These are the BEST!!

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I love spaghetti and meatballs, but the thought of making a decent vegan meatball that doesn’t fall apart has felt pretty daunting since I became a vegan. Really it’s not very complicated and with the right ingredients they will taste better than any meatball you’ve ever had!! I made this with spaghetti and sauce, but you can also use the meatball portion of the recipe to make any kind of meatball you might need (I’m definitely making these at Christmas with the sweet and sour sauce I made in my Instagram stories!).

Ingredient details:

• Lentils – I used brown lentils for this recipe. Any kind will taste good, but this one really worked for the meatball color.
• Onion – I used a large yellow onion. You could also use 2-3 shallots and that would also give it more of a sharp flavor.
• Garlic – I used 5 big cloves of garlic and minced them well.
• Parsley – This MUST be fresh parsley. I insist. Please don’t use dried parsley. The fresh parsely will add so much flavor to the meatballs and really completes the whole experience.
• Tomato paste – This is for extra flavor and to thicken the meatball mixture.
• Dijon mustard
• Oatmilk – You can use any kind of plant milk, but I used oatmilk.
• Rice crispies – You could also use some breadcrumbs, but rice crispies are always so much cheaper and I always have them around.
• Worcestershire – Make sure to get vegan worcestershire. Kroger’s brand comes already vegan, but some brands will have non-vegan ingredients. Be careful to read the label.
• Arrow root – This amazing powder helps thicken up the meatballs.
• Salt –
• Italian seasoning
• Semolina flour – This REALLY helps keep your meatballs together. I would not skip this. It wil harden the outside of the meatball and give it a great texture for biting into without it turning into mushy, flat lumps.
• Spaghetti or spaghetti squash – I used spaghetti squash, but regular pasta is fine as well.
• Crushed tomatoes – This is for the red sauce base. Combined with the remaining meatball mixture you should have left over, there should be plenty of flavor that you didn’t need to add anything else other than this.

Recipe List

Ingredients:

Meatball mixture:

2 cups cooked brown lentils

1 yellow onion

5 cloves garlic

1 large bunch of parsley

3tbsp tomato paste

1tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp oatmilk

1 cup rice crisipes

2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 tbsp arrow root powder

1 tbsp salt

2tbsp Italian seasoning

Other:

1 cup semolina flour

2 spaghetti squash (or one package of spaghetti pasta)

30oz crushed tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Cook lentils until mushy.
3. Chop onion and parsley. Mince garlic.
4. Mix all ingredients for meatball mixture. Pulse all contents of mixture in a food processor until well chopped but with some visible pieces of onion/lentils/parsley.
5. Form mixture into balls and roll in semolina flour. Place on baking sheet. The mixture should make about 18-20 meatballs with some left over.
6. Bake meatballs on 425° for 15 minutes. Turn them over and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
7. If using spaghetti squash, cut the squash in half and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Cook remaining meatball mixture with crushed tomatoes to use as a meat sauce.
9. Serve and enjoy!

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