Description
Hearty, “meaty” vegan meatballs made with lentils and mushrooms! Enjoy these delicious plant-based meatballs with pasta and your favourite tomato sauce such as marinara or bolognese.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown lentils (190 g)
- 8 oz baby bella or cremini mushrooms, diced small (125 g)
- ¼ cup oat flour (30 g)
- 2 tbsp ground flax (14 g)
- 5 tbsp warm water (75 mL)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (15 mL)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (28 g)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (10 g)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (15 g)
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Cook Lentils: Rinse and cook lentils according to package directions. Drain. If you don’t have instructions, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the lentils, cover and simmer lightly for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.
- Prepare to Bake: Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cook Mushrooms: Add olive oil to a saucepan and cook the diced mushrooms over low to medium heat until they have released all moisture and turn golden (about 15 minutes). Stir often to prevent burning.
- Blend Ingredients: Add the remaining ingredients except for the oat flour to a food processor.
- Add Lentils and Mushrooms: Once mushrooms and lentils are cooked, add to food processor as well. Pulse several times until it resembles ground meat. Avoid overblending into a paste. Some whole lentils and larger pieces of mushroom should remain for texture.
- Mix with Oat Flour: Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the oat flour very well. Let rest for 10 minutes for flour to absorb moisture.
- Roll Meatballs: Roll into balls a bit larger than a golf ball and spread out on baking sheet. You should get 12-15 meatballs. Mist with a light coating of olive oil cooking spray or use an oil mister to spray with a light mist of any cooking oil.
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the tray after 10 minutes, until they are firm and golden brown.
- Serve: Serve with your favourite tomato-based sauce and/or pasta of choice, gravy, on a meatball sub or any other way you’d enjoy meatballs.
Notes
Serving: Serve with tomato sauce, pasta or zucchini or carrot noodles and fresh basil. Try them on a toasted submarine with marinara sauce or bolognese sauce and vegan parmesan. Enjoy warm or cold on salads.
Storing: Cooked meatballs can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, stovetop in a pan or in the oven until heated to your preference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 meatballs
- Calories: 77
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 5 g