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Home » Recipes » Dinner

Lentil Meatballs

By Erin · July 19, 2020 · Updated September 27, 2021 · 21 Comments

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meatballs in a skillet topped with marinara sauce

Enjoy easy and delicious Lentil Meatballs over pasta any day of the week! They're made with lentils, garlic and breadcrumbs, are both vegan and gluten free and are great for meal prepping. 

lentil meatballs covered in sauce

As much as I love my lentil bolognese (and I do love it a lot), I wanted to provide another option for using lentils. Insert: lentil meatballs!

Recipe features

  • An easy "Meatless Monday" recipe that you can prep ahead of time
  • Delicious when paired with marinara sauce, on top of salad or with pesto
  • Ready in under 30 minutes!

lentils in a bowl

Ingredient notes:

Lentils - Green or brown

Flour - All purpose/gluten free all purpose/arrowroot/any sort of neutral tasting flour

Breadcrumbs - Preferably seasoned. I used gluten free Italian breadcrumbs and they worked great!

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook the lentils. Be sure to rinse the lentils first--simply pour them into a mesh strainer then run water over them--then place them in a saucepan along with the water. Bring them to a boil, then place a lid over them and reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer them for 15-20 minutes or until the water has absorbed.

Step 2: Sauté. While the lentils are cooking, you need to do two things: First, make a flax egg by combining flaxseed meal and water. Second, sauté the onion and garlic for a couple minutes, then add the dried parsley, thyme, salt, and red pepper flakes.

onions in a skillet

Step 3: Mash and form meatballs. Once the lentils are cooked, transfer them to a large bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the flax egg, sautéed onion mixture, along with the breadcrumbs, flour and vegan parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Use your hands to form the mixture into 12 meatballs.

smashed lentils

smashed lentils in a bowl

Step 4: Sauté the meatballs in a skillet with a little oil until they're golden brown on the outside. Serve them with your favorite marinara sauce, or your sauce of choice (pesto would be delicious as well!).

lentil meatballs in a skillet

Tips and FAQs

  • I like to wet my hands before forming the lentil mixture into meatballs, which not only helps them stick together better, but keeps the mixture from sticking to my hands.

Do I have to use marinara sauce?

Of course not. Besides using a delicious store-bought marinara sauce, my other recommendation would be my homemade almond pesto, which pairs perfectly with these and some pasta.

What should I serve these with?

So many options, but I'd go with either pasta or over top of veggies. The other day I ate these as leftovers with some sautéed kale, and it was delicious!

A close up of food, with Lentil and Meatball

More vegan dinner recipes

  • Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs
  • Instant Pot Spanish Rice
  • Vegan Mac and Cheese

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

meatballs covered in marinara

Lentil Meatballs

Enjoy easy and delicious Lentil Meatballs over pasta any day of the week! They're made with lentils, garlic and breadcrumbs, are both vegan and gluten free and are great for meal prepping. 
5 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 meatballs
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • ¾ cups green lentils rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • ¼ cup yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal+2.5 tablespoon water, mixed
  • 2 tablespoon flour all purpose or arrowroot for gluten free option
  • 2 tablespoon vegan parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoon seasoned breadcrumbs gluten free
  • 1 ½ cups marinara sauce optional

Instructions

  • Add lentils and water to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then place lid over top and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils have absorbed the water and are cooked.
  • While the lentils are cooking, make the flax egg: stir 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal and 2.5 tablespoon water together and let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Next, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt and stir for 1 more minute; remove from heat and set aside.
  • Once the lentils are cooked, transfer them to a large bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them (this should take 1-2 minutes). Then, add the onion mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Last, stir in the flax egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and cheese.
  • Use your hands to form the mixture into 12 meatballs. Add the remaining oil to a skillet, then sauté the meatballs for 3-4 minutes, or until they start browning on the outside. If you're adding sauce, remove the skillet from the heat (or turn heat down to low) and pour the sauce over top.

Video

Notes

*Calories are an estimation and are per meatball 
*Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you want to make some and freeze them
Tip: wet your hands before forming the lentil mixture into meatballs; that way, the mixture holds together a little better and your hands won't get as messy 

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2017. It was updated with new text and photos in July 2020.

« Almond Pesto
Buffalo Spice Almonds »

About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    November 22, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    5 stars
    Yummy!!!!!

    Reply
  2. Natalia says

    May 02, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    Your photography is so GORGEOUS. So happy I found you!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      May 02, 2018 at 9:59 pm

      Thank you so much!! That means a lot.

      Reply
  3. Leo Sigh says

    April 25, 2017 at 9:06 am

    These look amazing. And I have bags of lentils so need to start using them 🙂

    Just need to figure out which of the vegan markets sells vegan parmesan here in Vienna 🙂

    Thanks!!

    Reply
  4. katy says

    April 19, 2017 at 9:48 am

    These look amazing! I'm recently dairy-free so I've been on the hunt for new dinner ideas. Definitely trying this! Two questions. Is vegan parm the same as nutritional yeast? And in the pesto, is it fresh or dried basil & parsley? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 19, 2017 at 11:23 am

      1) No--you can find vegan parmesan with the other vegan cheeses in the refrigerated section (looks the same as regular shredded parmesan but says "dairy free") and 2) It doesn't really matter--I used dried because I didn't have fresh on hand, but fresh will work if you have them. Let me know if you try them! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Lauren Grant | Zestful Kitchen says

    April 18, 2017 at 11:08 pm

    Stunning photos! I can't wait to give these a try!

    Reply
  6. Kim | Unrefined RD says

    April 14, 2017 at 12:00 am

    Absolutely making these! I haven't tried lentil meatballs, but I know without a doubt I will love them 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:36 pm

      Let me know if you try them!

      Reply
  7. Casey the College Celiac says

    April 12, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    I've never cooked with lentils but this recipe has me dying (correction: drooling) to try!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:36 pm

      They're pretty neutral tasting (you know, like rice and quinoa) and something I too need to eat more often!

      Reply
  8. Sarah | Well and Full says

    April 12, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    Oh my gosh... that shot of the almonds!! SO gorgeous and detailed!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:35 pm

      Thank you Sarah! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Amanda Dal says

    April 12, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    I LOVE pesto everything! And the addition of almonds sounds awesome!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:35 pm

      Thanks Amanda!

      Reply
  10. Julia Mueller says

    April 12, 2017 at 11:22 am

    You just reminded me I don't eat nearly enough lentils, either. I do love them and am 200% game for these balls! Bring on that almond pesto!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:34 pm

      Right?! I don't know why I don't eat them more. Let's change that!

      Reply
  11. annie says

    April 12, 2017 at 9:07 am

    I'm with you...veggie meatballs and burgers don't have to be complicated. These look especially tasty. I know a pesto fiend who would be all about these.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:34 pm

      Exactly! Easy veggie balls are the best.

      Reply
  12. Ashley | Fit Mitten Kitchen says

    April 12, 2017 at 7:15 am

    Ah you make vegan meatballs look SO good. I love pesto anything so I am I would love these. My bestie also loves lentils so I'll have to share this recipe with her!

    (p.s. this is terrible of me but I just noticed your new logo! I love it! )

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2017 at 12:32 pm

      It's not terrible! I'm SO bad at keeping up with blogs anymore, but thank you so much!

      Reply

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