Description
These healthy baked meatballs sneak in a full can of lentils for extra protein and fiber (no one will notice!) and freeze beautifully for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (15-ounce/425 g) can lentils, drained and rinsed (see Notes)
- 1 large egg
- 16 ounces (454 g) ground beef, chicken, or turkey
- 1/2 cup (40 g) Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup (55 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (see Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Puree the lentils and egg: In a medium bowl, combine the 1 can lentils and 1 large egg. Using an immersion blender or potato masher, puree or mash until smooth.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients: Add the 16 ounces ground beef, ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, and mix with your hands until well combined.
- Form the meatballs: Shape the mixture into 18 meatballs (about 3 tablespoons or 1.5 ounces each) and place on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature should reach 160°F for beef or 165°F for poultry).
Notes
Lentils: 1 can of lentils equates to roughly 1 ½ cups or 260 g cooked lentils; I recommend using cooked brown or green lentils, as red lentils will be too mushy
Coarse kosher salt: If using fine salt, reduce the salt by ¼- ½ teaspoon.
Nutrition Notes
Nutrition information calculated using 90/10 ground beef.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 266
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 615 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 88 mg
