These lentil and potato meatballs were born, as often happens to me, from having an ingredient at home that I wanted to use up. You might ask? The lentils? The potatoes? No! The parsley! Yes, I had this bunch of parsley ordered online by mistake (I usually get the little plant) and I wanted to use it up.
Parsley calls for potatoes and then we also need protein, right? Chickpeas or lentils? I chose lentils and went for meatballs. So here I prepared these tasty vegan meatballs as always in my beloved airfryer.
I know I probably shouldn’t say this on my blog but I think these meatballs would be even tastier fried — but we’ll be satisfied with the oven, and let’s pretend I never wrote that! I’ll close this little non-dietary parenthesis and get straight to the recipe…
For other vegan meatballs or for an ideal side dish to serve with these meatballs, here’s what I suggest:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 20Pieces
- Cooking methods: Air frying
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 10 oz cooked lentils (from dry, cook about 80 g (about 3 oz))
- 1.1 lb potatoes (I don't peel them because the skin is healthy! (about 500 g))
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (approximately 5 g)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp goes into the mixture and 1 tsp is for cooking (total about 20 ml))
- to taste thyme (powdered)
- 1 tsp salt
- Total points = 20 WW points
- Points per meatball = 1 WW point
Tools
- Blender
- Ice cream scoop
- Air fryer parchment paper
- Air fryer
Steps
As always, prepare and measure all the ingredients first, please!
Start with the potatoes: wash them well with a brush, cut into cubes and boil in cold lightly salted water for 10-15 minutes, just until tender. Mash them and let them cool.
Put the onion, carrot and garlic cut into pieces into the blender bowl, add dried thyme, ground cumin and parsley.
Add the well-drained lentils, soy sauce, salt, oil and pulse blend. If some small pieces remain that’s better — it gives the meatballs a bit of texture which, in my opinion, makes them tastier.
Put the mixture in a bowl, add the nutritional yeast and the now-cooled mashed potatoes and mix well with your hands.
Taste and adjust the salt if necessary.
Shape the meatballs slightly flattened. I use an ice cream scoop which is very handy to make meatballs more or less the same size. With this tool I made 20. If you prefer you can make 40 smaller ones. Brush the meatballs on both sides with a little oil. 1 teaspoon will be enough for all the meatballs.
For 20 meatballs you need to cook them in 2 batches. Start by placing 10 meatballs in the air fryer basket on a small piece of parchment paper. Cook at 338°F for 15 minutes, then lift them very gently (they will still be a bit soft) and remove the parchment paper.
Put the meatballs back directly in the basket, flip them and cook for another 15 minutes at 338°F. If you want them more golden leave them to cook a few more minutes. Repeat for the other 10 meatballs.
At the end you can put them all together back in the basket for 5 minutes since they no longer risk sticking to each other.
Alternatively, place the meatballs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 356°F–392°F for about 30-40 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking. Depending on your oven, they may need a little longer.
And here the vegan lentil and potato meatballs are ready! Pretty and tasty, they contain carbohydrates and proteins — add a plate of vegetables and dinner is ready!
We tasted them hot, warm and cold. Warm are tastier but we happily munched them straight out of the air fryer and later cold. They are really flavorful, with a crust on the outside and soft inside…
Then I got the approval of the Dutchman, my blog’s number one taster, and if he likes a recipe I definitely post it on the blog knowing my readers will like it too.
All that’s left is to ask you: did you like them? Let me know below or on Facebook.
Enjoy!
By Giovanna Buono
Tips and storage
As already mentioned, these meatballs are good at any temperature but we preferred them warm, not piping hot, so eat them about 10 minutes after removing from the tray.
I haven’t tried it but I’m sure they’d be delicious simmered in a simple tomato sauce.
You can keep cooked meatballs in the fridge for 4 days and in the freezer for 4.5 months. Then reheat them in the airfryer or oven.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is nutritional yeast?
This recipe also uses nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It is widely used in vegan cooking because it gives dishes a cheesy flavor. To learn more read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it and why! You can omit it but in that case add spices to taste to give more flavor to the meatballs.
