Vegan Spaghetti Meatballs with Veggie Sauce
The best spaghetti “meatballs” I have ever eaten! Definitely a keeper.
Servings: 2
Calories: 591kcal
Ingredients
- thin spaghetti of your choice (GF if needed)
For the “meatballs” (makes around 5-6 “meatballs”/each)
- 1/2 cup dried lentils/beans uncooked and rinsed, we used a combo of adzuki and mung beans
- 1.25 cup water
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 cup carrot grated
- 1/4 cup Panko/breadcrumbs (GF if needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoon peanut butter or 1 egg, or flax seed/chia seed egg
For the veggie sauce
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 2 cups celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup carrot chopped
- 3 cups tomato chopped
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
For the “meatballs”
- Bring lentils and water to a gentle boil in a medium sized pot. When boiling reduce heat to simmer and cook until lentils/beans are tender. This will take about 20-25 minutes. Add water if needed. When ready drain off any excess water.
- Meanwhile, heat a skillet with extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (use refined to avoid coconut flavor) over medium heat. Saute onion until soft and fragrant. This will take bout 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and carrots and cook for 3 minutes more.
- Combine cooked lentils and onion mix with all other meatball ingredients, except for the “egg”, in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine the ingredients, then add the “egg” and pulse a few times more. Do not overdo to pulsing, the lentils should still have some shape in them. Set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425˚F or 220˚C.
- Roll lentil mixture into 10-12 “meatballs” (more or less the size of a golf ball). Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush each “meatball” with a little olive or melted coconut oil.
- Bake until nicely browned and crisp. This will take about 25-30 minutes.
For the veggie sauce
- Heat a skillet with extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (use refined to avoid coconut flavor) over medium heat. Saute onion until soft and fragrant. Or about 5 minutes. Add garlic, celery, and carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes. Stir regularly.
- Add tomatoes and season with oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and sauce-like.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in lightly salted water according to the instructions on the package.
- When ready, drain pasta in a colander and top with veggie sauce and meatballs.
Notes
- Optional: add ¼-½ cup crushed nuts of your choice to meatballs for extra flavor and crunch (pecans, cashews, walnuts are all good options)
- FYI: peel tomatoes roughly for smoother tomato sauce. We didn’t bother doing this as we don’t mind the little tomato skin pieces in the sauce.
- FYI: unlike most other foods on the market refined doesn’t necessarily means a bad thing if it comes to coconut oil. It all depends on how it is being processed. Click the link to learn more.