Vegan High Protein Meatballs
These amazing vegan mushroom eggplant meatballs are the stuff my dreams are made of right now. They’re mouthwateringly delicious, with a silky almost melting feeling on the tongue and a golden, crispy exterior. I could eat these every day at every meal and still crave more.
I adore the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture of the eggplants, combined with the meatlike texture of the mushrooms and all held together by the lentils. And add in the mediterranean spices, garlic and slight crunch of the almond flour and this recipe may just be the best vegan meatballs ever. It’s so good, I don’t even have enough words to describe it.
High-protein Vegan Meatballs
I’m always focused on getting enough plantbased protein. Even before I switched to a vegetarian diet I wasn’t getting enough protein – I just didn’t know it. That’s another great thing about eating plant based – there’s more focus on a balanced nutrition, so I actually get more protein now than I used to. These vegan meatballs are very high in plant based protein, fibers and nutrients. They’re like a power packed bite sized nutritional mouthful that contains everything you need in a meal.
The lentils are very high in protein and so are the mushrooms. Plus, you get the added benefits of garlic, eggplants, spices, healthy fatty acids and all the tastyness you could dream of.
Meal prep friendly
I’m all about time saving recipes and easy, delicious meals. Which is why I absolutely adore meal prep recipes. There’s nothing easier on a busy day than defrosting these meatballs and serving them with a quick pasta sauce. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
What’s great about this recipe:
- Incredibly easy to make
- Fast and healthy
- Meal prep friendly – make in advance and freeze for later
- Loaded with flavors
- Golden and crispy on the outside with a silky, meaty inner
- Vegan, Gluten free and soy free
How to serve these Vegan Mushroom Eggplant Meatballs
There’s an endless amount of ways you can serve these amazing vegan meatballs. I like to serve these meatballs with pasta sauce and spaghetti as a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Or in a quick spicy noodle dish. I also like to eat them as a healthy snack with a dip or as a pizza topping on a my loaded vegan pizza.
There’s really no limits to all the ways you can serve these.
Here’s a few extra of my favorite meatball meal suggestions:
- Meatballs with curry sauce and rice
- Tortilla with veggies and meatballs
- Vegan stroganoff with meatballs
- Vegan meatballs with noodles
- Mashed potatoes with meatballs and gravy
- Meatball sandwich
Other ways to make these Vegan High Protein Meatballs
If you don’t have lentils on hand, or just don’t have the time to cook them, you can use black beans instead. The texture will be a little less firm, so you may need to add a little extra almond flour. But you will still get that extra high protein that we’re after.
Vegan High-protein Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 medium Eggplant Chopped
- 2 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms Chopped
- ½ Red Onion Finely Diced
- 2 cloves Garlic Finely Diced
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- Pinch of Salt
- Pinch of Pepper
- 3/4 cup Cooked Lentils
- 1/3 cup Almond Flour
- 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast Optional
- 1/3 cup Vegan Cheese Optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and add the chopped mushrooms and diced eggplants. Let them cook for a few minutes at high heat, until the liquid from the mushrooms are absorbed.
- Add the chopped red onion and garlic to the pan and mix everything together. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and basil and stir to combine. Let everything cook for a few minutes longer at medium heat.
- Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour the veggie mix into a blender (or use a blender stick to blend everything in a large mixing bowl).
- Blend everything together with the cooked lentils and optional nutritional yeast, but be careful not to blend it too much. You want there to still be a few larger pieces of mushrooms and eggplant among the mixture.
- Stir in the almond flour, adding a little at a time, until the meatballs hold together when rolled into a ball.
- Shape the mixture into meatballs, you can make them smaller or larger as you prefer, and place them on a baking sheet covered in baking paper.
- Cook the meatballs in the middle of the oven for around 20 minutes or until the meatballs are golden and a little crispy on the outside. Serve hot and enjoy.
