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These vegetarian Italian meatballs are a fantastic option for those not eating meat. They’re hearty, flavorful, and are perfect with your favorite pastas!
I think this is the part where the Italian family I married into kicks me out. I know you’re not supposed to mess with their meatballs, but non-meat eaters should be able to enjoy them too, dammit.
So there.
Now I’ll be honest – when I woke up this morning with the plan to make these lentil cheatballs, I procrastinated like mad. I usually gingerly dive into my projects, but it’s known that lentil meatballs (much like black bean burgers) can be finicky. They are notorious for falling apart and that’s a sure slap in the face when trying to convince meat eaters that non-meat eaters can still enjoy burgers and meatballs and life.
BUT… I think these photos speak for themselves on how they turned out.
“Yeah, okay Dana. Those look all nice and fancy from the outside – but what do they look like on the inside?”
Oh! I’m glad you asked…
They are beautiful on the inside, too.
‘Cause that’s how I roll.
Okay, now I’ll explain a few important things.
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I adapted this recipe from the ever-so-credible Dana from Minimalist Baker. Her version is vegan and gluten free – so I changed things up by adding an egg and using bread crumbs.
So yeah, my version is not vegan nor GF.
In her post, she mentions pulsing her mixture in a food processor. I did a total forehead slap here because I rely on my high-power blender for everything because it’s amazing and to hell with food processors because they are clunky and annoying BUT – if there was ever a good reason to have a food processor – it’s for things like this; things that need to only be pulsed, not pureed.
So – jokes on me.
I used my blendermonster anyway – but very carefully. If you’re going to use a blender, you can totally achieve a texture that will work, but you’ll want to pulse it low and slow, occasionally stirring with a silicone spatula (when not pulsing) to make sure things are getting mixed thoroughly. You’ll notice that my mixture still includes some full lentils. This is absolutely fine, but you want more mush than lentils. Keep that in mind.
Once the mixture is all mixed up, empty the contents into a large bowl and add the egg and bread crumbs; mix with clean bare hands just like you would when making homemade meatballs.
Details on handling the balls (ha) and rolling them are in the directions below.
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Vegetarian Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, approx. 1.5 tablespoon, minced
- 1.5 cups cooked and cooled green lentils, for extra flavor, cook them in vegetable stock
- 1.5 tablespoons of dried Italian seasoning, dried basil/oregano
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 5 tablespoons grated pecorino romano, + more for coating, parmesan, or asiago cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs, + more for coating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat a large skillet (I prefer cast iron for this) over medium heat.
- Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the shallots, and the garlic.
- Sauté until just slightly golden brown, approx. 2-3 minutes, careful not to brown/burn. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To a blender or food processor, add the cooked lentils, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, sautéed garlic and shallots, Italian seasonings, fresh parsley, tomato paste, grated cheese, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper.
- Pulse, mixing until combined, but be sure not to puree. Keeping some full lentils in the mix is fine, but most of it should be a mushier consistency.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Add egg and 3 tablespoons of Italian bread crumbs. Blend well with your clean bare hands.
- The texture should be dough-y. If it's too wet, add more bread crumbs.
- Use a tablespoon or cookie dough scoop to scoop out rounded amounts of the mixture and carefully form into balls. The mixture is pretty easy to mold, but it's fragile. It's best to rest the ball in the palm of one hand, and use two fingers from your other hand to carefully and gently form into a ball. If you find cracks, dampen your fingers with a little water to help bind and reform. Repeat until all of the balls are formed. I got 10 out of my mix.
- Spread some grated cheese and extra bread crumbs onto a plate and carefully roll the balls through to coat.
- Heat your skillet over medium heat once again, and once hot, add olive oil.
- Carefully place the balls onto the hot skilled and brown, for approx. 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Ensure to shake the pan or use a silicone spoon/tongs to roll the balls around so they brown evenly on all sides.
- Once done cooking, transfer to the prepared baking sheet and set aside until all of your balls are ready.
- Once all balls are browned and set on the baking sheet, transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let them cool slightly. They will firm as they cool.
- Serve them up on their own with marinara sauce, a plate of pasta, or a as a meatball sub! Treat them as you would treat Italian meatballs.
Just made these and had them over angel hair pasta with homemade marinara with sautéed vegetables added in, plus garlic bread. Really amazing. In the past I’ve always used Gardein brand frozen ‘meatballs’, and the taste especially was just off, kind of off-putting even. These are the meatball replacements I’ve been looking for all these years. Have just gotten into really cooking, not just preparing food, and so it wasn’t difficult making them, and these were just right–perfect texture and awesome flavor! And so healthy!
How long will these keep in the fridge? Am single so will take a few meals.
Hi Steve! I’m so happy to hear this. This is such an old recipe and needs an update, but I’m tickled you found it and enjoyed them so much. Thanks for taking the time to pop in with feedback! These will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I hope that helps! :)
So yummy and so easy!!
OMG these look so good!!! thanks for sharing the recipe, will definitely make them
These meatballs look amazing! I did make lentil meatballs once, but they didn’t turn out too great. These look completely different, and scrumptious!!
Hey, Natalie! Thanks so much! And I hear you – you almost never know what you’re going to get with these recipes. I think the components are important, but also, just being careful while making them. My black bean burger recipe has had great feedback, and I usually have no issues with them, but I made them in a rush once and they totally fell apart. My fault! But it just kind of goes to show you.. haha. If you try these, I really really hope they turn out well for you! Let me know :)
Where is that black bean burger recipe? I cannot find it on your site.
Hi Bethany, it’s no longer on the site since it was a really old recipe with no reviews or ratings, so I figured it was pretty much unseen. I did find the recipe on my archives though. Here it is:
2 15.5-oz cans of black beans, drained but not rinsed
1 egg
1 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 jalapeño, minced
1/4 cup of red onion, minced
1/4 tsp of kosher salt
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of curry powder
Fresh brioche buns
Slices of pepper jack cheese
Tomato slices
Red onion
Baby spinach leaves
Guacamole
Drain the black beans and shake them around in a strainer, but do not rinse. Put the beans in a large bowl and, with a fork, mash them until 3/4 of the mixture is mashed. Leave 1/4 of the beans in full form for texture.
Add the panko bread crumbs, egg, and seasoning. With the fork, fold the ingredients in until everything is completely combined.
With clean hands, start forming the patties. A heaping handful should make one good-sized patty. If not making the patties right away, wrap and place in the refrigerator.
Heat a lightly greased skillet over moderate heat. Carefully place the patties onto the skillet. Cook for 4 minutes or until lightly browned, then carefully flip. Cook for another 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
Place cheese slices on top of patty and cover with a lid to steam the cheese. Remove the patties from the skillet, place on brioche bun, and dress the burger as you wish.
I could just see the look on your Italian mother in law’s face when you said you were making meatless meatballs! I live in Little Italy and meat is like a pastime over here. :P
But seriously, I’m so impressed at how well these stick together and look just like real meatballs! You’re so right that veggie balls can often be dry or crumbly, but not these ones. Thanks Dana! :)
Even though I’m not a vegetarian, I’m always on the hunt for a good meatless burger or ball (ahem). The flavour sounds awesome (as usual!), but I’m particularly taken with the texture. They really look like they hold together well, and that’s one of the biggest selling points as far as I’m concerned. Nice work Dana!
I have never had lentil “meat” balls and they look fantastic. I do eat meat but I love the idea of making main course dishes like this with vegetables. Beautiful photos.
Thanks, Julia! I think a lot of omnivores are becoming more and more intrigued by vegetarian dishes. My husband, not so much. But he tries! He hates eggplant but loves my eggplant part. That was a proud wife moment. Haha.