30-Minute Grandma’s Style Lentil Meatballs (Vegan + GF)

Make these quick and easy flavor-packed vegan lentil meatballs with just 7 ingredients for a delicious vegan dinner ready in just 30 minutes! Based on my Italian grandma’s recipe- turned vegan and vegetarian friendly!

This post is sponsored by the California Prune Board and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Banana Diaries possible!

Why you’ll love these vegan and vegetarian-friendly lentil meatballs

My family just loves these quick and easy lentil meatballs. They’re the perfect protein-packed (nearly 15 g per serving!) and nutrient rich vegan dinner recipe to serve to both kids and adults, and one that tastes really good. Even to the pickiest of eaters!

It’s one of my favorite vegan dinner recipes to make for everyone (aside from my vegan lasagna recipe, 25 minute vegan baked gnocchi, and quick and easy vegan lentil loaf! These mushroom lentil burgers are also great in the summer!).

And by quick and easy, I mean everything is ready to go in under 30 minutes. How’s that for a weeknight vegan dinner recipe?! It’s also a great dish to serve at a holiday, like Thanksgiving or Christmas (along with, of course my Vegan Wellington recipe!).

Most of the ingredients you probably have on hand too (and if not, there are some delicious and flavorful swaps!). 

Plus, you’ve got a protein-packed and fiber rich plant-based vegan meal that will keep you full and satiated for hours!

These lentil meatballs are also versatile. You can make them as Italian-style vegan meatballs, serve them over homemade vegan pasta, make an opened face sandwich, or even grab a hoagie roll (or make a gluten free bun!) for a vegan meatball sub!

You and your kids are just going to devour these lentil meatballs- whether or not you enjoy meat!

Just 7 simple ingredients:

We’re not using any hard-to-find ingredients. Just simple, plant-based and pantry-friendly ingredients. 

• Lentils: You can use green, brown, or mixed lentils here. 
• Oat flour: If you don’t have oat flour, you can also make it yourself using rolled oats. Or swap in all purpose flour if you’re not gluten free!
• Garlic
• Onion
• Ketchup: You can also swap in tomato paste if you’d like, though it’s a bit less flavorful.
• Herbs: I like to use rosemary, but you can also throw in some oregano, sage, thyme, or more!
• California Prunes: Like dates, prunes act as a vegan egg replacement. No need to swap in flaxseed or anything else! 

Of course, you’ll add in some sea salt and pepper as well!

Last fall, I was invited by the California Prune Board to tour some of their prune orchards and see how a plum gets transformed into a prune (yes, a prune is a plum that’s been dried! And no, they’re not called dried plums, they’re called prunes, and they’re delicious!).

Now, let me tell you, prunes are extraordinarily versatile and can be used in both sweet and savory recipes. I made these gluten free vegan cinnamon cupcakes with them last fall, so I decided to go with a more savory recipe this time around that wasn’t just throwing them into salads (which is still delicious).

So basically prunes and oats together act as the binder of all of these ingredients, and it’s a pretty good one.

Not only that, but the prunes add a really diverse and delicious flavor element to the dish. Don’t worry- these vegan meatballs don’t taste sweet! Prunes in general aren’t overwhelmingly sweet, like a date, which makes them amazing for both savory and sweet recipes!

It’s almost like molasses versus maple syrup. Maple syrup is very noticeably sweet, whereas molasses adds more flavor than sweetness to a recipe.

How to make vegan meatballs that even meat-lovers will love

Yes, it’s true. Much like my vegan lentil “meatloaf,” I had even the non-vegan eaters in my family loving these meatballs.

Even more-so than our family’s passed-down recipe!

The trick is all in the ingredients and how they come together, which is extraordinarily easy. All you’ll need is a food processor, a baking sheet, and a skillet, pot, or saucepan if you want to cook them in sauce after.

Now, if you’re making your own lentils and your own oat flour, just make sure you’ve got those prepped and ready to go. Otherwise, you’ll start by:

1. Placing all of the ingredients into a food processor.
2. Then blend everything until smooth. It should look like the photos below.

Next up, we have the lentil meatball rolling:

1. Simply roll the batter into 2″ sized meatballs and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F.

Next, just cook everything in a saucepan with the marinara and then serve!

Tips for making lentil meatballs

To make sure that your veggie balls come out perfectly each time, here are a few tips:

• You can use store bought prepped lentils or prep them yourself. Either way works!
• If you’re really short on time, you can make the batter ahead of time, and store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Then shape into meatballs and bake when you’re ready!
• Make sure that the prunes you use say just prunes. You don’t want any sweet meatballs!
• For an easy meal prep, make a double or triple batch on Sunday night to serve to you and your family throughout the week!
• Feel free to swap in your favorite herbs or add more: these are very customizable!

How to serve vegan meatballs:

• Over your favorite pasta dish (I love them in this vegan vodka sauce as well!)
• With a side of vegan mashed potatoes
• In a vegan soup (like an Italian wedding soup using vegetable broth!)
• As a meatball grinder
• Over rice and served with your favorite veggie

I hope you love these vegan lentil meatballs as much as I do! If you make them, let me know down below in the comments section, and be sure to give it a rating so that others can find this recipe too 🙂

As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!

Happy cooking!

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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