I've truly never missed eating meat since going vegan almost four years ago. However, I have so much fun recreating vegan versions of classic comfort food favorites, many of which tend to be meat or cheese heavy. These vegan lentil meatballs are my current favorite.
These meatballs are packed full of flavor. They are high in protein because of the lentils, and they are also gluten free. Although they're seriously delicious on their own, I love adding them to different recipes like these spaghetti and meatballs or a meatball sub. I will include photos of both in the post.
Prep
Start by cooking the lentils. You can use any type of lentils, but I used red ones because they somewhat resemble the color of real meat. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add your lentils. Cook until they are soft and mushy. You can check this by taking out a few at a time and mashing them with a fork.
While the lentils are cooking, make your flax eggs by combining 2 tablespoon of ground flax and 6 tablespoon water. Mix them well and set aside.
Ground up your hemp seeds in a high speed blender. Set those aside as well.
Chop up your onion and mince your garlic. Add them to a pan over medium heat along with the olive oil. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until the onion and garlic release their flavor. After that, turn off the heat and set them aside.
In a large blender or food processor, add the cooked lentils, onion, garlic, and vegetable broth. Blend them until everything is smooth and none of the lentils are whole anymore. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. *If you don't have a blender or food processor with a cup large enough to fit all of these ingredients, use an immersion hand blender.
Assembling the vegan lentil meatballs
In the large bowl with the lentils, add the corn meal, ground hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, and Italian herbs. It's best if you mix it all with your hands. Taste it and add as much salt and pepper as you like.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Start forming meatball about 1.5 inch in diameter and arranging them on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Your vegan lentil meatballs are ready! Add them to your favorite dish, or just eat them on their own. They're that good!
Vegan Lentil Meatballs
Ingredients
- ¾ cups of dry red lentils
- 1 cup of corn meal
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ onion
- olive oil
- ½ cup ground hemp seeds
- 2 flax eggs
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon Italian herbs
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the lentils until they are soft and mushy.
- Chop your onions and garlic. In a pan, add your olive oil, garlic, and onions and cook them over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, make your flax eggs by combining 2 tablespoon of ground flax and 6 tablespoon water. Set aside.
- Also ground your hemp seeds in a high speed blender.
- Once the lentils are cooked, blend them in a blender along with your vegetable broth, onions, and garlic.
- Add the lentil mixture to a large bowl. Add the flax egg, ground hemp, Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, and corn meal.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Line a pan with foil.
- Create 1.5 inch balls from your "ground meat" mixture and place them on the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 450*F.
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