Lentil Meatballs
Italian cuisine is usually associated with carbs. But here at HealthiNation we do our best to turn your comfort foods into healthy alternatives!

Italian cuisine is usually associated with tons of carbs. But here at HealthiNation we do our best to turn your favorite comfort foods into healthy alternatives!
In episode 7 of Gluten Free Tasty, Host Jenné Claiborne demonstrates how to make lentil meatballs and spaghetti squash. If you are gluten free you probably stay away from Italian food but you don’t have to! This recipe has all the taste with none of the gluten.
Lentil has become a tasty staple in many diets due to being very low in calories and high in nutrition. Compared to other dry beans lentils are easy to prepare and absorb flavors easier, the biggest advantage of lentils are that they are a powerhouse of fiber!
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 2 tablespoons water (combine in a small bowl)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can/jar plain tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon raw cane sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put aside. In a pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add ½ cup onions and 1 clove garlic and saute until translucent. Place cooked lentils into a large bowl. Add cooked onions and garlic, bread crumbs, flax, thyme, fennel, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add ‚Öî of the mixture to a food processor, and pulse to blend even more. Pour this back into the large bowl. Season with more salt to taste. They should be sticky, but hold together. If they don't hold together, add more breadcrumbs/almond flour or place in the freezer to firm up for 20 minutes. Scoop out 2 tablespoon sized chunks of the lentil batter, and form into balls. Place on the baking sheet, and repeat until all of the batter has been used. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Meatballs will be crispy on the outside. In a saucepan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add ½ cup onions and 3 minced cloves of garlic to saute until translucent. Add tomato sauce followed by 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dry oregano, yeast, and sugar. Cook on low, barely simmering while you make the lentil meatballs and roast the squash. Roasting Spaghetti Squash: Preheat oven to 400º. Cut a medium-sized spaghetti squash in half, then scoop out the seeds. Coat each half with olive oil, then roast cut-side up on a baking sheet for 45 minutes. Once roasted, allow the squash to cool for about 10 minutes before scraping the ‚Äúspaghetti‚Äù out with a fork. Makes 4 servingsNutrition Information
Nutrition Information Based on a Single Serving
*Percent Daily Value are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Dietary Needs



Cholesterol


Jenné Claiborne is a vegan chef and the creator of Sweet Potato Soul, a cooking and lifestyle blog and Youtube channel.
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[SOUND] Today we are gonna be making
lentil meatballs with spaghetti squash.
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[MUSIC]
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Thanks for watching HealthiNation.
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I'm Janay.
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Now if you were looking for
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the perfect Italian gluten free dish this
is the one for you.
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So to get started, I've already got my
ingredients laid out.
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We're gonna be making lentil meatballs
with spaghetti squash and
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we're gonna serve that with a really nice
homemade tomato sauce.
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The lentil meatballs are amazing.
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They're especially good when you want
something comforting and warm, and hearty.
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The spaghetti squash is gonna serve as our
pasta, so instead of using wheat pasta or
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any other store bought gluten free pasta,
the spaghetti squash is lower in calories,
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lower in carbohydrates, and it fills you
up just the same.
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We're just gonna saute some garlic and
onions.
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Gonna add some olive oil, just about a
table spoon will do.
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I am going to add in our onions, and the
garlic.
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I'm gonna just cook this until the onions
are nice and translucent.
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And they are going to make your kitchen
smell so good.
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This combination is always a winner.
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All right, I'm going to add these directly
to my bowl of cooked lentils.
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Now to cook these lentils,
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I just boiled them in a pot with some
water for about 30 minutes.
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Great.
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Now we have our onions and garlic and our
lentils all in one bowl.
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Gluten-free bread crumbs goin' right in.
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And we also have a flax egg.
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The flax egg is a tablespoon of ground
flax seed with three tablespoons of water.
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It helps to hold everything together in
the final recipe.
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I've got some fennel and red chili flakes.
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Some thyme, black pepper, and sea salt.
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Let me give this a quick stir.
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Add two-thirds of this mixture into the
food processor.
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[SOUND] We just wanted to make sure that
it
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actually holds together when we make it
into our little meat balls.
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Alright.
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Stir it up again, to make sure it's all
incorporated.
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I think it's time to give it a taste.
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Mm, it's so good.
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Let's make our meatballs.
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So here I have a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper.
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And I am going to form my meatballs in to
meatball shapes.
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About two tablespoon size.
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Just like that.
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[MUSIC]
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So the oven is already preheated to 350
degrees.
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I'm going to stick these meatballs in
there for about 30 minutes.
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[MUSIC]
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Here I have our spaghetti squashes that
we're gonna use for our spaghetti.
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I've got a ice cream scoop.
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All you have to do is scoop the seeds.
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[MUSIC]
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And now you have a super clean spaghetti
squash with the seeds and
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the membranes taken out.
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[MUSIC]
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So here I have my already roasted
spaghetti squash.
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I roasted it with a bit of olive oil for
400 degrees for about 45 minutes, and
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now it's nice and tender.
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So how do you make the spaghetti?
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You simply take a fork, and scrape it out.
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[MUSIC]
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And here you have these long spaghetti
strands.
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And just like other forms of squash,
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spaghetti squash is actually high in beta
carotene which is good for whole body.
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I also have tomato sauce over here, and
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it's simply a little bit of sauteed onions
and garlic tomato sauce from the can.
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Some Italian herbs, and
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there's also one very special ingredient,
which is my nutritional yeast.
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It has a very nutty and
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cheesy flavor that we vegans like to use
in place of dairy cheese.
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Ooh, they look nice.
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Let's plate this.
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I'm just gonna scoop some of the tomato
sauce right on top.
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All right, and we can top this with some
meatballs.
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[MUSIC]
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I'm gonna make myself a little portion, of
course.
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I'm gonna give it a try.
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Very good.
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Its amazing how the lentils with all the
spices, even the spaghetti squash,
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all together makes like, the best gluten
free pasta ever.
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Thanks for watching HealthiNation.
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I'm Janay Claiborne.
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Now, if you are looking for
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the perfect Italian, gluten free dish,
this is the one for you.
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Thanks for watching.
[MUSIC]