Spiced Lentil & Seitan Balls

Wondering if baking would work as well?

PUL Team - April 18, 2025, 11:38 p.m.

Hey Ania! We haven’t had a chance to try baking them ourselves yet, but Caramella did leave a lovely review after baking them 🤗

Made these with urad daal and used herbes de Provence, and these are delicious as a fake meat alternative that is budget friendly and kid friendly. Would like to make the original recipe but my kids can't handle heat.

PUL Team - April 4, 2025, 4:23 a.m.

Ooo what a lovely idea, Erica, thanks for sharing the twist 🤗

This was an absolute banger and will definitely be a staple in this house hold. I'd compare the consistency of the balls to falafel but smooth - I wouldn't call it doughy but definitely not meatball-like.

I have made this several times and it is delicious and also really easy to make. Even my non vegan partner loves it! Thank you!

oh this was very good, the meatballs are really good for meal prep and can be dded to a lot of dishes

I really like the texture of seitan but the gumminess of this was next level. I am very confident I did not over mix, but I do recommend cooking this longer than 5-7 mins, and maybe even making smaller balls. Not my favourite and won’t make again but it was different!

PUL Team - March 1, 2025, 5:07 p.m.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Sonya! Cooking them longer and making smaller portions could definitely help with the texture. We hope you enjoy our other recipes more 🫶

Me gustó la combinación de las albohondigas con el chimichurri. Cocinar las albohondigas fue algo complicado para mi, porque por dentro siempre se sentían chiclosas. No creo que repita esta receta

I love this recipe. The seitan balls were nice, only I think I over mixed the dough a little bit. The sauce made this dish amazing! Definitely something I will make again :)

This dish felt so fresh and summery!
I did a few tweaks and was super happy with the result. I baked the balls and sprayed them with sunflower oil to keep them lower in fat. They turned out not chewy at all which was perfect.
I also added less olive oil to the sauce and it worked well.
I paired it with quinoa 😋

PUL Team - Jan. 13, 2025, 6:21 p.m.

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe, Caramella! Love the idea of pairing it was quinoa as well.

Is this supposed to be soft and squishy inside or did I possibly overmix or not cook enough? I replaced the brown lentils with black Beluga lentils.
Love

PUL Team - Jan. 7, 2025, 6:24 p.m.

Hey Palmchord, the texture inside should be soft and tender, but if it’s too squishy, it could be due to overmixing or not enough cooking time. It's best to weigh the gluten, or if using cup measures, to gently spoon and level to ensure it's not overpacked. Black Beluga lentils might also contribute a slightly different texture, but we also recommend using the same weight as the lentils they replace and not a direct cup to cup substitution 🤗

I was really excited about this recipe, but I don't have Vital Wheat in my area. I used Almond flour instead and it was an epic fail. The balls were very sticky and fell apart into a sludgy mess while cooking in the oil.

PUL Team - Jan. 5, 2025, 12:58 a.m.

Hey Michael, aw thank you for sharing your experience. Almond flour can’t replace vital wheat gluten in this recipe because it lacks the gluten needed to provide structure and elasticity. Gluten forms a stretchy matrix that holds the balls together whereas almond flour doesn’t have these binding properties, resulting in a sticky, crumbly texture. If it helps, we ordered our vital wheat gluten online 🙂

Nope, not for me. The texture was horrible. Too chewy. Couldn’t eat it. I don’t like the homemade seitan for the same reason so this was probably always going to be a non-starter for me😂. BUT I absolutely loved the chimichuri sauce with yoghurt and ate that instead 😋
The lentil spice mixture was delicious 👍

PUL Team - Jan. 5, 2025, 2:45 a.m.

Hey Louise, sorry to hear the texture wasn’t for you. This one definitely resembles the homemade seitan. We're glad you enjoyed the chimichurri sauce with yogurt though, and hope you enjoy our other recipes more!

Much appreciated dish, especially the combination with the chimichurri sauce….mmmmm!
I added a vegetable tomato sauce and rice to make it a full main course. The kids loved it.

So delicious! So quick to make too, I used an air fryer and it made it so easy

Insanely good! It's perfect. I feel like I'm eating at a restaurant. Thanks a lot!

Absolutely scrumptious! Warm, spiced, and fairly simple to make.