Serve over your favorite gluten-free pasta (such as butternut squash, lentil, rice, or quinoa) or spiralized vegetables.
Ingredients
1 tbsp
Chia seeds, ground
(+ 3 tbsp water, or sub with ground flaxseeds)
1 cup
Green lentils, raw
1/4 cup
Quinoa, uncooked
3 tbsp
Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
1 medium
Yellow onion
(minced)
1 tsp
Garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp
Italian herb seasoning, McCormick
1/4 cup hulled
Sunflower seeds
(ground)
1/2 cup
Bread crumbs, plain, gluten free
1/4 cup
Basil, fresh
1/4 tsp
Sea Salt
1/4 tsp
Black pepper
2 cup
Marinara sauce, low sodium
Instructions
Combine chia seeds and water in a small bowl, stir and set aside to set up for 10 minutes.
Use a food processor to blend the sunflower seeds to a fine powder.
Rinse and drain the lentils, cook according to package directions. Drain the excess water, and then transfer to the food processor.
Rinse and drain the quinoa. Cook it according to package directions, then add to the food processor.
Saute onions in olive oil in a large pan over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Add the cooked onions to the food processor. Don't wash or drain the pan because you're going to cook the lentil balls in the reserved onion infused olive oil.
Add basil, Italian seasonings, bread crumbs, garlic powder, flax mixture, salt and pepper to the lentil mix. Pulse until you have a fine crumb and all ingredients are combined.
If the mixture feels dry, add 1 tbsp olive oil to the mixture.
With your hands, form golf ball-sized lentil meatballs.
Add marinara sauce to a large saucepan, and stir it around to coat the whole pan.
Add the lentil balls to the pan, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until heated through. The lentil balls are delicate, so be careful when moving them in the pan.
Serve immediately over pasta or zucchini noodles.
Notes:
Lentils
are an important source of plant-based protein and are very high in fiber which make them excellent for digestion!
