These are the best vegan meatballs we’ve made! Our recipe is packed with feel-good ingredients like lentils and veggies, which make them tender and incredibly flavorful.
These vegan meatballs have been on repeat in our home lately. We all love them! Inspired by traditional Italian meatballs, they are made with garlic, Italian seasoning, and fennel for the best flavor.
If you’ve tried our veggie burgers or black bean burgers, you know we are skeptical about substituting beans for meat. Just like those recipes, these lentil meatballs absolutely hit the mark. They taste meaty and are incredible served with a slice of focaccia bread on top of our veggie spaghetti or lower-carb zucchini noodles!
Key Ingredients
- Lentils: I use green lentils (also called French Lentils or Lentilles du Puy) because they hold their shape better than other varieties, giving these vegan meatballs a nice texture. I cook them until they’re done, but before they turn super soft. You can use other types of lentils, but the texture of the meatballs will be different. Here’s our guide to cooking lentils to learn more.
- Mushrooms, Onion, and Garlic: This combination creates a flavorful, umami-rich base for the meatballs. The meaty lentils and the savory-sweet mix of mushrooms and onions make these vegan meatballs truly delicious!
- Italian Spices: I love using fennel seeds (they remind me of sausage!), Italian seasoning, and a bit of mushroom powder (optional but adds great depth). You can find mushroom powder in some stores or make your own. Here’s our mushroom powder recipe.
- Flaxseed Meal: Since we’re keeping these vegan, we’re skipping the eggs that usually bind traditional meatballs. Instead, we’ll use flax eggs, which are just ground flaxseeds mixed with water.
- Nutritional Yeast: I love adding nutritional yeast to these meatballs. It adds a cheesy, nutty, savory flavor and is packed with nutrients.
- Breadcrumbs: Panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs work great for these meatballs. You can also use crushed saltine crackers for a lighter texture, similar to panko.
How to Make Vegan Meatballs
To make the meatballs, you’ll first cook your lentils. Cook them according to the package directions (usually 20-25 minutes), but start checking them towards the end of the cooking time to prevent them from getting too soft.
Once cooked, spread the lentils out on a baking sheet to air-dry for a few minutes. When testing this recipe, we found this step removes excess moisture, which helps the meatballs hold their shape better.
As the lentils cook, you can sauté the onion, mushrooms, garlic, and spices until softened and fragrant. Then add the lentils, onion-mushroom mixture, breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, and nutritional yeast.
Pulse the food processor several times until the mixture is well combined but still has some texture. Refer to the photos and our video for visual guidance. You want to pulse enough so that the meatballs will hold their shape when formed into balls.
For the best vegan meatballs, we recommend cooking them on the stovetop, which gives them a lovely, crispy exterior. Simply heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the meatballs until browned on all sides and heated through. If you prefer, you can bake them. See the recipe below for detailed instructions.
Once cooked, serve your delicious vegan meatballs with your favorite pasta sauce or marinara sauce on top of pasta or any way you like!
Best Vegan Meatballs We’ve Made
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These vegan meatballs are tender and flavorful, thanks to a mixture of lentils, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Be sure to check the make-ahead and storage tips below the recipe. You can cook the lentils three days beforehand and keep the meatball mixture in the fridge overnight.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 cup uncooked green lentils, also called French Lentils or Lentilles du Puy
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces mushroom, 1 portobello mushroom cap
1/2 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons mushroom powder, optional
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs
Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Prepare Lentils
1Rinse 1 cup of lentils and place them in a medium pot, covering them with two to three inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender but before they become mushy, about 20 to 25 minutes.
2Drain and spread on a baking sheet to air dry before using. If you are making these in advance, transfer lentils to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Make Meatballs
1Cut the mushrooms and onion into large chunks and add them to the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic cloves and pulse until finely chopped.
2Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the mushroom-onion mixture and cook, occasionally stirring, until it starts to soften, about 2 minutes.
3Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, mushroom powder (optional), and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook until the mushrooms give off their liquid, and it boils away, another 5 minutes.
4Wipe out the food processor bowl, scatter the flaxseed meal, three tablespoons of water, nutritional yeast, and breadcrumbs over the bottom of the bowl, and leave it alone for 5 minutes.
5Pulse a few times to blend. Next, add the onion-mushroom mixture and cooked lentils and pulse until well blended (see our photo and video in the article for reference). The mixture should look mostly blended and almost smooth.
6Form the mixture into balls, about 1 ounce each.
- Cook Meatballs
1Stovetop method: Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Gently place the meatballs into the oil and cook, occasionally turning them until well browned and heated through on the inside. Serve with warmed marinara sauce.
2Baking method: Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Arrange meatballs on the baking sheet and spray or lightly drizzle with oil. Bake until browned and heated through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with warmed marinara sauce.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make ahead tips: Cook the lentils and the onion-mushroom mixture in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also make the meatball mixture a day in advance. Keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator.
- Storing: Keep cooked meatballs in an airtight container for 3 days in the fridge.
- Mushroom powder: Purchase in specialty stores or online. You can also make it yourself. Here’s our mushroom powder recipe!
- To make these gluten-free: Use GF-certified ingredients and substitute rolled oats for the breadcrumbs. Use 1/3 cup of rolled oats, and then add more if needed.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We did not include any oil required for cooking them since you can choose to cook on the stove or in the oven.
You May Also Like...
These were fantastic! I had issues with the flax meal/bread crumb step not blending when I added the mushrooms and lentils but nothing a spoon couldn’t handle to mix it together. SOLID balls but not dense. Held up well with sauce on noodles. Making meatball subs for my son using our leftovers. This is going in the keeper file for sure!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you loved the recipe and that the meatballs turned out fantastic, even with a little extra mixing. It’s great to hear they held up well in sauce and that you’re already planning to make meatball subs with the leftovers. Sounds like a winner all around! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Could I replace the flaxseed and water with an egg instead? I know it wouldn’t be vegan anymore but that’s ok with me. I’m just trying to get more lentils in my diet.
Hi Jen, You can add an egg, but you might need a bit more binder. So, either keep some of the flax or add some extra breadcrumbs.
would adding some powdered metyllcellulose to the mixture help the meatballs to stick together even more?
Hi Monica, I really can’t say as I have never used that when cooking in my kitchen. If you get the texture right (like in our video), the meatballs should hold together well for you.
Hi! I think it’s missing a step about adding the mushroom blend back into the food processor. All I can see is having the mushroom mixture on the stove and then the next stage is adding the dry ingredients to the food processor & adding the lentils. I’m assuming you add in the mushroom mixture with the lentils? I’m making these now so this is what I’ll do 😄
You’re absolutely right! The step to add the mushroom mixture back into the food processor seems to be missing. Thank you for catching this. I’ll be sure to update the recipe instructions to include this important step. You add them with the lentils. Let me know how they turn out!
Can I boil the meatballs instead of baking them?
Hi Lorena, Stovetop instructions are in the recipe below. We only recommend that you gently simmer the meatballs in sauce since they will likely fall apart if boiled.
Hi Andrea, these are more delicate than meatballs made with ground meat. We have provided our best tips for making meatless meatballs that hold together in the article above.
These look fantastic! I’m wondering if they would be good with a sweet and sour sauce (or even the hot honey sauce used for your chicken meatballs, which are unreal by the way).
YES! I actually think those sauces would be delicious with these meatballs. Great idea!
As written I think you might want to hold back a little on the fennel (but don’t omit!) if you’re making them sweet and sour. Great idea and I’ll add that to my notes. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Hi Adam and Joanne, These look wonderful. Can you freeze them (either uncooked or cooked?). I made your buckwheat pancakes today and they were fantastic. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Erica, You can freeze them. I like to freeze cooked, but either should work.
Even though I’m not fully vegetarian or vegan I try to incorporate more lentils, grains and beans to my diet and less animal protein. This was very tasty and has a great melt-in-your-mouth texture! I made the full batch, then individually froze them so I can take out a few meatballs at a time to use whenever I need.
That’s wonderful! I love that you’re adapting the recipe to fit your needs, and the individual freezing idea is so smart. So happy you enjoyed them!
Hi there. Can these meatballs be frozen? Thank you.
Hi Brenda, Yes, we prefer to freeze them after cooking them.
These are great! I made them with our vegan spaghetti and they were the perfect compliment. The texture and taste is very meat-like 🙂
That’s wonderful to hear! So glad the meatballs made a perfect addition to your vegan spaghetti. Love that you found them similar to real meat!
Hi, Thanks for the lovely recipe. Can canned lentils be used at all please?
Hi there, Yes, canned lentils work. One tip, though, is that this recipe works best when the lentils are patted dry. You can spread them out on a baking sheet and let them air dry a bit or slide into a 350F oven and bake for 5 minutes so remove some excess moisture.
Hi Adam and Joanne, Love your approach and I make several of your recipes regularly (with tweeks sometimes of course) I don’t know if you’ve realised but in this one you’ve missed out adding the mushroom mixture before rolling the mix (it’s in the full text but not the recipe instructions)
You’re absolutely right! Thanks so much for the heads-up – I’ll get that fixed in the recipe instructions right away. Appreciate you catching that!
Thanks for helping, sharing with your recipes!
My pleasure! Hope you enjoy the recipes.