Thank goodness I am out of the worst of this nasty chest cough and flu thing, and I really gave it an aggressive kick in the butt by getting a big fat B-Complex vitamin injection last night- that should help really get it out the door.
And I am staying on my regimen of hot whiskey and spicy food too!
These Vegan Lentil Meatballs are awesome- totally different than anything else I would normally make, but I am so glad that I decided to branch out- because this whole combo is delicious.
I love these hearty, earthy cumin scented lentils and walnuts with the grassy flat leaf parsley and the green onions- so delicious. But I feel like the Creamy Tomato Curry Sauce is just insane and will take the lentil walnut “meat” balls over the top. If you are under the weather- make this! And feel free to add some extra crushed red pepper flakes if you want it extra spicy!
- Creamy Tomato Curry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, rough chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons curry
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup unsweetened canned coconut cream (the thick white part on the top of canned coconut milk)
- Kosher salt
- Lentil Meatballs
- 1 pound cooked brown lentils
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 4 green onions, finely minced
- 1 cup minced parsley
- kosher salt
- olive oil for frying
- For the sauce: In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil and onions. Saute for 5 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often another two minutes.
- Stir the curry powder, cumin and the red pepper flakes into the onions and garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Then add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring often.
- Add the canned tomatoes and stir well. Add the contents to the jar of a blender or use an immersion blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Transfer back to the pot. Simmer over low heat until it is hot and slightly bubbling around the edges. Stir in the coconut cream and season to taste with kosher salt. Put a lid on the pot and simmer over low heat while you make the lentil meatballs.
- For the lentil meatballs: In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients (except for the salt.) Pulse until the mixture is well combined but not smooth and then season to taste with kosher salt. You should be able to form it with your hands and squeeze it together to hold the shape of a loose ball. Form the balls and set them aside on a sheet tray while you prepare the pan and oil.
- In a large non-stick cooking pan add some olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the lentil balls and brown lightly on all sides, cooking until they are hot and golden on the outside, about 5 minutes.
- You can keep them hot in a hot oven at 300 degrees.
- I like to pour some of the Creamy Tomato Curry Sauce into a shallow bowl and then add the hot lentil meatballs to the sauce. Garnish with a little flat leaf parsley.
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Hello yumminess! This looks delish!!!
Thanks Tori!
Don’t you just love B vitamins? They changed my life and took 10 years off of me. Awesome recipe. A little spice always clears out congestion I find too!
OMG Laura- they are so amazing!! Do you have any tricks to taking them without nausea? I have the very hardest time so I have resorted to injections- I just feel SO good after a big fat Vitamin B shot!
These meatballs are calling my name!! Loving this beautiful recipe!!
Thank you so much Jenny!
This ones making it to my table real soon!
This looks SOOOO good! I am definitely going to try making it- thanks for sharing.
Love the coconut CREAM in this! Definitely trying this wonderful sounding recipe!
What a tasty and healthy sounding meal! Yum!
It’s look so good I will try to do it, thank you for the recipes
Your directions for the curry sauce say to add tomato paste but it’s not listed in the ingredients for the sauce. How much are you supposed to use?
Thank you Christina! So weird- I fixed that 🙂
Has anyone actually made this?? I tried it this evening the sauce was very good, but I apparently did not have the industrial sized food processor that would have been necessary to pulse without puréeing. So they were too smooth and would not fry up like meatballs. Tried to bake but still just came out too texture less and bland. Any suggestions?
I made this last night. I also had the problem of my processor not being large enough for this recipe. I put all the meatball ingredients except for the lentils in the food processor until the onions and parsley was minced. Then I mashed this with the lentils in a separate bowl with a potato masher. Also, I don’t recommend putting the cooked meatballs into the sauce. They will turn into mush quickly. Just pour the sauce over them. This was a tasty recipe and I will make it again. The sauce is the star. It is absolutely delicious.
These look incredible! I absolutely love lentils, they are a staple in our vegan household, but I’m always on the lookout for new things to do with them. This is going on my to make for dinner list!
I’m a lentil freak since childhood, and I can’t wait to make this recipe!
Oh good Lynne! I hope you like it!
Hi Heather
I made These today, they Taste delicious!
I have Added 1 tablespoon coconut flour to the dough and the oil (0.5cm high in the Pan) was really hot gut somehow it seemed they just soaked it all up what have I done wrong?
Kind regards
Anne
Hi Anne- Shoot- I wish I was there to trouble shoot in your kitchen! They are a very soft “meatball” to begin with, but I am wondering if the coconut flour may have actually acted as an absorbent for the oil? if you have a non-stick or well seasoned pan, then you could try much less oil and just make sure to watch and check for sticking?
Oh no, Maybe you are right and I made things even worse by using the coconut flour-sounds logic to me I will make them again as I lovelovelove lentils and the combination with walnuts is awesome! Next time I will stick to your ingredients rather than adding coconut flour (I have a non sticky pan however they also stuck a Bit in the pan; Maybe also because of the flour?)
By the way- my 2 year old little girl loved the sauce a lot even though she wanted to have noodles with it
best of luck Anne!! I hope they work better this time!
These look so dang good and I’m dying to try them. Do you have any suggestions for subbing the walnuts? I am, sadly, the only one in a family of four that escaped a severe tree nut allergy.
Of course James! I would use toasted pepitas- those are the shelled toasted pumpkin seeds!
Any other pulse I can use than brown lentils?
This sounds amazing
Any side dishes to go with this recipe ?
This is delicious. I amped up the spices and I found frying the balls to be a mess. They kept falling apart on me. I instead added some breadcrumbs and baked at 415F. I am at elevation, so baking temp and time may be different from me.