MediterraneanPasta / noodles

Love Lentil Meatballs

Wholegrain spaghetti with six browned lentil, mushroom, sun-dried tomato and walnut meatballs in a glossy balsamic tomato sauce.

Eat nowHeartyContains gluten, soy, tree nuts
Hands-on28 minTotal time48 minEnergy760 kcalProtein43g
Recipe details
Kitchen project

Equipment: Oven, Food processor, Hob

Keep chilled after cooking

Love Lentil Meatballs
Servings1 standard portionAdjust

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Standard portions

About 700 kcal per adult reference portion

Making 1 standard portion. Ingredients, instructions and Cooking Mode update together.

Doubling up barely adds effort and covers another mealtime.

Ingredients

Meatballs

Sauce

Spaghetti

Finish

Now we make

Method

Do the night before

  1. 1
    Defrost 180g cooked green lentils overnight in the fridge if using frozen

These steps sit outside the cooking-day clock.

28 min hands-on 48 min altogether
  1. 2
    Heat the oven to 220Β°C fan and line a tray. Toast 18g walnuts in a dry frying pan for 2-3 minutes, then reserve a small spoonful for finishing. Finely chop 80g mushrooms, add them to the pan and cook hard until their liquid has evaporated and the pieces are browned
    πŸ– 6 min
  2. 3
    Put the remaining walnuts, mushrooms, green lentils, 15g sundried tomato, 6g flaxseed, 12g breadcrumbs, 10g nutritional yeast, 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp soy sauce in a food processor. Pulse briefly until the mixture holds when squeezed but still shows lentil and walnut pieces. Rest for 5 minutes
    πŸ– 4 minπŸ’€ 5 min unattended
  3. 4
    Shape the mixture firmly into 6 equal meatballs with damp hands. Bake for 14-16 minutes, turning once, until browned outside and set without becoming dry
    πŸ– 5 minπŸ’€ 15 min unattended
  4. 5
    Meanwhile, finely chop 50g white onion and crush 1 clove garlic. Heat 3ml olive oil in the frying pan, soften the onion for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and 1 tbsp tomato paste for 1 minute. Add 200g tomato and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; simmer until glossy and thick enough to cling to the meatballs
    πŸ– 8 min
  5. 6
    Cook 55g dry wholegrain pasta (spaghetti) until al dente, reserving 60ml cooking water before draining. Loosen the tomato sauce with only enough pasta water to coat the spaghetti, then turn the baked meatballs through it very gently
    πŸ– 3 minπŸ’€ 8 min unattended
  6. 7
    Twirl the spaghetti into a shallow bowl, arrange the six meatballs where their browned surfaces remain visible, and spoon over the remaining sauce. Tear over 5g basil and finish with the reserved toasted walnut crumbs
    πŸ– 2 min

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Nutrition details

Nutrition is shown for one standard portion, not the whole batch selected above.

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Nutrition summary

At a glance

Higher inSeleniumVitamin B3Folate
Lower inVitamin ACalciumVitamin E

Calories

760kcal

36%
Top contributors
Wholegrain Pasta Β· 25%Green Lentils Β· 21%Walnuts Β· 16%
22% cal

Protein

42.5g

67%
Top contributors
Green Lentils Β· 38%Wholegrain Pasta Β· 18%Nutritional Yeast Β· 11%
47% cal

Carbs

89.0g

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Wholegrain Pasta Β· 33%Green Lentils Β· 30%Breadcrumbs Β· 7%
31% cal

Fat

26.0g

37%
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Walnuts Β· 45%Sundried Tomato Β· 18%Olive Oil Β· 10%

Small numbers, big impact

Everyday essentials

Fibre31.90g
109%
Top contributors
Green Lentils Β· 45%Wholegrain Pasta Β· 16%Tomato Β· 8%
Vitamin B121.67ΞΌg
70%
Top contributors
Nutritional Yeast Β· 96%Breadcrumbs Β· 3%Mushrooms Β· 2%
Vitamin D0.16ΞΌg
1%
Top contributors
Mushrooms Β· 100%
Iodine0.00ΞΌg
0%
Iron15.19mg
84%
Top contributors
Green Lentils Β· 39%Sundried Tomato Β· 22%Wholegrain Pasta Β· 13%
Zinc6.01mg
55%
Top contributors
Green Lentils Β· 38%Wholegrain Pasta Β· 27%Walnuts Β· 9%
Calcium170.22mg
17%
Top contributors
Green Lentils Β· 20%Breadcrumbs Β· 13%Tomato Β· 12%

Nutrients food alone won't reliably cover

These three are commonly under-consumed across all diets, not just plant-based ones - the difference is mainly B12, which has no whole plant food source at all.

  • Vitamin B12: is absent from whole plant foods entirely - the number above only reflects fortified ingredients (nutritional yeast, fortified soy milk). A reliable B12 supplement or fortified source is the standard recommendation for a fully plant-based diet, regardless of what any single day's total shows.
  • Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): most people fall short here regardless of diet - the typical omnivore diet doesn't include much oily fish either. This app only tracks ALA, the plant form (flax, walnuts, hemp, chia). The body converts some ALA to EPA and very little to DHA - the forms most directly used by the brain, eyes and heart - and that conversion is inefficient. An algae-oil supplement is the usual plant-based way to get EPA/DHA directly; it won't show up as an ingredient in any recipe here.
  • Vitamin D: deficiency is widespread across all diets, not just plant-based ones - it's mostly absent from whole plant foods here, and even the fortified soy milk and yogurt tracked don't cover the full target from food alone. Reasonable sun exposure or a D2/D3 supplement is the standard recommendation.

Not medical advice - if you're eating fully plant-based long-term, it's worth a conversation with a GP or dietitian, and a blood test is the reliable way to check where you actually stand.

See the full supplement guide (incl. creatine) β†’
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