Easy Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs
Don’t you just love it when a recipe is as simple as ‘mix + bake’? No pre-cooking, no unnecessary extra steps – just mix together all of the ingredients, and pop it in the oven. And that’s just the case for these vegetarian lentil meatballs (lentil balls? vegeballs? meatlessballs?). They couldn’t be easier.
Other easy ‘mix and bake’ recipes → easy nut roast; baked fajita rice; Boursin pasta.
I served my lentil balls with spaghetti and tomato sauce – spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic that’s hard to improve on. If you prefer, you could equally serve these vegetarian meatballs with couscous and tzatziki, stuffed into pitta bread, or even just eaten straight from the oven (no judgment here). They’re packed with Mediterranean-inspired flavours, and they’re super versatile.
⭐️ What’s in these Lentil Meatballs?
The basic recipe for these lentil meatballs is canned lentils + flour + egg (the same base I used for my cheesy lentil burgers). Once you’ve got that far, you can jazz things up however you like. I added:
- black olives
- sun-dried tomatoes
- parmesan-style cheese
- fresh basil
- garlic
If you like, you could easily switch things up to bring a different flavour profile to your meatballs – maybe you could make a Tex-Mex version, or use some Indian spices, for example.
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🥗 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegetarian meatballs. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- cooked lentils. I used lentils from a can, because they’re so convenient – just drain them well, and they’re ready to use. If you can’t get canned lentils, you can boil dried brown or green lentils until they’re soft, then continue with the recipe as written. I would not recommend using red lentils for this recipe, as they will not give quite the same end result.
- eggs
- plain flour (I used wholemeal for extra fibre)
- sun-dried tomatoes
- black olives
- parmesan-style cheese. ‘Real’ parmesan isn’t vegetarian, but there are plenty of vegetarian alternatives, which are very similar. Often, supermarkets sell a generic ‘Italian hard cheese’, which is usually vegetarian.
- fresh basil
- garlic granules
🖨️ Printable Instructions
Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 2 x 390g tins green lentils, thoroughly drained (470g, or ~ 2 2/3 cups, in total when drained)
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons sliced black olives, roughly chopped
- 5 pieces sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 50 g (~ 1/2 cup) finely grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- Few sprigs fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 85 g (~ 2/3 cup) plain flour (I used wholemeal)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Add all of the ingredients, except for the flour, to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix the ingredients thoroughly. It’s fine if the lentils get a little mashed up.
- Add the flour, and mix well to combine.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet. Use clean hands to form the mixture into ball shapes, and place them on the tray. The mixture will be quite sticky – they don't have to be perfect balls. I managed to get 25 balls from the mixture.
- Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the lentil balls are slightly crispy and just firm.
- Serve with spaghetti and tomato sauce, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
💭 Recipe FAQs
You could certainly mix together the ingredients in advance, and then store the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or so, until you’re ready to shape and bake the balls. The meatballs are tastiest when freshly baked, but if needed, you could even bake them in advance, and then reheat when you’re ready to eat them.
I didn’t experiment with freezing these balls, but it’s the sort of recipe I have had luck with freezing in the past, so I definitely think it’s worth a try.
The easiest way to reheat these lentil meatballs is in the microwave. They do dry out a little and lose their crispiness when reheated, but they’re still tasty. Alternatively, you could re-crisp them in the oven or air fryer.
I served my meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, which worked beautifully. You could alternatively serve them stuffed into pitta bread with some tzatziki, or alongside some mashed potato.
I need to try out this meal! It is really fab to see a new idea with lentils as they are full of protein and ive been told to eat lots of lentils after my weight loss surgery so will try this recipe once im past the mashed food stage! Thanks for sharing.
If you blend them well they’re quite smooth and soft inside, so as long as you don’t make them too crispy, they’d be quite easy to eat :)
These look delicious! Thanks for the recipe – going to have to get my mummy to make them now!
I do loooove meatballs and these look really yummy. Thanks for sharing x
I always come away from your site feeling incredibly hungry and this is no exception. I remember making “no-meat” balls years and years ago with tofu and it was a real faff. I’ve never tried again, but I think I might now.
Haha aw thanks Choclette! Only a few hours til lunch time… ;)
That looks so yummy, Im the same as you buy the cheapest for some things, and for me I can’t really tell the difference in taste
What a lovely way to use lentils. I’d never have thought to make meatballs with them. The sauce must be super tasty too using Cirio tomatoes, love them!
Oh my. They look so delicious. I love food like this! Wouldn’t mind trying it myself
I love Cirio tomatoes, they’re worth paying that bit more for. This looks like a great family recipe
Cat x
Ohh these sound so good – what a delicious idea for a meal. x
I have never thought about making these but I am going to bookmark it to make these in the next few weeks!