Did you see my Instagram of these meatballs? Did you laugh? Do you like my jokes? Please be my friend.
You guys know I’m on a roll with meatballs.
First were my Easy Vegan Meatballs featuring tempeh, then my Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Meatballs featuring chickpeas. I can’t leave lentils out of the party, so this is my take using green lentils!
This recipe is simple, requiring just 10 ingredients and 30 minutes to prepare (when you start with cooked lentils).
It’s the perfect way to utilize leftover cooked lentils in an exciting, new way. In my opinion, if you put anything atop pasta and red sauce, it’s exciting (what does that tell you about my social life?).
In addition to being simple, these meatballs are also vegan and gluten-free, and packed with flavor thanks to fresh parsley, dried herbs, tomato paste, and vegan parmesan cheese.
They get their golden brown crust from vegan parmesan cheese and a quick sauté in a skillet, before finishing off in the oven to help them crisp up even more. While that’s happening, prepare your accompaniments. I went for carrot noodles – because, love – and store-bought marinara sauce to save time.
I hope you all love these meatballs! They’re:
Tender
Flavorful
Healthy
Easy
Quick
& Delicious
Make these for a weeknight meal when you’re looking for something hearty that doesn’t require too much work. Per 4 meatballs, these pack 10 grams of protein! And if you pair them with a quinoa- or brown rice-based gluten-free pasta, you’ll get another 5-10 grams protein per serving.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Rate it, leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) + 1 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp or 9 g)
- 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp (7g) flaxseed meal + 2 1/2 Tbsp (37 ml) water)
- 1 1/2 cups (297 g) cooked + cooled green lentils (cooked in vegetable stock)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (5 g) dried Italian seasonings (dried basil + oregano)
- 1/4 cup (15 g) fresh Italian parsley
- 1 Tbsp (16 g) tomato paste
- 5-6 Tbsp (25-30 g) vegan parmesan cheese, plus more for coating
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste (~1/4 tsp each)
- optional: 1 Tbsp coconut flour, gluten-free oat flour, or panko bread crumbs*
- Carrot noodles or gluten-free pasta
- Marinara sauce
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once skillet is hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, shallot and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until slightly golden brown (being careful not to burn), then remove from heat and turn off stove top.
- To a food processor, add flaxseed and water and let set for 2-3 minutes.
- Add cooked, cooled lentils, 1 tsp olive oil, sautéed garlic and shallot, Italian seasonings, parsley, tomato paste, vegan parmesan cheese, and a pinch each salt and pepper. Pulse, mixing until combined, but not purèed, leaving a little texture.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt and pepper or herbs for flavor, vegan parmesan for cheesiness and to dry out, or more olive oil to moisten. The texture should be dough-like. If the mixture is still too wet, add coconut or oat flour, or panko bread crumbs if not gluten free.
- Use a Tablespoon or cookie dough scoop (like this one), to scoop out rounded Tablespoon amounts of dough and carefully form into balls. The mixture is moldable, but fragile, so the best way to do this is to rest the dough in the palm of one hand, while using two fingers from the other hand to gently mold/form into a meatball. If it cracks, moisten your fingers with a little water to help reform/bind them. Repeat until all meatballs are formed - about 12 or 13.
- Roll/coat in vegan parmesan cheese (optional) and arrange on baking sheet.
- Heat the skillet from earlier over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and half of the meatballs. Brown for 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown, shaking the pan or using a wooden spoon to roll the balls around to cook evenly on all sides.
- As they are done cooking, transfer to your prepared baking sheet and set in the preheated oven. Repeat process, adding remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet and sautéing remaining meatballs, then transfer to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, while you prepare your carrot noodles, pasta and/or marinara sauce.
- Remove meatballs from oven and let cool slightly - they will firm up the longer they are cooled. Serve over carrot noodles or pasta with marinara sauce.
- Best when fresh, though leftovers keep in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat in a 350 degree F (176 C) oven until warmed through.
These lentil balls seriously look perfect! I love those carrot noodles too! Such a good flavour combo :)
These look lovely…. just like stuffing balls x
Those balls look great, girl.
I thought you might say that ;D
Ahhh balls are the best! I love lentils and these sounds peeeeeer-fect!
FAB! Can’t wait to try these :) Also, carrot noodles all day every day!
Right?! So good! Hope you love it, Samantha!
Ohhh these look cool! I haven’t yet made vegan meatballs! You have motivated me – thank you Dana! :)
Can’t wait to try these tonight, I made your tempeh meatballs a while back and they were delicious! Thanks for the wonderful recipes.
Yay! Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! xoxo
I love your recipes and your approach to food in general. Even though I am not vegan, many of your recipes appeal to me and find their way in some form into my meals.
I have one teeny complaint about your website though – hope you can hear me and not be offended.
Your pictures are wonderful but because there are so many they take a long time to download. Not all of have have very fast high speed internet – I live in a rural area where high speed just isn’t the same as it is for big cities. It take more than a minute to load each of your blog post pages and I am wondering if there is anything you can do about that.
No offense taken! I like to include several photos to demonstrate step-by-step instructions in most recipes. Sorry if it takes longer to load, but overall I think it benefits people making the recipes. Thanks for the feedback!
I’ve never had meatballs in a very long time! They’re generally very hard to make, and to stop eating!
I’ve been making your simple meatballs with lentils this whole time – me and tempeh aren’t friends. This recipe validates me. And I’m gonna eat this for dinner over pasta topped with, and this may be kind of weird, mushroom gravy. Like a tasty vegan stroganoff-ish thang.
DO IT. Let me know how it goes! xoxo
Hi! I was wondering, do you have a recipe for Hello Dolly bars? They are my families favorite, but they are full of refined sugar and dairy!
I’m not sure I know what that is! Can you give me more info? I’d be happy to add it to my list!
Wow! You are amazing! You seem to always send out the exact recipe I need at the time!
Love these! Whenever I need inspiration or a certain recipe your email seems to arrive with exactly what I need! Kinda spooky at times. I usually have what I need on hand!
Your fan in Alberta/Oahu. Janice Bearden
SO kind! Thanks Janice. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! Hope you love these. xoxo
I love how simple this recipe is- especially compared to store-bought veggie meatballs. Do you know if they freeze well?
I think they would freeze great. You could either freeze them unbaked or baked, up to you!
Thank you for your recipes. We’re not a vegan home but I am trying to remove as much animal product from our diet as possible when we’re at home. And I love everything of yours I try. Your sweet potatoe black bean burger is simply divine. We made 50 sliders for my youngests first birthday party and they were a hit. I sent a link to your recipe to 7 families. They also freeze well. I make a triple batch and always keep them in my freezer for an easy and wholesome meal for my family and to give away when friends need a little extra love.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Randee!
If you can’t do yeast do you have a substitute?
You can try leaving it out, or adding more garlic powder?
Ok. I usually leave it out. My diet is Satvic vegetarian. Absolutely no yeast and mushroom and only use garlic and opinion sparingly if not at all…so need some adjustment in lots of recipes. I any case, want to get your new book- I imagine there will still be a lot to take from it. Just found your site: family loved coconut ice-cream and almond butter tofu in vietneamese wraps :) You absolutely deliver!
You seriously ALWAYS have the best recipes – both savory and sweet.
These look wonderful! I also did see them on the Instagram. I can’t wait till your book comes out so I can have time to cook cool meals when I get out of work!
Hi Dana!
I’ve been a faithful reader of Minimalist Baker for quite some time now and got nothing but love for your blog! Keep the good work! :)
Since I help organize a Vegan brunch-style potluck kind of thing in my hometown I’d like to ask you if this recipe or any other of your glutenfree vegan meatball-style hearty recipes is suitable to be eaten cold? Or what would you recommend to bring to a Brunch with about 60 people where you are not able to heat the food up? I brought potatoe salad, hummus, lime cafe and all the obvious stuff already and now I’m running out of ideas because nobody adds to their burger / meatball recipes if they taste good when eaten cold.
Thank you for doing this blog and greetings from Munich, Bavaria
PS: I do so hope meatballs with millet are up next!
Carrot noodles!! Ah they are so delicious and beautiful! Love these meatballs too dear! So wholesome and hearty.
This is absolutely fabulous! I am going to make them this weekend. I love anything with lentils-great post!!
I love lentil meatballs, but my recipe uses ricotta & Romano cheese (which I DO love), but now I’m working on eating less dairy, your recipe looks perfecto! I’m going to make yours and see if my cheese loving daughter approves :-)
Thanks so much Dana for always posting such great recipes with beautiful photos and (John) for lots and lots of great blogger tips!
I’m not really a pasta-person (usually too much dough and not enough veggies), but I made this today with carrot an zucchini noodles and I absolutely loved it! Prefect combination :) Thanks for yet another great recipe!
These came out great! I swapped lentils for mung beans and omitted the parm, baked in the oven, then smothered with homemade tomato sauce. I have to admit that Mung Bean Meatballs has a nice ring to it! My daughter doesn’t like the word “meat” in there so we called them Mung Bean Balls. Thanks Dana!
You had me at lentils <333 Keep the lentil recipes coming! They're probably one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. Can't wait to try these!
Wow, definitely going to try these – they look wonderful!
Looks so delish!!!! I really have to try these.
Could you please recommend me a food processor? It’s been a while since I wanted to get one.
Thank you :)
Ari
I’m not a vegetarian/vegan but man, you always seem to make your dishes look so good!!! Definitely will have to try this recipe :)
Just made these lentil meatballs tonight. They were absolutely delicious. My mixture came out wet, so I added some flour and breadcrumbs as suggested.
Will be making these frequently. Thank you for another wonderful vegan recipe, Dana.
Delicious! I added some mashed sweet potato and used a tin of brown lentils to keep it as easy as possible and use what was in the house. It was a bit wet so used some breadcrumbs too. Also, didn’t bother with the oven, just fried and added to some tomato pasta sauce on the stove. So yummy! Thanks.
My grandson has nut allergies, so the vegan parm with cashews isn’t an option :( Any suggestions for a sub? Maybe ground flax with nutritional yeast?
Is there any way to substitute the vegan parmesan cheese?
You think you know, but you have no idea how amazing these are! My non-vegan husband stole my “meatball” off my plate! Thank you!
haha I also get excited when I can add something to my spaghetti! I love this take on faux meat balls and using carrot noodles!
Made these last night and they are A-mazing. 5 stars!
A really good recipe!
I added grated Zucchini since I had some left.
Thank you so much for your ideas!
Greetings from Germany :)
Such a helpful recipe! Thanks! We made them VEGAN so no cheese – used 1 x can red lentils, cumin (1 1/2 desert spoons) rather than specified herbs, and Organ egg replacer (4-5 desrtspn) and also put grated carrot and coconuts in the mix (1 1/2 cups); served on a bed of peeled carrots with rice pasta (great idea for adding colour!) Our vegan balls were rolled in chick pea flour, then panfried them (6/10 heat mark) in lots of pure virgin olive oil, (10 minutes turning twice) and then quickly transferred into a second pan of reheated chopped tomatoes(tinned). Sprinkled with the parsley. Chilled balls next day were great for a lunchbox!
Another to add to my menu rotation! Love your blog. I have made so many of your recipes and loved every single one! You are the best!
I can’t say enough amazing things about these “meat”balls. They are so easy to make that they’re hard to screw up–not an easy feat with recipes that are both vegan AND gluten-free. I have already made them twice: once with good old marinara and pasta and the other (at my partner’s request) to put on top of pizza. So delicious! They hold together perfectly after cooking according to directions, and they are so satisfyingly savory. I haven’t eaten meat in years, but my recently vegan partner says that they are a flawless substitute.
Can you simply bake them instead of pan frying, THEN baking? I am going to try this and let you know. ?
Great recipe! Was delicious! I used red lentils instead as the cooking time is shorter.
Loved this recipe! I was a little wary at first seeing that they went from the food processor to the frying pan to the oven…simply because after work I prefer a “one and done” recipe when it comes to cooking, but these truly were awesome! Each step had the “minimalist baker” spirt and were simple and totally worth it. The leftovers were great too… just popped them in the toaster oven, and they were perfect! Thanks, Dana, for another great meal!
I tried this…only difference is that I mixed in a mushroom onion soup packet and added amaranth (I had some that I wanted to get through) – pretty good!!! Will definitely do that again :)
It’s very straightforward to find out any matter on net as compared to textbooks, as I found this paragraph
at this web site.
Right now I’m eating a slight variation to this recipe and I’m lovin’ it :)
I’m having some Basmati rice with lentil balls and tomato sauce with some vegan parm and hot chili peppers. YUM!
thanks Dana for the foundation of a recipe that will be in my collection for a long time.
Can I use a fresh egg instead of a flaxseed egg? :)
These were amazing! I used fresh basil and parsley instead of dried herbs. So flavorful! I’ll definitely make them again.
Just made them, turned out absolutely delicious!! The texture is so similar to “real” meatballs that my meat-eating father was totally fooled by them and thought I was eating meat
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe, Dana!
Nice recipe! I sautéed mushrooms with the onion/garlic mixture for a more meaty texture– will definitely make again! Thanks!
Just finished a Sunday lunch of angel hair pasta, store bought marinara and these heavenly lentil meatballs, topped with vegan Parmesan. (I make my parm with just pepitas/pumpkin seed, garlic and salt. Heaven!) I screwed up and these lentil balls were still to die for. I only have dry lentils, and mistakenly used 1 1/2 cup dry, which cooked up to a WHOLE LOT of cooked lentils — all of which I threw in the cuisinart with the herbs and spices, not checking the photos. The spices seemed uncharacteristically lacking Dana’s BIG flavors (Do ya think I got that clue? Nope!), so I added more until they had that “Dana” taste that we love.
Thirty (yup — 30) meatballs later, I am in love — and so is my husband! They look and taste good enough to totally fake a carnivore out. I’m going to freeze the leftovers first on the tray they are on, then plop them in a freezer bag. I may stick with big batches in the future — they taste so incredible, they won’t last long in our house. Another winner, Dana — thank you!
Finally a vegan meat sub. with common ingredients!! Our house we have crazy allergies. We have to avoid dairy, nuts. I dont eat meat, processed foods have hidden no-no’s. I LOVE that I don’t have to p!an a special grocery trip to the “Wholly Expensive” store. Lol! I followed the recipe exactly ingredient wise but made burgers. It made 6 burgers that are about the size of quarter pounders. Yum!!! HaRd not to eat them before dinner!!
I made the recipe as written with the addition of whole wheat panko crumbs to bind it a bit more. I did not coat the meatballs with the “Parmesan” and instead just made 12 small patty type burgers. I brushed light olive oil on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, placed the patties and brushed the olive oil on top as well. I baked them for about 15 min in about a 375/400 degree oven (my oven is a bit off) and then flipped them. They came out slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I liked the texture but for me the Italian seasoning was a bit too much. I ate them for lunch with Hummus and they were yummy. I will make them again but adjust the seasoning more to my taste. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for the feedback, Reva! Glad you still enjoyed them.
I made these last night! Super yummy!! I cooked my lentils in veg broth (as suggested) with a few fennel seeds, a bay leaf, and 2 smashed garlic cloves to give the lentils an extra boost of flavor. I served it over brown rice spaghetti with marinara sauce.
Haha. Read carefully. Cooked lentils are 1.5 cups. I started with 1.5 cups dry. LOLOL! Well, we’ll just keep adding stuff as we go along. For dolts like me, would you be willing to include dry equivalents as well? :D
Fell apart instantly upon cooking.
I’ve made this a few times now, and it’s always so good! The only issue I ever have is the step of cooking the meatballs in olive oil on the skillet before baking. Last time I tried it, they just started to fall apart and I had to stop a minute in. This time I just baked them an extra five minutes. Very tasty and very easy.
These were delicious, my favorite vegan meatball that I’ve made! My 2 year old gobbled up a few too. Thank you!
Made these with regular spaghetti and tomato sauce, delicious and pretty easy
Hi Dana,
I want to make these for a large party, but am confused by your yield measurements. You say that 1/4 of the recipe = 3 balls which mean that the entire recipe only makes 12 balls?? But, you say it should serve 12-13 people; what am I missing?!!! Thanks so much!
I made them and the recipe does make 12 balls. So 4 people if they each get 3.
Do you think these would work well in like a bbq meatball? I used to love cooking meatballs in the crockpot with bbq sauce, I was thinking of tossing these with some bbq sauce in a pan for just a few minutes and wondering if it would work. Thanks.
Perhaps! If you give it a try, let me know. These are a little tender, so maybe going easy on the sauce would be good.
These are delicious and I’ll definitely make them again; however, I learned my lesson on reheating as I left them in too long and they dried out. Thank goodness for the marinara sauce to moisten them back up!
Mine came out somewhat flat after I took them out of the oven… did this happen to you? I reshaped them once out and they were delish. But was sure if this was supposed to happen or not!
Loved this recipe! It was a little bit more time consuming that I thought, but I’ll still make them again because they were so good. For the “Parmesan cheese,” I subbed cashews with sunflower seeds per a comment on that recipe because I’m not a fan of cashews. Thanks for posting this! You’re such a great chef!!
Very yummy
Dear Minimalist Baker,
Just tried this recipe, along with the carrot noodles, and oh my gosh so good and delicious! Thank you for this yummy recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Couldn’t stop tasting it especially when it was time to clean my hands… LOL. Well lets see… I actually ended up making two batches because I started with 1 1/2 cups of uncooked split peas… should have read the comments before getting started as I now see others did the same. My second batch held together better than the first even though I forgot to include the flax egg possibly because 1/4 cup of oat flour on the second batch. I can’t wait to try this recipe again… I also used cayenne pepper.
Hey Dana,
I only have red lentils on hand at home, do you think these would hold up just as well as green lentils?
Hi Samantha! Red lentils do vary in texture in comparison with green, they tend to get a little mushy after cooking, but I think they’ll still work! If you have trouble with the consistency, try adding coconut or oat flour or panko bread crumbs!
Incredible recipe! My daughter and I just made these and we just love the flavor. I didn´t take that extra step of frying first and then baking (due to lack of time) but they still came out delicious! I tripled the recipe and have lots to freeze for weeknight dinners. Delicious nutritious recipes! Thank you!
I followed the instructions, but my meatballs fell apart in the pan. Any suggestions?
Another reader had the same problem and ended up just baking them! They might not be as crispy, but it might be worth a shot! See previous comments for more tips!
Another great recipe! I skipped the whole frying bit, and instead just baked them (saved me a step, plus ended up lighter without the extra oil) and they turned out really good. Baked them for about 25 minutes at 400, and flipped them half way. Tastes great with homemade red sauce and spaghetti squash!
I do mine similar but I don’t add any oil, I bake not fry mine. With homemade spaghetti sauce and zucchini noddles, our kitchen kiddo loves this dish.
I made these and was surprised at how flavorful they came out. Thank you so much for this easy and awesome recipe!
These are YUM! Love the flavor profile :) They took me longer to make but that’s because I had to cook and cool the lentils first. All in all a good experience and would make again!
Mine turned out much gooey-er than your photos — I thought the flavor was great but the texture left something to be desired. One area I think I could improve would be in cooking the lentils — would you please share how you cooked yours/more specific instructions for that part of the recipe? :)
Even my toddler liked the flavor — he got all excited the second he saw me making your vegan parmesan cheese!
This recipe is so wonderful! I made these on a bed of mashed potatoes smothered in a cashew cream sauce…it was perfection! Every single recipe I have tried from you turns out wonderful, thank you for inspiring me to cook more!
I just want to tell that I made two ENORMOUS batches and froze them. Last week I made one and it just wasn’t enough for everybody hehe! We ate them with pasta, in falafel-style wraps, with rice! I absolutely love love love them!! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
I made these and they were delicious. However I felt it was overly fussy to have to bronw them in the skillet and THEN put them in the oven. I would also disagree that these are 10 ingredients or less since I also had to make the vegan parmesan. Even without the vegan parmesan, the idea of making this within 30 minutes was completely false advertising. I would give these 2.5 stars in terms of delivering the cooking experienced that was promised, but because they taste very good I’m giving it 4.
It is delicious, easy and quick (everything that was promised to me in this post!!) thank yooooou
Ps, any thick sauce/paste seems to do (eg hoisin sauce, hot sauce) in terms of texture of no tomato paste on hand
Pps. Also stays together with only a few tbsp of nutritional yeast if no Parmesan is available
OMG These are absolutely amazing!!!! Thank you so much for always posting such yummy recipes!! You are the best!!
I made these last night and ate them right out of the oven. I follow the recipe but somehow they came out very mushy. I love the flavors and would love to add these to my go to “meatballs” but need them to be a little firmer. I did add panko to dry them out a little bit. I am going to try them again today after having sat overnight and see if they may have firmed up a bit. Any advice would be awesome… PS I love your recipes! I follow you on FB and IG (not too much of a stalker…)
Thanks Liz! These “meatballs” are a bit more tender than say a chickpea meatball. But making sure they are very well puréed/mixed and then drying out with bread crumbs to the point of a firm dough should help! I would also think refrigerating them would help!
I made these and they were delish! Though, how do you get the balls to not stick to the pan?
Parchment paper should do the trick!
Help…mine came out soggy. flavor is good but not the texture…how can i fix them?i don’t want to waste. I’m gluten free…add more breadcrumbs? lentils? egg?
Hi Tiffany! I am sorry to hear that! Add more breadcrumbs!
Hi!!! Can I use canned lentils? :)
Yes!
Hey I was just wondering if the flax egg is necessary or whether I could just use my normal egg replacer?
I think that would work too!
These look absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing all your great recipes :D <3
Made these tonight – absolutely wonderful! I did roll them in parm before frying. They held together great and have a good flavor. Served over gluten free spaghetti with a homemade red sauce. We gave up sweets and meats for lent. These sure hit the spot!
Great recipe! The only problem is it’s dp delicious that people want to eat it all at once ! I added 3 sauteed minced garlic cloves…
Really tasty and very simple! We didn’t use the parmesan and they were still great – they have even a meaty texture almost! delicious!
Hey Dana – you’re so sweet and funny, and it seems appropriate that your name Dana in the language of the Buddha, Pali, means the practice of giving … you’re on a roll with meatballs ha ha ha, and another joke on the post … there was that joke I think on your instagram link, a bit rude maybe but so funny, if you’ll forgive my quoting it “your balls feel so good in my mouth”!! I think … I can’t laugh, as we say in The Bahamas … we have a group here called Hands For Hunger and they had a challenge to live on $4/day for 4 days to help build empathy for those who have to live within that budget all the time, and your Vegan Lentil Shepherds Pie is so delish and works out to $1.40/serving in Bahamas (and it’s a big serving), and everyone I shared it with loved it! So I will try these lentil balls, and your other recipes too, and thank you … kind regards, Lester.
I made these for dinner last night. When I went to make the balls, they were very light so I only fried them in a tsp of oil on two sides until brown to get a little crispness then baked them in the oven. I used two chopsticks to turn them over. We ate them on a bed of spaghetti squash and marinara sauce topped with some of the leftover vegan parmasen cheese. They were delicious! I wish I would have remembered to take a picture. They did take me a little longer to make as I had to cook the lentils, bake the squash and make the Vegan Parmesan cheese. Well worth it. My husband even liked it and he was raised a meat & potato boy who never cared for lentils!