Lentil Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Tender, meat-free, dairy-free, and delicious! Lentil Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce features plant-protein, thanks to lentils. The easy roasted red pepper sauce is blitzed in a blender and comes together in minutes.
Meatless Meatballs
Yes, meatless meatballs is an oxymoron. But how else do we describe something that we know and love (meatballs) that don't contain the meat? Lentil balls doesn't quite have the same cachet.
The point here is that something shaped like a meatball, served like a meatball, and sometimes tastes like a meatball, might in fact be meat-less!
Plant proteins like vegetables, legumes, nuts, and even grains form the base. Mushrooms, lentils, beans, rice, oats, and walnuts are all common ingredients in meatless meatballs. The secret is to cook ingredients until they are tender, add a binding ingredient, and season with spices.
Once baked, meatless meatballs can be served just like regular ones: alongside a pasta dish, tucked in a hoagie roll, or with veggies. Today's recipe is delicious garnished with plenty of fresh herbs or some Homemade Zhoug.
Lessons Learned
- Need this to be vegan? Easy! Swap out the chicken broth and egg and use veggie broth and flax meal instead.
- Red lentils are actually orange and lend a warm color to the meatballs. You can use brown or green lentils if you prefer but be aware that the meatballs will take on a different hue.
- A fresh, crunchy salad is delicious with this! Try Marinated Zucchini and Yellow Squash or Zucchini Ribbon Salad.
Hat Tips
Many thanks to Dishing Out Health for the Moroccan lentil meatball recipe inspiration!
Print
Lentil Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- ¾ cup dried red lentils
- 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken or veggie broth
- 1 cup uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats (not steel cut)
- 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 egg (or 1 Tbsp flax meal with 2 ½ tablespoon water)
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 1 jar (15 oz) roasted red peppers, drained
- ¼ cup olive or avocado oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
Side:
- 1 ½ cup Israeli (pearl) couscous
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups water or broth
- Fresh chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Make the meatballs by pouring the broth into a medium saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil. Rinse the lentils in a fine mesh strainer, discarding any small stones or wrinkled lentils, and tip them into the broth. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20-ish minutes or until lentils are soft and water is absorbed.
- While the lentils cook, add the remaining meatball ingredients (oats, shallot, garlic, egg, parsley, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper) into a blender or food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to combine.
- Once the lentils are done, drain off any water, then add them to the blender. Blitz for a few seconds until everything is combined. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes to hydrate the oats. The mixture will be slightly loose but should be cohesive enough to hold together. If it is still too loose after 10 minutes, stir in another ¼ cup of rolled oats and blitz again. At this point, you can transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight if you are prepping ahead of time.
- Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 1 ½-inch cookie scoop to scoop out the lentil mixture. I got 18 meatballs using this size cookie scoop. If you don’t care how they look, use a large spoon to portion them out. Place scoops on the baking sheet evenly spaced. They will not spread so you can place them fairly close together. Spray or brush the tops with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Make the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients (red peppers, oil, paprika, salt, garlic) into a blender or food processor. Blitz until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Make the Israeli couscous while the meatballs bake by heating the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the couscous and stir to coat in the oil. Cook for a few minutes to toast the pearls until they are light brown. Add the water or broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and couscous is tender. Remove from the heat.
- Serve the lentil meatballs and couscous together, drizzling the sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Leave a Reply