As a kid, the healthy snacks she remembers lacked flavour and excitement. But now, Phoebe Lapine of Feed me Phoebe, has flipped the script to include bright flavours and life into her nutritious and delicious diet while navigating the twists and turns of the auto-immune disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Her Gluten-Free recipes are simple to follow and will satisfy your greatest hungers.
These delectable gluten-free vegan meatballs combine mushrooms and lentils to make a healthy, plant-based pleaser. We recommend lightening this recipe up with a heaping cup of fresh, pillowy breadcrumbs made from Little Northern Bakehouse White Wide Slice bread. These versatile Swedish-style veggie balls can star as the main course, be enjoyed as a saucy finger food eaten with toothpicks, or take their place on top of spaghetti all covered in (plant-based) cheese and your favourite marinara!
step 01
Preheat the oven to 400℉.
In a medium pot, cover the lentils with 2 inches of water. Salt generously and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and rapidly simmer for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are al dente. Drain in a fine mesh sieve and shake out any excess water.
step 02
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flax eggs, paprika, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt until combined.
step 03
Add the bread to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Transfer the crumbs to the mixing bowl with the flax egg mixture. You should have approximately 1 1/2 cups of fluffy, gluten-free bread crumbs.
step 04
In a medium skillet or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Sauté until the veggies are tender and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat.
Transfer the mixture to the food processor (it’s ok if some scraps stay behind in the pan). Pulse until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Remove 3 tablespoons of the mushrooms mixture and return to the pan.
step 05
Add the cooked lentils to the food processor bowl with the remaining mushrooms. Pulse until a coarse paste forms. Transfer to the bowl with the breadcrumbs and mix until well combined.
step 06
With clean, greased hands, form the lentil mixture into 1-inch balls (you can use a cookie scoop to portion, about 2 tablespoons in each.) You will need to squeeze and roll the balls to make sure they are tightly packed.
Arrange the balls on two parchment-lined baking sheets 1/2 an inch apart. You should get about 16 meatballs. Bake for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.
step 07
While the meatballs bake, make the gravy: return the mushroom pan to medium-high heat. Once sizzling, add the white wine vinegar and 1/2 cup vegetable broth and scrape up any brown bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Reduce the white wine vinegar and broth until half has evaporated, then pour in the remaining 1 cup of vegetable broth, coconut cream, gluten-free tamari, and cashew butter, whisking to combine.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes, whisking throughout, until the gravy can coat the back of a spoon.
step 08
Add final seasonings to taste. Once the meatballs are finished baking, toss them with the gravy an serve immediately!
tip
Serving these vegan meatballs with gravy? These crispy, vegan meatballs might lose their crunch when sitting in sauce for too long. Spare the sogginess by tossing them together right before you serve or eating immediately.