These vegan, Lentil Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce are truly delicious! Infused with fragrant Indian spices, they are healthy and full of flavor. Vegan and Gluten Free! Video.
These flavorful vegan, Lentil Meatballs are served over a fragrant Indian-spiced Coconut Curry Sauce. The aroma will drench your kitchen in goodness. The lentil meatballs are baked, rather than fried – so they remain relatively low in fat. Served with basmati rice or a salad, this meal is hearty, healthy and delicious. I also just learned… it also won BEST vegan recipe over at Food 52!
Lentil Meatballs | 60-second Video
Lentil Meatball Ingredients
- Black lentils (uncooked) -I adore these little Black Caviar lentils because of their petite size, their dark color and rich earthy flavor. They are meaty little guys, who hold their shape after cooking, and take only 20 -25 minutes to cook. But feel free to use brown lentils or green lentils. Any whole lentils will work great here- just do not use split lentils.
- fennel seeds
- Quinoa
- Kosher salt
- granulated garlic
- cilantro
- firm tofu
- olive oil
Indian Coconut Curry Sauce:
- garlic
- ginger
- fresh turmeric (or ground turmeric )
- olive oil
- fresh tomato
- Fenugreek leaves – truly elevate! Use fresh or dried. Note: Fenugreek seeds are a different flavor.
- Coconut milk (not lite)
- lime juice
- salt, pepper, seasonings
TIP: Dried fenugreek leaves truly elevate this dish! We use them often here on the blog- so they won’t go to waste!
How to make Lentil Meatballs
Cooked Lentils and cooked quinoa are mixed with cilantro, garlic and spices.
Tofu is whipped in a food processor into a thick paste, and acts as the binder here. Fold this into the lentil-quinoa mixture.
With wet hands, form, into ping-pong-sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the lentil meatballs in the oven for 20-22 minutes.
While they are in the oven make the coconut curry sauce. I highly recommend making a double batch of the sauce!
Place lentil meatballs over the sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
What to serve with Lentil Meatballs?
- Basmati rice
- Naan Bread
- Indian Spinach Salad
- Palak Paneer
- Bombay Carrot Salad
- Authentic Chai!
- Chai Cookies!
Enjoy the Lentil Meatballs- let us know what you think in the comments below.
xoxo
You may also enjoy
Lentil Meatballs with Indian Coconut Curry Sauce
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 15 lentil balls
- Category: Vegan, Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Ingredients
Lentil Meatballs:
- 1 cup black caviar lentils (uncooked) Sub green lentils or brown lentils ( see notes)
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 6 oz firm tofu, pressed down (to release water) and patted dry – this acts as the binder (do not use silken tofu)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- spray olive oil
Coconut Curry Sauce: ( If you like extra saucy, double the recipe)
- 1– 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic- finly minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh turmeric, grated (or 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric )
- 1 extra large tomato, finely diced, with juices
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (FYI: this is different, and better than fenugreek seeds)
- 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk (not lite)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, more to taste
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the lentils. On high heat, bring lentils and fennel seeds to a boil in a small pot with 3 cups water. Cover, turn heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender, 15-25 minutes, depending on their size. Drain well, pat dry.
- Cook the quinoa. On high heat, bring quinoa to a boil in a small pot with 1 cup of water. Cover, turn heat to medium-low, simmer for 15 minutes, until all the water is gone, turn the heat off, and leave covered.
- Make the coconut curry sauce. In a skillet or saute pan, over medium heat, saute garlic and ginger in olive oil, until just golden, stirring often to prevent scorching. Add turmeric ( fresh turmeric root, or ground) sauté 1 more minute. Add diced tomato, and sauté until most of the juices evaporate, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, fenugreek leaves, lime juice, brown sugar, salt, cayenne and pepper. Taste for salt. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat until ready to serve.
- Make the vegan lentil meatballs. Pre-heat oven to 400F. In a food processor, place the cooked quinoa, and half of the drained lentils (see notes) and pulse until the texture of coarse sand—place in a large bowl. Add the remaining lentils, salt, granulated garlic, and chopped cilantro to the bowl and mix well.
- In the same food processor (no need to rinse) add the tofu (blotted well, broken apart) and olive oil. The tofu will bind the mixture and oil will keep them from drying out. Pulse tofu and oil until a smooth creamy paste, scraping down the sides as necessary. Scoop it into the lentil mixture and mix it all well.
- Form meatballs: Prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet. With your hands, knead lentil mixture briefly so it’s thoroughly mixed and salt and spices are evenly distributed. With wet hands ( or small cookie scoop) form small ping-pong-sized balls. Spray with a little spray olive oil.
- Bake! Place the meatballs on a parchement-lined baking sheet and place in the 400 F oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Assemble: Warm the sauce gently in the pan and place lentil meatballs in the sauce, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage: Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. To freeze, freeze meatballs separately from the sauce on a sheet pan. Once frozen, they should be ok in a zip-lock freezer bag. Full disclosure. These are quite tender and prone to crumbling after they thaw.
Double the sauce for extra saucy! Most people are enjoying this doubled. 🙂
TIP: If using large brown lentils, blend them all with the quinoa for better binding! I like leaving some of the tiny black lentils whole ( for texture and looks) but this doesn’t work as well with big brown lentils.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 lentil balls
- Calories: 295
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 244.4 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.2 g
- Fiber: 6.8 g
- Protein: 18.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
We love this one! Toddler approved! Sometimes I just make the sauce and add chickpeas for a quick curry. I also use fenugreek seeds vs leaves because I don’t usually have those on hand. love your plant based recipes!
thanks so much!
Made this for dinner tonight for two… tasty beyond expectations! Amazing recipe, thanks… totally worth winning that contest!
Awww thanks Monica!
Want to make this recipe tonight but I think using 1T of ginger would be insane, also I dont have a pan that holds.1 tonne of anything. Is there a smaller amount I can use?
One tablespoon fresh ginger. I’m confused? Like a soupspoon full. 🙂
Hi, my sauce is a bright yellow and quite watery compared to what the picture looks like. What did I do wrong?
Did you use lite coconut milk?
You knows it’s good when everyone scrapes their plates and asks for more. Fantastic recipe!
Awwww thanks Eric! Come back and visit us!
This is delicious… will definitely go into my rotation! I was unable to find dry black lentils, so I used two cans of black lentils, drained well and patted dry, then mixed with some toasted, ground fennel seed. I will probably also follow your suggestion of doubling the sauce. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it’s a winner!
Another great recipe, Sylvia! I ordered fenugreek from Amazon and it adds an interesting complexity to the dish that makes it beyond ordinary. So good, and the sauce is especially tasty!
This recipe was an absolute hit with my whole family – they said it was better than going to a restaurant and I can’t wait to make it again. So good, I genuinely don’t have the words to describe it.
Great to hear and so happy everyone liked it!
Hello! This looks delicious and I’m hoping to try making it this week. Just one question – do you think I could use fenugreek powder instead of leaves? I’m not sure if there’s a difference in taste. Thanks!
Yes, it is different- the powder comes from the seeds.
Hi! So excited to try this! Question, I’m not a fan of fennel-any good substitute for this? Thanks!
I guess you could leave it out- but it really works here.
Has anyone tried this recipe with flax eggs as the binder instead of firm tofu? I’d like to try this recipe and I normally avoid tofu. I’m wondering if it will still come out as delicious.
I would love to know too! Very curious!!!
Wondering if this worked?? I’d like to do the same
Thank you so much for another delicious and healthy recipe. I made this and only had a blender big enough to process the grains so the meatballs turned out so wet that they won’t hold shape. Any suggestions for how to repair the situation? They taste amazing though!! Especially with the sauce!!
Oh dear! Sorry about that.
You knows it’s good when everyone scrapes their plates and asks for more. Fantastic recipe!
My first ever attempt at vegan meatballs. I was a bit skeptical while my husband was confident that meatless meatballs were a terrible idea. But I am so happy I tried your recipe! We really enjoyed them and the sauce too! Absolutely delicious! My husband declared he wants to eat them more often and that he is open to other meatleass meatballs 🙂 Thank you!
Haha! Love it. thanks for making my morning. 🙂 Glad you both liked!
Hi Sylvia, another AWESOME recipe…I’ve cooked this twice in one week!!! Its just soooo delicious…Thanks ever so much for sharing :-))
Yay! Im glad you enjoyed!
I’m making this tomorrow night and wanted to make a separate sauce serving for one guest that cannot have anything remotely spicy … planning on cutting the pepper and cayenne. Anything else people suggest should be cut to make it no spice?
That should do it!
Hi can I make the meatballs ahead of time? Sounds delish! I’m doing a dinner party for a large group and I wanted to have one vegan dish for a friend
Hey Shauna, You could make the lentil ball “dough” ahead and sauce ahead, but the balls do get crumbly after they are cooked- I worry about them falling apart.
Loved it! My husband practically licking the bowel! The only thing I did differently was to put sauce in blender so it matched the photo a little more!
*Bowl
Hi there, we can’t eat Tofu due to allergies, could we bind the mixture with an egg instead?
Hi Liz, I haven’t tried it but I imagine it would work fine. Hase anyone else tried it with egg? Please let me know how it works out and any adjustments you make!
I would use canned chickpeas made into a pate in a food processor. I use them all the time as a binder.
Just wondering how much chickpeas do you use?
Great results. My meat eating husband also enjoyed it! I made extra lentil mix to put in the freezer…maybe to put with a tomato sauce next. Looking forward to your other recipies!
Hands down the best curry I have made! Thank you for sharing. My meat eating boyfriend also loved it!
Awwww… great to hear!
This was delicious. Everything about it was wonderful. Did not miss the meat at all.
Oh thanks – so happy you liked it!
Hi! Can’t wait to make this. Just wondering if the nutrition facts also reflect the sauce as well?
Yes they do!
Served to meateaters and scored a goal! I love the lightness of the meatless balls…so clever and the sauce is addictive! I served it with turmeric and cayenne roasted cauliflower steaks, roasted zucchini with fennel seeds and topped it off with turmeric kale chips. This is a great recipe. I think I’d like the meatless balls with a Buddha bowl too YUM THANK YOU Sylvia
Okay, this sauce is amazing and I’m definitely going to be using it for other curry recipes (green pea curry is next up, I’m betting potato/cauliflower will go good with it too!). I love fenugreek so much, and since I’m batch cooking for postpartum, I can vouch that this sauce freezes well on it’s own. Bonus that fenugreek is good for breastfeeding!
I tried for curiosity’s sake making these with lentils that had been soaked and sprouted to make them more digestible. I ended up cutting the tofu by about a third because the lentils were pretty moist. I’m going to attempt freezing these, I’ll try one batch uncooked, and one cooked and report back.
thanks Lacey! Appreciate all your notes, and sprouting the lentils is such a great idea. Yes, let me know how the freezing process works!
Well, freezing didn’t work, as they thawed they fell apart so it turned into a lentil crumble. Still delicious but definitely not a meatball! I use this sauce often as a methi mutter malai version since its vegan. My husband is South Asian and he loves it! I add 2 cardamom pods during cooking but otherwise I stick to the recipe!
I was worried about that. Thanks for sharing and good to know!!!
what can i replace tofu with (i do not eat unfermented soy)? I’m fine with meat. would some fatty ground pork and egg hold them together?
You know, honestly I’m not sure. I’ve only made these with tofu, but feel free to give them a try!