After various experiments to make vegan lentil meatballs, I finally found the right combination of ingredients! Yes, because here at home, as my most loyal readers know, I have the Dutchman who acts as a judge, and when it comes to meatballs he cares about flavor and consistency, and I care about ease of preparation, nutrition, and obviously Weight Watchers points.
And after some experiments that weren’t bad but still not satisfactory, here I finally succeeded in preparing these delicious meatballs that can be made in the desired size. And above all, they turn out delicious even when cooked in the air fryer, so you can prepare them even in the summer. The ingredients are easy to find and very nutritious, as is important to choose, especially if, like me, you follow a vegan diet.
I’ve only tried with lentils but I’m sure they can also be made with other types of legumes. Also, keep in mind that these vegan lentil meatballs contain legumes, nuts, and breadcrumbs: so you can consider them a complete meal and just need to add a nice plate of vegetables to complete it. Without further ado, let’s see the process…
Other meatballs you might like are found here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 12 meatballs
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
In this recipe, you’ll also find nutritional yeast; if you don’t know what it is, read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it, and why!
- 8.8 oz canned lentils (drained weight)
- 1.75 oz almonds (also unshelled)
- 1.4 oz breadcrumbs (preferably whole grain)
- 4 tsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
- 2 tbsps water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsps soy sauce
- 0.5 oz nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp thyme (dried)
- 1 tsp rosemary (dried)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- Total Points = 26 WW points
- Points per meatball = 2 WW points (If divided into 12 meatballs)
Tools
- Liquid Measuring Spoons teaspoons
- Chopper
- Frying Pan
- Air Fryer
Preparation
Prepare the fake egg, also known as flax egg, which helps bind the mixture better. Just put 1 tablespoon of flax seeds in a cup after grinding them into powder with a chopper, I use the one that comes with my hand blender. Add 2 tablespoons of water and set aside. After about 15 minutes it will become a gelatinous substance that will replace the egg. It works very well for the meatballs but don’t try making an omelet with it!
Blend the almonds again in the chopper to pulverize them or leave only a few small pieces.
In a small non-stick pan, sauté the sliced shallot in 1 teaspoon of oil, after a couple of minutes add the minced garlic and dried spices and a splash of water. The shallot and garlic should soften and dry well. Let them cool.
Put the rinsed and well-drained lentils, pulverized almonds, breadcrumbs, shallot, garlic and spice sauté, vinegar, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, fake egg made from flax seeds, a bit of pepper, and the other 3 teaspoons of oil in the mixer. Blend so that the mixture is well combined. Taste it and depending on your taste, add some salt. This also depends a lot on the soy sauce used and how salty it already is.
Start forming the meatballs. My mixture came to about 17.6 oz, so I formed 12 meatballs weighing about 1.5 oz each. But of course, you can choose to make them smaller!
ps: in the photo you see 11 because I had cooked the first one alone for a test 😀
I put the meatballs directly in the basket and cooked them at 320°F for 20 minutes, shaking the basket occasionally. Once they are golden, they are ready.
Of course, temperature and time depend on the various air fryer models. I have the Philips XXL Airfryer.
Place the meatballs on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Bake them at 356°F-392°F for 25-30 minutes, turning them at least once. Once they are golden, they are ready.
Again, temperature and time depend on your oven.
Here is the same mixture divided into many little meatballs. In this photo, I hadn’t fully pulverized the almonds, so they are crunchier inside!
For the larger meatballs, I made a finer almond flour, and they remain softer inside, as you can see from the photo!
Anyway, whether small or large, hot or cold… these vegan lentil meatballs are delicious! The Dutchman even requested them for his birthday, which is coming up in a few days, do I need to say more?
Try making them yourself and let me know if you liked them in the comments below or on Facebook. See you soon for the next recipe and:
Bon appétit!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can freeze these cooked meatballs for up to 3 months. You can defrost them and then reheat them in the air fryer or oven at high temperature for a few minutes.
What is nutritional yeast?
In this recipe, you’ll also find nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It’s widely used in vegan cuisine as it imparts a cheese-like flavor to the dishes. For more information, read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it, and why! You can omit it, but in that case, add some spices of your choice to give more flavor to the meatballs.
Can I omit the soy sauce?
In my opinion, the soy sauce is the real secret of this recipe. Don’t omit it, please! And if you really can’t find it or consume it, try replacing it with balsamic vinegar.
