Vegan Lentil Meatballs, I prepared this dish for the holidays to celebrate the new year with my vegan guests, and they were appreciated 😍.
I made the meatballs without any gums or thickeners because they were based on boiled potatoes and chickpeas, making the mixture already quite compact.
I cooked the lentils starting with sautéed vegetables, then added the lentils, tomato, and water to cook them. You can see the process in this recipe. Once the lentils were cooked, I prepared the meatballs, added them to the sauce, and let everything blend for a few minutes. Be careful when adding the meatballs as the sauce might thicken since the meatballs are very spongy and rich in starches; therefore, if the sauce reduces while you’re flavoring the meatballs with lentils, add a bit of water.
The cooking is not very long, and the most extended part is the lentil cooking, but in about an hour, you will have a great dish to serve. I am proposing this recipe, but the vegan meatballs can also be consumed fried or in other preparations, such as baked with potatoes.
For more vegan-friendly dish suggestions, I remind you
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 246.89 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 36.11 (g) of which sugars 2.50 (g)
- Proteins 10.17 (g)
- Fat 6.79 (g) of which saturated 1.26 (g)of which unsaturated 0.62 (g)
- Fibers 6.35 (g)
- Sodium 532.23 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
For convenience, we will divide the ingredients for preparing the lentils in sauce from those for preparing the meatballs that can also be used in other dishes.
- 1/2 carrot
- 1/4 stalk celery
- 1/2 onion
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 125 g lentils
- 200 g tomato pulp
- 500 g water
- to taste salt
- to taste chili pepper
- 1/4 glass white wine
- 2 potatoes (boiled)
- 200 g cooked, boiled chickpeas
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1 bunch chopped parsley
- to taste breadcrumbs
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 20 g cheese (vegan type like almond cheese, not mandatory)
Tools
For the preparation of this dish, I recommend a high-edged non-stick pot to use few fats.
- 1 Pot
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Bowl
Preparation
For the preparation of the lentils, I will indicate the whole process, but I suggest following this recipe for detailed photos
To prepare the lentils, start by cleaning and washing the carrot, celery, and onion. Cut everything into small, uniform pieces and place them in a high-edged pot. Add the two tablespoons of oil, the chili pepper, and cover with the lid. Let them fry until the vegetables become crispy, deglaze with the white wine, and add the lentils.
Salt to your taste, add the tomato sauce, the water, and with the lid on, cook the lentils; it will take about 35/40 minutes. Initially, keep the stove on high flame, and once it starts boiling, lower the flame until the end of the cooking; the lentils should simmer to avoid damage. Stir often when the water reduces because they tend to stick to the bottom; if the water has completely reduced and you feel the lentils need more cooking, add more water. There should remain a rather loose sauce because we will add the meatballs and cook for another 10 minutes to blend all flavors.
Mash the potatoes and chickpeas with a potato masher or immersion blender and place them in a deep bowl. Add the chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Also, add the grated vegan cheese if you have it; it will add flavor but is not essential for the recipe.
Mix everything with a fork, check the consistency, and add as much breadcrumbs as you need to form the meatballs with your hands. Consider that potatoes and chickpeas are already quite firm, so few breadcrumbs will be needed. The breadcrumbs mainly serve to compact the mixture, prevent it from breaking during cooking, and not stick to your hands while forming the meatballs. If you want to facilitate this operation, you can also slightly oil your hands while forming the meatballs; I didn’t find it necessary.
When the lentils are soft and therefore cooked, add the meatballs on the fire, cover with the lid, and let cook on medium/low heat for about 10 minutes.
If during this cooking the sauce reduces due to the starches present in the meatballs, add a little water just to keep the preparation soft.
NOTES
Vegan lentil meatballs are an excellent main course that, accompanied by good fresh or toasted bread, can become a single dish, also convenient to take to work as they are also great consumed at room temperature.
Vegan meatballs can also be consumed fried or accompanied by other sides like baked with potatoes, in a pan with peas, and according to your creativity. If fried, the little meatballs can be a great appetizer or served among finger foods during aperitifs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can we use canned chickpeas?
Certainly, for convenience and speed of preparation, we can use ready-made canned chickpeas, but remember to drain them well from their cooking liquid so as not to dilute the meatball mixture.
Can I avoid garlic in the meatball mixture?
If you have trouble digesting garlic, you can remove it from the meatball mixture, but remember that removing the inner part of the clove, the so-called “germ,” makes garlic more digestible and is very useful for flavoring the meatballs.
What if I don’t have vegan cheese?
You can safely omit vegan cheese from the ingredients if you don’t have it at home; the recipe will still be flavorful. Alternatively, you could also chop 20g of almonds and add them to the ingredients, but this is simply to enhance the flavor.
