Friends, one of my most popular recipes on the blog is my vegetarian lentil quinoa meatballs. I have been asked many times about making it gluten free, so I decided it was time for an upgrade! Check out these gluten free lentil quinoa veggie meatballs made with oats and pecans!
To upgrade this recipe, I wanted to omit the breadcrumbs, but keep all the flavor. The oats help to act as a binder, which the breadcrumbs did in the previous version, and the pecans add more flavor!
The the pecans add a huge boost of flavor because they are toasted prior to pulsing them. Also, when they are pulsed, they should become very fine so that they do not add much textural difference to the meatball.
Other nuts such as walnuts or almonds could be used instead. If you have a nut allergy, you could try the same toasting and pulsing method with sunflower seeds.
Tips and Tricks for the Gluten Free Lentil Quinoa Veggie Meatballs recipe:
- Pulse the lentils in a food processor with the oats and balsamic onions to create a chunky paste. This paste helps to hold the meatballs together so they are not crumbly.
- You can skip the saute of the onion, but your meatballs will have a pronounced onion flavor. If you like that, go for it. You can mix the balsamic in with the raw onions, oats, and lentils instead.
- Cooking time: 15 minutes will result in a moist meatball with a slightly toasted exterior. 20 minutes will make the exterior more crunchy, with a soft interior.
- Extra mosit meatalls: Coat a baking dish with 1 inch of marinara and place the raw meatballs in the mixture. Cook 15 minutes, or until the marinara is bubbling. This method creates the mositest meatball, but they fall apart much more easily than what I was looking for.
- ½ cup lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup quiona
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 small onion, diced
- splash olive oil
- 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup pecan halves
- ½ cup gluten free oats
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp each: Italian seasoning and Steak seasoning
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 1 egg, beaten
- Cover the lentils with water. Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes and drain, removing the bay leaf.
- Combine quinoa with ⅔ cup water in a small pan on the stove top. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all the water, about 10 minutes.
- In a medium skillet, toast the pecans over medium low heat until fragrant, 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the skillet and wipe out if necessary.
- Combine a splash of olive oil with the diced onion in the skillet. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Mix in balsamic vinegar and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat
- Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the pecans are the consitency of polenta (finely chopped, but not quite flour).
- Add the cooked lentils, balsamic onions, and oats to the food processor. Pulse 10 times to make a chunky paste (not too mushy, but not too chunky).
- Place the lentil mixture in a large bowl. Mix in minced garlic, Italian seasoning, steak seasoning and Parmesan. Taste test and adjust spices to your liking. Finally, mix in the egg.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Form the lentil mixture into balls by pressing 2-3 TBS of the mixture into a cupped palm and gently rolling it in your fingertips. If the mixture sticks to your hands too much, rinse your hands with water occassionally. You should end with 20-25 meatballs.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
This was a hit last night with kids and adults! We baked them in the oven for 20 minutes, put them on the pasta and then marinara over all. They stayed intact, looked delicious and are very flavorful. Great recipe.
Thank you, Ellen. I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed!