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    Vegetarian Meatballs

    September 17, 2024

    Meaty—with no meat at all—savory and oh-so-satisfying, these delicious, lentil-based vegetarian meatballs give regular meatballs a run for their money.

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    vegetarian meatballs in a bowl of pasta with roasted tomatoes.

    Painlessly Plant-Based

    It’s true—if you’re used to eating meat with most meals, making the shift towards more plant-based meals can (at first) feel a little disorienting. And if you lean too hard on old-school vegetarian fare, or even on just one or two vegetarian recipes you know how to make, things can get boring FAST. That’s where these vegetarian meatballs come in! When you’ve got a hankering for spaghetti and meatballs, but want to keep eating those body-and-planet friendly plant-based meals, look no further than this satisfying recipe. Intensely savory, with mushrooms, parmesan and plenty of garlic flavoring a protein-packed lentil base, there’s no sacrifice here. For more meatball recipe ideas, check out our favorite Meatball Recipes!

    ingredients for vegetarian meatballs with pasta in small bowls

    No Meat. Got it. So, What IS in Meatless Meatballs?

    Our vegetarian meatball recipe perfectly reflects where we are in our plant-based eating journey—they’re VEGETARIAN, not vegan. We’re still using egg as the binder, and lots of parmesan cheese for that delicious umami punch that we craave.

    • Roma tomatoes
    • Lentils
    • Olive oil
    • Onion
    • Cremini mushrooms
    • Garlic
    • Panko
    • Italian seasoning
    • Cayenne
    • Eggs
    • Parmesan cheese
    • Fresh basil
    mushrooms being pulsed in a food processor
    mushrooms and cooked lentils being pulsed in a food processor
    mushroom lentil combination in a food processor
    mushroom lentil combination with cheese, eggs and spices in a large bowl for vegetarian meatballs

    3 Reasons These Lentil Meatballs Taste SO Good.

    We’ve worked hard to perfect this recipe. We want big, bold flavors—nothing bland about these dense, hearty veggie meatballs. They’re good for you, but they also have to TASTE good, or what’s the point, right? Here’s why these lentil-mushroom meatballs taste so, so good:

    1. Umami, times 2! Meaty mushrooms and parmesan both contribute umami to these vegetarian meatballs. Defined as the elusive fifth flavor, it’s extra important to us to make sure that plant-based recipes have a source (or two!) of umami.
    2. Panko! We’ve talked about our love for these airy, crunchy, Japanese-style breadcrumbs before, but we’re here, talking about them again! They’re just so much lighter than traditional breadcrumbs, and they work perfectly in this recipe.
    3. They’re roasted. Roasting the meatballs is key—the high heat creates a crust around the meatballs that’s just right. Brush them with a little oil before roasting to really encourage that lovely crisp crust.
    fresh tomatoes sliced on a sheet pan
    tomatoes roasted on a sheet pan
    vegetarian meatballs roasted on a sheet pan

    How To Serve Vegetarian Meatballs

    We’ve included our favorite way to serve these lentil meatballs in the recipe below, but they’re actually delicious in a lot of different ways. For example:

    • They make great toddler food! Having trouble getting your tiniest family member to eat their veggies. We’ve found that when veggies look like meatballs, they have a magical tendency to disappear—even from our toddlers’ plates!
    • Try them in a sandwich! Vegetarian meatball sub, anyone?
    • As a salad topper—when we make a batch of these lentil meatballs, we always make extra so we’re guaranteed to be able to indulge in our favorite healthy lunches! We mix up a simple raw kale salad, and top it with lots of avocado and a few of these lentil meatballs for an ultra-healthy, filling lunch that powers us through ‘til dinner. Or at least afternoon snack time.
    vegetarian meatballs with roasted tomatoes over pasta topped with parmesan cheese and fresh basil

    Tools You’ll Need:

    5 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes to Try.

    It’s a goal of ours to eat less meat in 2020. You, too? Here are five super-delicious, budget-friendly vegetarian recipes that prove that meatless doesn’t mean flavorless:

    Pass The Meatballs!

    Whatever your healthy-eating goals are, we hope you’re as into this lentil meatball recipe as we are! If you try it, we’d love to hear about it! Snap a photo of your vegetarian meatballs, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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    Vegetarian Meatballs

    Updated on September 17, 2024

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  20 min
    • Cook Time:  45 min
    • Calories:  514
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    Ingredients

    • 1 cup dried lentils, (or 2 1/2 cups cooked)
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 1 small onion, about 1 cup chopped
    • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, tough part of stems removed
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
    • 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
    • 2 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup parmesan cheese

    For Serving

    • 2 pounds roma tomatoes
    • ½ cup olive oil
    • fresh basil
    • cooked pasta for serving
    • more parmesan cheese

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl toss together tomato halves along with 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 cup olive oil. Arrange tomatoes on a large baking sheet cut side up, set aside.
    2. If using dried lentils, place them into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cover them plenty of with water, about 4 inches. Bring them to a boil before turning the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until they are tender but not mushy. Drain any excess water and set aside.
    3. Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor until they are about the size of peas.
    4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pan set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and the pulsed mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 more minutes until the moisture has burned off and the garlic is fragrant.
    5. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the contents back into the food processor along with the lentils. Pulse until combined, about 20 pulses scraping down halfway through.
    6. In a large bowl combine mushroom lentil mixture along with panko bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, cayenne, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, eggs and parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
    7. Roll the mixture into 1 ½ (2 tablespoons) balls, about 24 and arrange them on another baking sheet.
    8. Lightly brush or spray the meatballs with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil or cooking spray.
    9. Bake the meatballs and tomatoes for 30 minutes, rotating the 2 baking sheets and flipping the meatballs at the 15 minutes mark.
    10. Once tomatoes and meatballs are roasted toss them together with cooked spaghetti, ¼ cup of olive oil, fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 514
    • Protein 39 g
    • Carbohydrates 30 g
    • Total Fat 30 g
    • Dietary Fiber 8 g
    • Cholesterol 110 mg
    • sodium 1677 mg
    • Total Sugars 3 g

    Vegetarian Meatballs

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Cathleen

      Wondering if you can tell me how many days these will last in the fridge as leftovers? I'm not a big pasta eater, but have enjoyed these immensely.

      Hi Cathleen, they should be good up to 5 days in the fridge. Hope you enjoy!

    • Wallace

      Are the nutrition facts just for the meatballs alone or does it include the pasta and tomato for serving as well?

      Hi Wallace, just the meatballs.

    • Cathy

      Can I prepare these meatballs in advance ! If do should I cook them or freeze uncooked and cook at the time I’m
      Making the pasta?

      you could do either. Cooking then freezing will make it easier probably.

    • Kelly

      If I make these vegetarian meatballs and they sit in marinara sauce in a crockpot, will they still hold together? (I wanted to serve these as a vegetarian option alongside beef meatballs in a separate crockpot, so they would be sitting in marinara sauce in a heated crockpot for an extended period of time.)

      It hasn't been tested, so I'm not sure. Good luck!

    • Philomena

      did you use green or red lentils?

      Feel free to use either Philomena! Hope you enjoy!

    • david

      These meatballs are awesome. I don't like mushrooms, but that just doesn't matter. The overall flavor of these is fabulous and the texture is perfect. Sit down with a big bowl of spaghetti, these meatballs and tomatoes, and a bottle of good red wine and it will be the highlight of your week!.

      Thanks David, glad you loved it!

    • Kate

      The best vegetarian meatballs I've ever made. I use this recipe often and always make a double batch and freeze the leftovers for future meals. This will always be my go-to recipe!!

      Wow, that is so great to hear. Thanks Kate, so happy you love them!

    • Kimberly

      This is the best vegetarian meatball recipe I have ever found! I've just made it for the 3rd time with 3 different end products. Once as meatballs in pasta sauce, once as meatball subs and just now as the base for Salisbury "steak".

      So far the dense texture of this recipe has worked when used as a substitute for hamburger. Next I am going to try spreading it out in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and baking slow until it is almost dry. Then using a pizza cutter slice it unto cubes and add to chili. This might be a bridge too far, so to speak, but I'll give it a try.

      Again, thank you for posting this recipe, it's definitely a keeper.

      Thanks Kimberly, so glad you are loving it!

    • Sarah

      SO good! Super flavorful! This was the first time I ever made meat free meatballs and it was a hit with vegetarians and meat eaters alike in my household. I used grana padano instead of parm and portobello mushrooms instead of cremini. Will definitely be using this recipe for years to come <3

      Thanks so much Sarah, we are so happy everyone loved them!

    • Shawn

      If you are on the fence about making this, get off the fence! These meatballs are so delicious! We are having them as meatball subs with marinara. So good! Definitely going in the rotation?

      Thanks Shawn! We are so happy you love this recipe!