Moroccan Lentil Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is made with simple ingredients and comes together in just 30 minutes. These veggie meatballs are kid-friendly and great for meal prep lunch or easy weeknight dinners.
Why You’ll Love these Lentil Meatballs:
I honestly can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t LOVE these vegetarian lentil meatballs. Firstly, they’re made with pantry staples like canned lentils, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, and dried herbs and spices. Second, they couldn’t be simpler to prepare with the help of a food processor.
These lentil meatballs are also budget friendly and can be adapted to a wide range of cuisines and styles. The lentils add a great source of plant protein and fiber, making them super satiating, too.
Enjoy them for a weekday meal with pasta, couscous, or simply dipped in your favorite sauce. Tender, hearty, and deliciously spiced, these veggie meatballs will be a family favorite!
Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Lentils: The star of these meatballs is protein-rich lentils, which add heft and meatiness. I use canned lentils for convenience, however you can certainly cook them from scratch. (Just make sure they are completely cooled before adding them to the food processor.) Alternatively, the vacuum-sealed bags of pre-cooked lentils are a great option.
- Breadcrumbs: Classic, unseasoned breadcrumbs help hold these bean balls together. If you only have seasoned breadcrumbs on hand, just leave out the dried oregano from the recipe. Alternatively, if you need a gluten-free option, oat flour also does the job here.
- Tomato Paste: This umami-booster lends savory depth of flavor to these veggie meatballs. It also adds moisture and helps bind them together. For more flavor and spice, you can use harissa instead (which you’ll need for the red pepper sauce, anyway).
- Spices: I love a mix of smoked paprika, cumin, and oregano, which add wonderful earthiness and smoky spice. You can also add a pinch of coriander, saffron, fennel, and/or caraway, which are all staple moroccan spices.
- Egg: These bean balls hold together best with the use of an egg. However if you’re making them vegan, a flax egg also works well. To make a flax egg, combine 1 Tbsp (7g) flaxseed meal with 2 1/2 Tbsp (37 ml) water and let sit for 3 minutes.
- Aromatics: A mix of red onion and fresh garlic really level up the flavor. If you don’t have red onion on hand, feel free to use yellow onion or shallots instead.
- Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: This sauce couldn’t be simpler, and only calls for 4 ingredients. You need one jar of roasted red peppers, harissa, fresh garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil. You won’t believe how bright and flavorful it is for such few ingredients. (Pro tip: prep a double batch and use leftovers for spooning over roasted veggies, fish, or chicken!)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Blend Lentil Meatball Ingredients in a Food Processor
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lentils, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, parsley, onion, garlic, herbs, and spices. Pulse, mixing until combined, but not puréed, leaving a little texture. (The texture should be similar to dough. If it feels too wet to roll, mix in extra breadcrumbs.)
Transfer mixture to a bowl and wipe the food processor clean. 
Step 2: Prepare the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Add roasted red peppers, harissa, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to the food processor. Blend the mixture until smooth, and set aside. 
Step 3: Sear Meatballs in a Skillet
Use a medium cookie dough scoop to scoop out Tablespoon amounts of dough and carefully roll into 18 balls.
In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add the lentil meatballs and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until golden-brown and slightly crisp. Shake the pan or use a wooden spoon to roll the balls around to cook evenly on all sides. (Note: if you’re using a smaller pan, cook the meatballs in two batches.)
Step 4: Add Roasted Red Pepper Sauce to Skillet
Pour the roasted red pepper sauce into the skillet with the cooked lentil meatballs. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired, and serve with your sides of choice. 
What to Serve with Lentil Meatballs:
These lentil meatballs are super versatile, and can pair up with just about any sides. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Pearl couscous: If you are not familiar, pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) is a small, lightly toasted pasta. It’s quick-cooking, delightfully chewy, and makes a fantastic side dish. For more flavor, cook it in vegetable broth instead of water, and mix in fresh chopped parsley, lemon juice, and pine nuts before serving. I love this tri-color pearl couscous from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Rice: Keep it simple with plain white or brown basmati rice, or go for a flavor home run with this Curried Rice Salad.
- Salad: Serve alongside this 10-minute Shaved Brussels and Pear Salad for a refreshing counter to the kicky red pepper sauce.
How to Make Lentil Meatballs Vegan:
To make this recipe vegan, you can use a flax egg in place of the egg called for in the recipe. Here’s how to make a flax egg:
- Combine 1 Tbsp (7 g) flaxseed meal with 2 1/2 Tbsp (37 ml) water in a small bowl.
- Let the mixture sit for 3 to 5 minutes, until it becomes thick and gelatinous.
- Add the flax egg to the food processor in lieu of a real egg to help bind the meatballs.
Make-Ahead, Store, and Reheat:
- Make-ahead: Unshaped lentil meatball mixture can be stored in the refrigerator up to 1 day in advance. Shaped (uncooked) lentil meatballs can also be stored 1 to 2 days ahead. You can also freeze the shaped balls (raw or cooked) for 2 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Either cook as directed (if raw) or rewarm in the toaster oven (if cooked). (Note: It’s best to store the sauce separately so it doesn’t turn the meatballs soggy.)
- Store: Keep leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to 4 days. Enjoy warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
Tools to Make Veggie Meatballs:
- Food Processor: To perfectly pulse the meatball mixture, you need a reliable food processor. This one is inexpensive, lightweight, and always gets the job done.
- Cookie Scoop: To scoop the veggie meatballs in uniform balls, I love using this medium cookie scoop.
- Large Skillet: A cast-iron skillet will help you achieve uniform golden, crisp goodness on the meatballs. This one is inexpensive and pre-seasoned.
More Lentil Recipes to Try:
30 Minute Mushroom and Lentil Tacos
Lentil and Mushroom Stew over Potato-Parsnip Mash
One Pot Vegan Curried Lentil Soup
If you give this recipe a try, snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations. Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
Moroccan Lentil Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Equipment
- Food processor
- Large skillet
Ingredients
Lentil Meatballs
- 1 (14.5-oz.) can lentils, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup plain unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (no need to chop)
- 1 egg *sub flax egg if making vegan
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. soy sauce or tamari (optional for added savoriness)
- 1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil for cooking
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- 1 (12-oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. harissa (I use Mina brand)
- 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
Optional side
- Pearl couscous cooked in vegetable broth and served with fresh chopped parsley, pine nuts, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Start by preparing the Lentil Meatballs: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lentils, breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, egg, tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Pulse, mixing until combined, but not puréed, leaving a little texture. (The texture should be similar to dough. If it feels too wet to roll, mix in extra breadcrumbs.) Transfer mixture to a bowl and wipe the food processor clean.
- Prepare the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: Add roasted red peppers, olive oil, harissa, garlic, salt and pepper to the food processor. Blend the mixture until smooth; set aside.
- Use a medium cookie dough scoop to scoop out Tablespoon amounts of lentil meatball mixture and roll into 18 balls. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add the lentil meatballs and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden-brown and slightly crisp. Shake the pan or use a wooden spoon to roll the balls around to cook evenly on all sides. (Note: if you're using a smaller pan, cook the meatballs in two batches.)
- Pour the roasted red pepper sauce into the skillet with the cooked lentil meatballs. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired, and serve with your side(s) of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Made this and it was delicious but would cook the onions( sweet) and garlic next time then add to mixture. Found they repeated hours after eating. Made my own roasted red peppers and loved the sauce.
Would definitely make again with a few tweaks.
Thank you for your great dinner idea!!!
This was delicious! The “meat”balls had so much flavor and I loved the spice the harissa added to the roasted pepper. Will definitely be making it again soon!
Hi Emily–I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
Thanks, I thought this was a really interesting recipe idea. I started with 2/3 c dried lentils and cooked them rather than using a can. It came out well except for cooking the meatballs. They didn’t want to roll at all when I shook the pan. When I tried to move them with a wooden spoon they started to break apart…finally used my fingers (ouch) and they got misshapen. I had to heat the sauce in a separate pan for fear of breaking the meatballs apart as I stirred it. They also took a lot longer to cook than indicated. I’d make again but form them into patties not balls. The pearl couscous was tasty with the parsley and pine nuts – I added a little minced preserved lemon too. For a change I might try seasoning them with cilantro instead of parsley, plus cinnamon, ground coriander, etc. to really bring out the Moroccan flavors.
Love this!! Can you share where your bowls are from? They are darling!
RV Pottery!
Great recipe and spices ( I did add cumin as well) I actually combined some ground beef with the lentils and cooked the balls into the sauce.
That sounds fabulous! So glad you enjoyed this one–thank you for leaving a review!
These really are utterly delicious but you don’t need the sauce all the time, they are fine with plain rice with a salad or veggie side dish. I use organic brown lentils in a BPA free tin for convenience as they are dense unlike red lentils that have a more nutty taste and are more sloppy. I guess this could work with green lentils too if you have some to cook up, it’s all high in plant protein and low salt!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Amie! Thanks for your added input.
One of my favorite meal prep recipes! Super easy and you don’t miss the meat one bit.
Hi Laura, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
If I cook lentils from dry, how much lentils will I need to cook? I know at the end they need to be about 1 3/4 but how much should I start cooking with to get this?
I would cook 1 cup dry just to ensure you have enough!
Hello,
The twitter etc icon is really irritating, it is in the middle of everything. So I am sorry if you received this message now three times. Can I replace parsley with cilantro?
Thanks,
Amie
Amazing amazing. Didn’t do the sauce from the recipe because I didn’t have any roasted red peps so this was a pantry meal but the meatballs had such a great flavor. 10/10
This was such a yummy flavor! I loved the red pepper sauce too! Next time I am making a DOUBLE batch of the sauce because it was soooo good i wanted to cover my dish in it 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes. They never fail to impress the family!
Hi Laura, I’m so glad the recipe was a hit!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Such a fabulous recipe!! I’ve tried many vegetarian meatballs, and this one ranks as one of the best.
Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave a review!! So glad the recipe was a hit!
What a fabulous dish!! My kids enjoyed it, too. No easy feat!
So glad to hear, Debbie!
Do the lentils have to be canned or can you use from a bag? Looks delicious, thank you!
You can cook them from dry! You need about 1 3/4 cups cooked lentils
What kind of lentils do you recommend?
The canned lentils are brown lentils! Those work best.
Thanks! We made it this week and my husband loved the sauce.
Wow! What a fabulously flavorful dish. I used a can of lentils, as the recipe suggests, and they were so simple to make. We will enjoying this again soon!
I am obsessed with everything about this dish.
Hi Jamie! I just wanted to tell you how much I love this recipe! It was absolutely delicious!
Hi Claudia! I’m so thrilled to hear that!! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
This is so pretty! I bet it would be delicious with sorghum grain too 🙂
I love pearled couscous– but I’ve never found a whole wheat version before, that’s awesome!! I will have to be on the lookout for it!
YES it’s so delicious! One of my favorite Bob’s Red Mill products!