It’s become a big game for me. How can I take this dish and make it meatless? How can I make it taste great, be filling, and have no meat in it? That meat eaters will happily gobble up and never even ask, “Where’s the meat?”
The funny thing about my fascination with this challenge is that I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan. I do, 2-3 times a week, eat meat. But, the meat I eat is 95% of the time is higher quality, meaning organic, non GMO feed in a happy environment. That quality, logically comes with a higher price tag that I can’t spring for often.
So, rather than buy meat that isn’t raised well (it’s a lot like putting lower quality gas in your car, if you put the higher quality gas in the car will run longer), I make meatless dishes. In the beginning it was hard, but now it’s fun. Even more fun when I’m making food for others, especially die hard meat eaters.
I love showing people they don’t need that much meat. Meat consumption is a bit crazy in America, where in other countries it can be harder to get with each meal.
These Lentil Vegetarian Meatballs are a great way to get your meatball fix in without spending too much money or settling for lower quality meat. These meatballs have lentils and mushrooms in them, so you get fiber (and fullness) from the lentils and extra veggies (because you can never have too many veggies!) from the mushrooms.
You can enjoy them like I’ve pictured them, with zoodles (gotta soak those up while they’re in season a little bit longer!) and pesto, or you can put them in regular pasta, over a bed of greens, over other grains with some sautéed vegetables, in a pita… The possibilities are endless.
Depending on how big you shape them, you can have 12-24 meatballs, which makes them perfect for meal prepping for a busy week or as party appetizers. When I’ve made it for parties, I pair it with a yogurt dipping sauce (some yogurt and spices).
Feel free to adjust the spices to be more Italian (basil, maybe some oregano) or you can push it further in the Mexican/spicy route with some cumin and other chili spices.
Whatever dish you enjoy these guys with and whatever spices or spin you take on this recipe, look at meatless dishes (or meat dishes you want to try as meatless) in a fun way, like a delicious experiment.
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils, uncooked
- 2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2-3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
- 2-3 tbsp grass fed butter or ghee
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs (whole wheat, panko or gluten free)
- 1-2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 pasture-raised egg, beaten (a flax egg works as well)
- 1-2 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tsp cayenne/chili powder/chipotle
- small handful of fresh parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
In a medium stock pot, combine lentils, water/stock and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover lentils and cook for 25-30 minutes, until soft. When done, drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375.
In a saute pan, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter and add garlic and button mushrooms in, stirring to get the mushrooms covered in butter. Cook down until mushrooms have browned and are soft, around 5-8 minutes.
Combine half of the cooked lentils, mushroom and garlic mixture, parsley and bread crumbs into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is chunky and can clump together. Place this mixture into a bowl and combine with the other half of the cooked lentils, parsley, and seasonings. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add in egg mixture and stir to combine. If your mixture is very wet, add more breadcrumbs as needed.
With a spoon or spring-loaded ice cream scoop, portion out the meatballs onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes. Then broil for 5 minutes, flipping them halfway through to brown them and give them a slight crunch.
Serve with zoodles, other pasta or over salad.
Notes
If you want to add pesto to your noodles like pictured, I’ve got pesto recipes here, here and here.
Adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring.