Italian Lentil Meatballs

Monday, September 16, 2019
I’ve been a role lately with creating mock meat recipes. Last week, I created a Black Bean and Corn Veggie Burger. Although it was a bit of trial and error, I figured out the right combo to get it to stick. This week, I decided to create Italian Lentil Meatballs.

Italian Lentil Meatballs

I’ve cooked with lentils before, but I sparingly use them. Lentils have an interesting texture in my opinion, and I didn’t know how else to prepare them aside from a wrap or toppings for a salad. So, I wanted to give meatballs a try.

Lentils are the perfect meat substitute. They’re legumes, but also a great source of protein. With this meatball recipe, you can pair it however you like. Whether in a bowl of gravy or with your favorite spaghetti dish. I chose to add a store bought pasta sauce with mine that turned out pretty well with these lentil meatballs.

To keep this recipe simple, I went with adding cooked white rice instead of bread crumbs to hold the lentil meatballs together. You can also use quinoa instead of rice if you like.

I also used a healthy helping of chopped red onions. This helped to give it so much flavor without having to rely on several different ingredients. All I used were salt, Italian Seasoning Blend, red onions, and of course…lentils.

Italian Lentil Meatballs

This vegetarian friendly Italian Lentil Meatballs pairs perfectly with your spaghetti dish packing a ton of flavor.
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 30 mins
Course: Main Course | Cuisine: American, Italian, Vegetarian
Keyword: Lentil Meatballs, Lentils, Meatballs, Vegetarian
Servings: 12 meatballs

Ingredients
1 cup Lentils
1/2 cup cooked white or brown rice
1/3 cup chopped red onions
1 tsp salt and pepper
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp olive oil for cooking

Instructions
1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add in your lentils. Allow to boil until tender
2. Using a food processor or fork, mash your lentils until a grounded consistency
3. In a mixing bowl add your mashed lentils, cooked rice, chopped red onions, Italian Seasoning, and salt and pepper and mix everything together
4.Take a large spoonful of the grounded mixture and begin forming medium sized meatballs in the palm of your hands
5.In a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a small bit of olive oil for cooking
6. Gently add your meatballs to the frying pan, allowing each side to cook until a crisp outer crust begins to form
7. Remove meatbals from heat, and enjoy with your choice of sauce!

Notes
You can use red onion or yellow onions if you like
You can use any other type of oil, just as long as you have something to coat the pan
You don’t have to use rice. You can also use breadcrumbs or quinoa if you prefer
3 comments on "Italian Lentil Meatballs"
  1. Do you use dried lentils or ones in the can? Just wondering for measuring purposes. Recipe looks awesome!

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  2. I would probably say the recipe is in terms of cooked lentils because when making it, I got 24 meatballs. With that being said, I don't mind the ratio of lentils to other ingredients when using 1 cup of dried lentils.

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  3. Could you make burgers from this recipe?

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