Vegan Italian Lentil Meatballs

To be honest, I didn’t really start eating lentils until late last year, even though I’ve been vegan for 5 years and know the long list of nutritional benefits they offer. But for some reason last year I decided to give them another try and have been obsessed ever since! If you want to learn more about lentils, check out my Food Focus blog post, where I explore the origins, nutritional profile, and other information about lentils.

Lentils are great because they don’t have a very strong taste and they have an almost creamy texture. This week I have a vegan Italian lentil meatball recipe that is gluten-free and super easy to make!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water and set aside for 5 minutes)
• 1 tsp of the vegetable flavour Better than Bouillon mix
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup oat flour*

Directions

1. Cook the lentils according to the instructions on the packaging, then drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a frying pan, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the vegetable bouillon and tomato paste.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients until well mixed then transfer to a blender or food processor **
4. Pulse the lentil mixture until it is smooth, scraping the sides of the blender as necessary.
5. Scoop 1 tbsp portions of the lentil mixture into your hand then roll them into a ball and transfer to air fryer basket or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Repeat step 5 and space the meatballs ~1 inch from each other. Once your air fryer basket is full, continue to roll the meatballs and place them on a plate.
7. Cook the meatballs in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400^oF, flipping them over after 5 minutes ***
8. Repeat with the remaining meatballs, then serve with your favourite pasta, roasted veggies, or as an appetizer!

* To make oat flour, blitz in a blender until a fine texture is achieved.

** I used a high-speed blender so I mixed the ingredients beforehand to ensure an even distribution

*** If using an oven, bake at 375^oF for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. You’ll know they are done when the exterior is dry to the touch and golden brown.

I meal-prepped these lentil meatballs this week with roasted asparagus, green beans and broccoli, with some homemade marinara sauce. Super easy but tasty and filling!