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| Disclosure: This recipe was created for the USDAPLC. See below for more details. |
I've not always been the biggest fan of vegetarian meals that try to imitate meat. I don't love tofu, seitan or any kind of 'fake-meat' and for the most part I stick with easy vegetable dishes that don't try to be anything but themselves. However, over the years I've found that one can do some fun things with lentils (like sloppy joe's!) and that's what has led to today's post.
I've been on the search for my perfect lentil meatball (which started when I tried Sprouted Kitchen's). While I love their version, I don't always have ricotta on hand and I'm notorious to letting ricotta sit for too long. It seemed that all the other options for lentil meatball recipes included mushrooms. I try hard to not be a picky eater, but mushrooms and I are just one thing that don't get along. And so, I started down the path of creating my own recipe that was straight-forward and really highlighted the lentils. I took a cue from my favorite vegetable burger and added two different kinds of nuts for a bit of flavor and texture. The end result is a meatball that bakes up crisp on the outside while still being soft and tender on the inside.
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Lentil Meatballs with Burst Tomato Pasta
- Author: Erin Alderson
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 1 dozen meatballs 1x
- 1/2 cup brown or green lentils
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup crushed pecans
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
- 1/4 cup whole wheat panko
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 8 ounces whole wheat pasta
- 1 ounce shredded Asiago cheese
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
- Olive oil, to serve
- Combine lentils and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until lentils are tender, 23 to 25 minutes. If lentils are not tender and water has been absorbed, add more water and continue to cook. Drain off any excess water.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat and add the red onion. Cook until onion is translucent and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and carrots, cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a food processor, combine the cooked lentils, onion mixture, nuts, panko, herbs, salt, and pepper. Pulse a few times to start combining the mixture. Crack the egg in and pulse a few more times until the mixture is combined but the lentils are still holding shape. Set aside and let rest while the oven preheats to 425˚.
- Combine cherry tomatoes with 2 teaspoons olive oil and chopped garlic. Place in the oven and let cook until tomatoes have released their juices and 'burst', 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Once tomatoes are in the oven, take the lentil mixture and roll into 12 balls, roughly the size of a golfball. Place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Bake meatballs until browning and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to package and drain. When ready to assemble, combine the pasta with the burst tomatoes, meatballs, shredded cheese, and basil. Drizzle with olive oil and toss everything together to serve.
Notes
*if you would like more of a sauce than the burst tomatoes, pulse the tomatoes with a bit of olive oil, basil, and cheese before assembling.
| Disclosure: This recipe was created for USDAPLC as part of their National Signature Recipe Contest. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It's content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week. |
Hi Ella, this looks and sounds so yummy! I try and stay away from any look-a-like food, I really don't like the soy or seitan steaks but I will deffo try this! I love falafel but wouldn't mind changing for another kind!
Thank you for sharing!
I have to say that I was used to make lentil meatballs in absolutely different way, but after trying your recipe- my girls loved yours better (:
Guess will have to adjust myself to a new recipe, thank you for sharing.
Is it possible to use red lentils instead of the green or brown ones? 🙂
I wouldn't recommend it- red lentils have a different consistency once cooked and wouldn't hold these together as well (perfect for curries!). The green/brown lentils keep their shape and are much better.
I'm very interested in trying these meatballs. I've never had them made from lentils, but it sounds so good! Great recipe!
★★★★★
Omg this looks delicious!
I can't wait to try those lentils. This meal looks fabulous!
I love me some cherry tomatoes!
Healthy and so yummy!
I usually make "meat"balls from soya as I love the taste, but I have to try them with lentil, they look delicious.
★★★★★
It makes my mouth to water. Really great meals. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★
These look lovely! Would love try try a vegan version of it using a flax egg or two. 🙂
I don't like the fake meat either. I have made 'meatballs' with cottage cheese and walnuts. I can't wait to try your version of meatballs. It look really yummy.
yumm I really want to give this a go 😀
What a delicious recipe - I love lentil 'meatballs' and spaghetti but do mine completely different - I love to see the other ways to make recipe I love 🙂
I love this recipe 🙂 As a vegan, sometimes I want something a little heartier and more filling so this would be a great option. Im sure my partner would love it as well.
Thanks for the recipe :).
★★★★
I made these lentil meatballs the other day, and they were absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂 definitely adding it to my list of weekly meals!
Great recipe! I added some mushrooms for a little more meatiness. The flavor combinations are excellent, and the preparation is pretty simple.
★★★★★
Based on the recipe and the photos, it looks like these would be a little dry. Was that the case, or is the appearance just deceiving? I'm used to my grandmas really moist meatballs. Thanks!
I can't really tell you they would be as moist as traditional meatballs so I think if you're making this recipe with that in mind, you'd be disappointed. They resemble more a grain/vegetable patty.
Hi. This looks like a great recipe; however, I have Celiac Disease, and would love to attempt to make them gluten free. Do you have any recommendations for replacements for the 1/4 cup of whole wheat panko bread crumbs? I can use brown rice-rice pasta or raw, spiralized zucchini noodles for the pasta portion of the recipe. Thanks for your wonderful recipes and information, and for all that you do.
You could easily use bread crumbs (either store bought or homemade from gf bread.) If you'd like to make your own, this is a good post: http://beardandbonnet.com/3-secrets-taking-bread-out-of-gluten-free-bread-crumbs-gluten-free-vegan/ Hope that helps!
Hey Erin!
Just had to tell you that we made these meatballs last night and they were insanely good! We swapped the pecans for a mixture of sunflower seeds and smoked almonds and that smokiness gave it an even meatier taste.
Thanks for a great dinner!
Hilary
Hi, have you ever made these using the already cooked/refrigerated Trader Joe's lentils to cut down a step? Thanks!
I haven't but I have used lentils I've premade the day before. I'm guessing it would work, just make sure the lentils don't have a lot of extra liquid when adding to the bowl!
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated!
I added reconstituted porcini mushrooms and used the water to cook lentils. It was good!
I used green lentils and extra garlic. These are crunchy and delicious. Came out perfect and they were super easy to roll.
my son has nut allergies so i would have to leave the nuts out. what would you suggest to substitute?
Can he have seeds? If so, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds would work well. If not, I might have to do a bit more thinking- they are a good-sized chunk of the recipe.
I actually have all the ingredients on hand and can't wait to make this. My lentils will sit idle in my pantry no longer!!
These are amazeballs! I used 1 tbp ground flax seed (linseeds) in place of the egg so that they are vegan and they turned out great!
Hi! These are baking in my oven as we speak! Excited to try. Just wondering if we can freeze the "meat"balls? I made twenty and would love to have leftovers handy for lunch.
I've always frozen before baking but I think they would freeze well after as well!
I made these last night and they were fantastic. I can't believe how much they seemed like regular meatballs to me. Fairly easy to make--I had no problems. I didn't have whole wheat panko, just used regular.
The mixture of tomato pasta and meatball makes it super delicious i tried it and cooked it to my family, they really loved it thanks.
I didn't have bread crumbs so replaced the 1/4 cup with 1/8 polenta and 1/8 crushed wheatbix. Also didn't have oregano so mused thyme instead. Also replaced pecans and walnuts with almonds. they turned out awesome!!!
Hi Erin,
This was such a delicious meal! I made the lentil meatballs without the breadcrumbs and with flax eggs instead of eggs and they still turned out great! Also, instead of making the tomato sauce in the oven, I used the same pan that I sautéed the onion & carrot mixture for the meatballs to make a sauce. I sautéed half of a small onion in EVOO, then added a few cloves of crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and two pints (ish) of tomatoes cut in half. Let that simmer until the tomatoes broke down and the sauce thickened. Tossed pasta with the sauce and a splash of the pasta water. We ate the pasta and meatballs on a bed of arugula and drizzled it with homemade pesto! Delish! Your recipes are always so tasty and so inspiring- thank you!!
★★★★★
These are absolutely delightful and so wonderfully adaptable to what I have on hand! I am wondering if you think these could be cooked similar to drop meatballs in sauce vs baking. Thank you 🙂