Lentil ‘Meatballs’ With Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe

Vegan meatballs

Name: Vegan meatballs
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 200g brown lentils; 1 onion diced; spray olive oil; 100g mushrooms finely chopped; 4 tbsp porridge oats; 1 lemon zested; 200g orzo; to serve green salad; 1 clove garlic crushed; 6 large vine tomatoes diced; a small handful basil

Anna Glover

Published: February 18, 2015 at 5:28 PM

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Serves 4

Easy

Total time: 40 mins

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Lentils are a great way to make a meal vegetarian. Swap these for your usual meatballs and your family will hardly notice the difference. Plus, they're low-cal and ready in just 40 minutes - perfect midweek

Vegetarian

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try our vegan meatballs made from plant-based ingredients such as lentils, oats and mushrooms, then check out our vegetarian meatballs and more meatballs recipes.

For more meat-free ideas, try our vegan bolognese, vegan black bean burgers, vegetarian moussaka, vegetarian shepherd's pie and other vegetarian recipes.

Ingredients

Nutrition

200g brown lentils
1 onion

diced
spray olive oil
100g mushrooms

finely chopped
4 tbsp porridge oats
1 lemon

zested
200g orzo
to serve green salad

TOMATO SAUCE

1 clove garlic

crushed
6 large vine tomatoes

diced
a small handful basil

Nutrition: per serving

kcal293

low
fat3.4g

low
saturates0.6g
carbs41.7g
fibre11.6g
protein18.1g

high
salt0.1g

Method

step 1

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Rinse the lentils well, then simmer in boiling water for 15 minutes until starting to go soft. Fry the onion in a spray of oil until soft but not brown, and allow to cool. Drain the lentils well and put in a blender with the cooled onion, mushrooms, oats and lemon zest. Pulse until the mix is combined (but don’t blend to a mush). Season, and roll into 16 balls, then put them on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and firm, turning them halfway through.
step 2

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce by frying the garlic in a spray of olive oil for a minute before adding the tomatoes with a splash of water. Simmer for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down. Cook the orzo and drain well. Season the tomato sauce, and stir in the basil. Add the balls to the orzo in shallow bowls, spoon over the tomato sauce, and serve with a green salad.

Try more vegan dinner ideas

Vegan Paella Recipe

Authors

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Anna GloverSenior food editor

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