Lentil buffalo “meatballs” are a covered in a slightly spicy buffalo sauce for a healthier alternative to traditional buffalo wings.
Out of all the savory recipes on THT, this is by far the one I make the most.
These lentil buffalo meatballs are slightly crisp on the outside, soft in the middle, and have just the right amount of heat.
Plus, they’re also full of fiber thanks to the lentils.
Trust me, whether you’re vegetarian or looking to reduce your meat intake, you’re going to love this healthier buffalo sauce recipe!
These lentil buffalo “meat”balls surprised me with how delicious they are.
In fact, I was so sure they wouldn’t turn out as they were just loosely holding together when I rolled them into balls and placed them on the baking sheet.
Yet, after 10 minutes in the oven they came out perfectly holding together and not at all dry.
In fact, even without the sauce they were so juicy inside that Bry didn’t guess that they were made out of lentils. But don’t worry, I’m not saying skip the sauce.
Because buffalo sauce + beer = perfect after hiking food.
These healthy lentil buffalo bites can take a try or two to get a feel for what the consistency should feel like, but just trust me and resist the urge to add more breadcrumbs.
You don’t want these to get too dry inside. Here are a few more tips for making this recipe.
This recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make as long as you already have your lentils cooked.
I use lentils that don’t need to be soaked, so they take just 15 minutes to cook. This means I can still get dinner on the table in about 30 minutes.
However, when I’m really on my game, I’ll cook my lentils the night before so that all I have to do is blend everything together, form into balls, bake, and toss in sauce.
For making the filling, I recommend using a food processor, but a high powered blender will also work.
While I recommend blending about 2 cups of the filling, I have to admit that I often get lazy. So, rather than measuring out 2 cups, I’ll just add about 3/4 of the mixture into the food processor.
What you really want is just to have enough non-blended lentils for a little extra texture.
The recipe as-written is vegetarian, but it’s isn’t vegan as it contains eggs and butter.
However, you can easily make it vegan by using coconut oil instead of butter and flax eggs instead of real eggs.
To make 2 flax eggs, simply combine 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. Mix in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes before adding it to the lentil mixture.
For a simple appetizer, you can just insert a toothpick into each ball and serve with a homemade Greek yogurt ranch dip (or a vegan cashew ranch dip).
However, I usually eat these for lunch as they’re super easy to prep ahead of time for the week. Some ways I like to enjoy them include:
Speaking of hiking, Bry and I have been getting out in the fresh air pretty much every weekend lately. Bern has turned out to be a hiking machine! I thought we were in good shape until we starting taking the pup hiking – every time we stop or slow the pace he starts whining and barking. Who needs a physical trainer when you have a cute puppy pushing you to go faster?
So here’s a toast to pushing yourself to try something different!
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Whether you’re a busy professional or new mom, the goal of The Healthy Toast is to provide you with the recipes and nutrition info you need to live your healthiest life, even when life gets crazy. As I’m a firm believer in a whole-foods, non-diet approach, I hope my website shows that good nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated or restrictive.
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