thank you Karen, I’m so happy you enjoyed them.
This receipe is so delicious i will definitely be making this again. Please keep posting more Michelle for everyone of your receipes are so good.
Thank you Stacy, I’m so happy you are enjoying my recipes, thank you so much for your feedback.
This is a very forgiving recipe! I used Trader Joe’s mirepoix mix in the lentils and over pulverized the walnuts and everything still came out delicious. I am freezing about half of the balls but recommend a few more cashews if serving all at once.
Your one on my absolute favorite bloggers! Your receipes are always on point. This taste AWESOME SO DELICIOUS!!! The only thing I tweak was the cashew sauce. I did not soak my cashews because I love the full flavor of the cashews (soaking in water decrease cashew flavor) just my personal opinion :) if you have a high speed blender the sauce with blend smoothly. Other than that I follow the recipe to the tee. Please keep your great recipes coming!! In my Pinterest I have a board created just for your recipes LOL
Janet your comment is so humbling, thank you for your feedback. I’m so happy you are enjoying my recipes. Thank you for encouraging me.
Hello, this looks great! Can you tell me if it’s possible to drop the liquid aminos? We don’t have them where I live…
Ivana, you can drop the liquid aminos, add enough salt or substitute with soy sauce.
Waw…Looking so yummy and healthy.
Thanks for sharing these healthy recipes with us
My family loved these, they were very delicious 😋
Michelle Blackwood, thank you for your blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.
Shoaib, you are welcome. Hope you try it.