These homemade lentil meatballs with ground beef are a staple meal on our table. Made with a blend of brown lentils, kidney beans, and ground beef for a hearty, protein-filled, nourishing dish. They use what we grow, preserve, and keep stocked in our pantry, from garden tomatoes to stored garlic and herbs. Served over rice or tucked into a sandwich (freshly made bread using our Easy Soft Bread Recipe) with homemade tomato sauce, these lentil meatballs are comfort food that actually fuels your body.
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Healthy Meatball Recipe – A High-Protein, Nutrient-Dense Meal
This healthy meatball recipe is built around real, satisfying protein. By combining ground beef with lentils and kidney beans, these lentil meatballs deliver a balanced mix of animal and plant-based protein that keeps you full longer than many traditional comfort foods.
The beef provides complete protein along with iron, zinc, and B vitamins, while the lentils and beans contribute additional protein, fiber, and minerals. Together, they create a hearty, nourishing meal that supports energy, strength, and fullness without relying on processed fillers.
Healthy Meatballs by the Numbers:
- Per 4 meatballs: 26g of Protein
- Per 4 meatballs: 6g of Fibre
- Per 4 meatballs: 23mg Iron
Why We Mix Lentils and Beans With Ground Beef
Mixing lentils and beans into ground beef is one of our favorite ways to stretch meat while improving both nutrition and texture. Lentils help retain moisture, keeping the meatballs tender instead of dense or dry. Beans and lentils also add fiber, which supports digestion and balanced blood sugar levels.
This approach makes homemade meatballs more affordable while still feeling substantial and satisfying. These lentil meatballs are not about replacing meat, but about using it thoughtfully and well.
Eating From the Garden and Pantry, Even in Winter
One of the biggest benefits of growing and preserving food is the ability to eat well long after the garden season ends. This recipe relies heavily on ingredients we grow, store, and preserve ourselves.
Home-canned tomatoes form the base of the sauce, while stored garlic and onions bring depth and flavor. Dried garden herbs add freshness even in the middle of winter, and our fermented cayenne pepper hot sauce finishes the dish with heat and beneficial bacteria. Meals like this make the work of gardening feel worthwhile all year long.
Tomatoes
Using your own tomatoes – or any food – from the garden brings a huge level of flavor that simply isn’t there from store-bought produce. Learn how to grow your own tomatoes from our plethora of articles:
- How To Grow Tomatoes From Seed To Harvest.
- When and How to Transplant Tomato Seedlings
- A Simple Way To Save Tomato Seeds
- Common Tomato Diseases And How To Fix Them
- The 3 Best Companion Plants For Tomatoes To Boost Growth
Garlic
Garlic is a kitchen staple – no exceptions. Besides it’s aromatic appeal, it’s a very easy plant to grow. It’s also very medicinal – having high levels of potassium and vitamin C. If you’re interested in medicinal garlic articles, I have quite a few for you to explore:
- Garlic Tinctures 101: How to Make Them, Benefits, and Safe Dosage
- Garlic for Health: Proven Benefits and Natural Remedies You Can Try
Once it’s in the ground, garlic requires very little maintenance. Take this as your sign to grow garlic this next fall. If you’re in zone 5 – we got your complete self-starting guide.
Onions
Onions are another key kitchen staple. A good hearty meal always has garlic AND onions in it (in my opinion). Onions are also medicinal, they have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and helps with detoxification. During the winter months it’s always a good idea to eat these good immune-boosting foods.
Kidney Beans
Beans are cheap to buy in-store because they’re so ridiculously easy to grow. A raw kidney bean is the seed. To eat it, they just need to be soaked overnight in water. That’s it. kidney beans are also high in protein, fiber and iron. The key nutrients in this dish and a great plant-based protein option.
Herbs
As a medicinal herbalist, I love adding herbs to everything (obviously for flavour), but also for the medicinal benefits each herb offers. In this recipe we use thyme and oregano, Thyme is an herb I swear by during the winter months. It’s a known expectorant and offers a wide variety of benefits. Same with oregano.
Ingredients for Lentil Meatballs with Ground Beef
- 1/2 uncooked lentils (cook before)
- 1 lbs ground beef (cook before)
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 cup bread crumbs (we use panko)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning
How to Make Lentil Meatballs with Ground Beef & Beans
Time needed: 1 hour
- Cook Lentils and Ground Beef
First cook the lentils and ground beef so they are fully cooked and let them rest and cool so you can roll them into meatballs later.
- Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 400℉ so it’s ready when your meatballs are.
- Mash Lentils and Beans
In a large bowl, mash the lentils and beans together until they form a paste – there can be larger beans unmashed inside. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
- Combine All The Ingredients
Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl with the lentils and beans and mix well. Using your hands here is easier.
- Roll Into Meatballs
Using your hands, grab the mixture and roll into meatballs approximately the size of a golf ball. You should have 20-24 meatballs.
- Bake
Place on a baking sheet and cover with olive oil, bake for approximately 25 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Prepare Other Parts of the Dish
Make your tomato sauce now, cook your rice or prepare your bread for the sandwiches.
- Assemble
Once the meatballs are done, assemble your meal! Either as a sandwich or over rice.
How We Serve These Homemade Lentil Meatballs
These homemade meatballs are incredibly versatile. Most often, we serve them over rice for a filling, comforting dinner. They are also excellent tucked into a sandwich and topped with melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese. A drizzle of our fermented cayenne pepper hot sauce adds heat and brightness. Whether plated for a family meal or reheated for leftovers, these healthy meatballs adapt easily to busy days.
- Fresh Bread Recipe from Scratch (Easy 1-Loaf Homemade Bread)
- Easy Soft Bread Recipe You’ll Want To Bake Every Week
- How To Make Fermented Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce At Home
FAQ on Healthy Meatballs
They do well in the fridge for a few days, heat them up anyway you prefer.
You can, but I prefer to make them day-of and use as leftovers.
More Garden-to-Table Recipes You May Love
If you enjoy meals like this, there are many other ways to bring the garden into everyday cooking. Recipes that rely on homegrown wheat berries (milled to make flour), garlic and onions, preserved tomatoes, dried herbs, and fermented foods help build a kitchen that works with the seasons instead of against them. These homemade meatballs are just one example of how growing and preserving food shapes the way we eat.
- Easy Soft Bread Recipe You’ll Want To Bake Every Week
- This Easy Beef and Barley Soup Is My Go-To Winter Dinner
- Easy Leftover Turkey Soup with Orzo and Barley
- Simple & Easy 5 Ingredient Basil Pesto
If you give this lentil meatball with ground beef a try, give it a rating and let us know in the comments how you make it your own. Do you add extra ingredients, spice it up, or serve it with something special on the side? Those little tweaks often help other readers get even better results.
Make sure you check out the other recipes, as well as our growing guides, medicinal herb hub, and seed saving guides. We are growing our website with more articles all the time, and we invite you to grow with us. Happy Gardening (& Eating)!
Lentil Meatballs with Ground Beef – Healthy High Protein
Equipment
- 1 sauce pan
- 1 frying pan
- 2 baking sheets
Ingredients
- 1 lbs ground beef cook before
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils cook before
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup Nutrition Yeast (nooch)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning with salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ and spray baking sheet with oil.
- Cook brown lentils and let cool.
- Cook/brown ground beef and let cool.
- In a large bowl, mash up brown lentils and kidney beans until they form a paste – some whole beans are okay.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (ground beef, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, nooch, soy sauce, lemon juice, oil and seasonings), and mix well with your hands until well incorporated. Add a little bit more bread crumbs if you feel your unable to form balls with your mixture.
- Roll the mixture into balls around the size of a golf ball – does not need to be perfect. You will get 20-24 depending on how big you make the balls.
- Coat the meatballs with a little bit of oil and bake for 25 minutes – flipping halfway.
- While the meatballs are cooking, make the tomato sauce and or rice to plate it with.
- When the meatballs are done, if creating a sandwich spoon a generous amount of sauce on the bottom of the bread, put your desired amount of meatballs (3-4), cover with mozzarella cheese, place more sauce on top before closing the sandwich. If serving over rice, place on top of rice, cover with cheese then cover with the hot tomato sauce. Serve immediately.
