Vegan Lentil Mushroom Meatballs

- Makes 15 meatballs

These are the best vegan meatballs I've ever tasted - made from green lentils, sautéed mushrooms, and breadcrumbs! This recipe is great if you have leftover green lentils and want to throw together a delicious and hearty vegan meal on a budget.

Ingredients
Makes 15 meatballs
Cooked organic bulk green lentils
1 cup
Organic Field Day olive oil
1 tablespoon
Yellow onion
1
Baby bella mushrooms
1
Flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax seed with 2 Tbsp warm water or lentil water)
1
Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup
Local organic parsley
1/2 cup
Sea salt
1/2 teaspoon
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon
Local thyme
3 sprigs
Dried oregano
1 tablespoon
Olive oil (for frying, skip if baking)
1/4 cup

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Servings: 3 meatballs

Calories per serving: 324

 

Cooking Green Lentils from Scratch

  1. Rinse 1/2 cup dried green lentils in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water. Cook on low with a lid and stir occasionally until the lentils are tender approximately 30-40 minutes. This will make more than you will need for this recipe. 

 

Prepping Vegan Meatballs

  1. Mince garlic, dice onion, and chop mushrooms. Heat up a skillet with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt until fully cooked. Add fresh thyme to the cooked mushroom mixture and stir to incorporate and activate the oils of fresh herbs.
  2. Make a flax egg by combining ground flax seed and water (or the broth from the lentils) and whisk until it forms an eggy gelatinous texture.
  3. In a food processor, add 1 cup strained green lentils, breadcrumbs, mushroom mixture, flax egg, oregano, and parsley and blend well. Taste and then add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Roll into 1.5'' balls and heat a large skillet with 3 tablespoons olive oil on high heat. Pan-fry lentil meatballs rotating sides until the outside is browned and crispy or place on a baking sheet and cook at 400 for 15-20 minutes. TIP: If you don't have a food processor, stir thoroughly to combine and bake meatballs instead of pan frying so they don't crumble apart.
  5. Serve with cooked pasta and Homemade Carrot Tomato Sauce