
This was supposed to be today’s post:

The pie had other plans.
Easy as pie?
I really wanted to be mad when I opened the oven door, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Yesterday, was one of those days and I wasn’t surprised in the least. Why wouldn’t the pie explode?

Murphy’s Law – when you forget to put oven liners in a new oven, the sticky pie will erupt like a volcano! Luckily, it came off easily after the sugars cooled. I used the oven scraper tool like a champ. As for the pie dish, I think it will need to soak in acid for 6 years. No big deal.
Obviously, I had to Instagram this pie fail. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that other people love to laugh at fails on the internet. I know I do. Speaking of which, I clicked on the #piefail hashtag and laughed so hard I almost cried. Did you know pumpkin and apple pies can explode? I’m really happy to contribute to the collection. I’ll be checking in with it throughout pie season!
Anyway, tomorrow we leave on a much appreciated getaway and I really didn’t want to end on an epic pie fail, so I was up late last night and at it again all morning and afternoon until I nailed this lentil mushroom ball recipe. Who needs pie when you have this festive dish?


These lentil balls couldn’t be more festive. They are packed with green lentils, cremini mushrooms, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and kale! Oh MY.

Oh, and a tablespoon of sherry vinegar takes it over the top on the delicious scale. If you haven’t cooked with sherry vinegar before, I beg you to try some! It goes so well with anything mushroom. BFFs forever.

I thought a fresh cranberry + pear sauce would go nicely too. The light sweetness of the sauce is a lovely compliment to the earthiness of the lentil mushroom balls. If cranberry sauce isn’t your thing, I suggest pairing it with my mushroom gravy. I haven’t tried this pairing yet, but I suspect it would be a nice option! Now all we need is a little holiday music pumping from the speakers and some Home Alone on the TV…


Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls with Cranberry-Pear Sauce

Yield
13-14 balls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These lentil mushroom balls are festive, filling, and a great vegan protein option for your holiday feast! I paired it with a lightly sweet cranberry-pear sauce, but if you aren't a cranberry fan my vegan gravy would be a nice option too. You can most likely prepare the lentil balls in advance. Just shape the balls and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for no longer than 12-24 hours, bring to room temperature, and then bake as usual (of course, remove plastic wrap first). The cranberry sauce can be made a couple days in advance as well. I don't suggest skipping the sherry vinegar; it really makes this lentil mixture come to life and it pairs so well with the mushrooms. Lastly, it's important to (very) finely chop all the vegetables and walnuts so everything sticks together.
Ingredients
for the lentil balls:
- 1/2 cup uncooked green lentils
- 1 cup walnuts halves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 heaping cups finely chopped cremini mushrooms (one 8-oz package)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup finely chopped destemmed kale leaves
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons ground flax + 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a coarse flour
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cranberry sauce:
- 2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
- 1 ripe pear, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- small pinch fine grain sea salt
Directions
- Add lentils into a medium pot along with 2 and 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered, adding more water if the lentils dry out. Once the lentils are fork tender, remove from heat and mash with a potato masher until it's a coarse paste with some lentil pieces still intact. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F. Toast the chopped walnuts for 9-12 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. After toasting, increase oven temp to 350°F.
- In a very large skillet or wok, add the oil along with the finely chopped mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt. Saute over medium-high heat for about 7-9 minutes, until most of the water cooks off. Now add the kale, toasted walnuts, cranberries, herbs, and sherry vinegar. Stir until combined and continue cooking for another few minutes until the kale is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the mashed lentils when ready.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Stir for 10 seconds and then immediately pour into the skillet mixture. Stir to combine. Now stir in the 1/2 cup oat flour until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be fairly moist and sticky. If it's way too sticky, add a bit more oat flour. If it's dry, add another tbsp of water.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape lentil mixture into balls and pack tightly with your hands so they hold together. Place on baking sheet an inch or so apart. Repeat for the rest. If the mixture is too hot to handle, let it cool for a bit first and then proceed.
- Bake the lentil balls at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, gently flip over, and bake for another 11-13 minutes, until golden and firm on the exterior.
- For the sauce: Add the cranberries, pear, and maple syrup into a medium pot. Bring to a low boil over high heat and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-20 minutes until thickened. Use a potato masher to mash up the pear.
Tip:
- If your mixture seems dry (and this could be the case if the lentils are cooked too long), feel free to add a touch of water to moisten the mixture enough so it adheres.
- To make oat flour, add the rolled oats into a blender and blend on high until a flour forms. Alternatively, you can use 1/2 cup oat flour if you already have some on hand.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I look forward to thawing the leftovers when I return. :)
I’ll see you next time from sunny Arizona! In the meantime, you can follow our adventures (and pie fails) on Instagram, as always.
Enjoy!
I absolutely love your website and cookbook!
Do you have any suggestions for a substitute for the mushrooms in these?
Hoping to make these for Christmas and dinner but my family won’t eat mushrooms!
Thanks!
I would just add the mushrooms and not tell them! If they are finely chopped you can’t see them and as a mushroom lover myself, I definitely can’t taste them. The spices are the dominate feature in these lentil balls and the second strongest flavor are the lentils. Just call them lentil walnut balls and they’ll be none the wiser!
do you think this could be made into a loaf?
Hi,
Can the lentil, mushroom walnut balls be made into a loaf instead? If yes, how long would you recommend the baking time to be? Can’t wait to try them.
What vinegar should I use if I can’t find sherry vinegar?
hello,
this looks so good! i am going to make them for christmas but was wondering if i could use anything instead of the flex bc im dutch and dont know where to get it .
keep on being awesome
greatings from ducks :)
I love all your recipes, so I was really excited to try this, but they were not very good. I followed the directions pretty closely, but I did not include the sherry vinegar? Maybe that was the missing ingredient that could’ve made it. but I had to throw them away, a lot of effort put into something that wasn’t even very edible… sorry but this was a miss….I found the texture and taste off.
Went went wrong with my lentil balls!
I was so excited for this recipe, I was even out on Christmas eve at the only store in town that carried sherry wine vinegar, but I bought it in the nick of time before the store closed for Christmas.
So much potential, and they turned out so dry. Could it be that they were dry because I prepped them ahead of time (about 4 hours ahead) and placed them in the fridge unwrapped before baking them. That was my epic fail, I think.
Please advise, I would like to try to make these again.
This recipe is wonderful! Although I did make small changes to reduce the sugar. I reduced the cranberries down to 1/4 of a cup and I reduced the maple syrup for the sauce down to 1/3 of a cup. In case you are interested, I found out the nutrition info, using 1/4 of a cup of cranberries instead of 1/3, via myfitnesspal.com nutrition calculator. I made 20 lentil balls and for 4 servings of 5 lentil balls, there are 646 calories, 23 grams of fat (those walnuts really get ya), 24 grams of protein, and 11 grams of sugar. I did not calculate the nutrition for the sauce. Thank you for this marvelous meal! I will definitely make it again!
That’s the kind of fat you do need in your diet, walnut fat.omega 3 baby. Eat fat to get things talks about how the right fats improve satiety and thus helps you eat less by eating healthier, more nutrient-dense foods such as walnuts and lentils and mushrooms etc. These vegan balls are very tasty and nutritious. My challenge is to get the kids to try them.
OMG, So Delicious!,f Not vegan, but I make meals for a couple that are vegan. Made these Lentil Walnut Balls serving with a side of barley, mushroom gravy ( I used another recipe) and a wilted kale salad. I tasted one of the lentil balls and it was so satisfying. My son who is a devote carniviore, loved them. It’s a cold winter day and I’m making them today for my family. Thank you for your recipes, I just ordered your cookbook.
Wondering if you have tried this in a pie crust?
Love your work and am continually inspired by it! :) Thank you!
If I wanted to make these the day before a dinner could I form the balls and keep them in the fridge till the next day and then bake them? Or should I bake them and just keep them in the fridge? And then of course just pop them in the oven to heat up that day.
Could I use whole wheat all purpose flour instead of oat flour? And rasberry vinegar instead of sherry vinegar? Ps- love the crispy quinoa cakes- substituted chia seeds for flax (adjusted measurements as per your suggestion in the comments below) and they turned out great.
Hello, could I use whole wheat all purpose flour instead of the oat flour? And could I use raspberry veer vinegar instead of sherry vin?
Hi, I know this post is from a while ago so hopefully I’ll get a response.I have a grain free kiddo in my house. would this work with some other kind of flour like chickpea or something like that? In place of the oats. Thanks! Looking forward to trying them.
I have made these several times and every time they come out dry and chewy. Not sure what am I doing wrong.
Thank you for the amazing recipe! These were delicious AND they held their shape! As a non-vegetarian (but who eats very limited meat), I was really impressed by how hearty, filling, and flavourful these were!
I’m glad the recipe was a hit, Alex! :)
Can these be made a day ahead? Thanks!
Is it possible to freeze the lentil balls or cranberry sauce for say 3-4 days before???
I made this last Thanksgiving and it was a hit. We’re having Thanksgiving on Saturday. I’d like to make it the day before, but will it be okay?
Have you ever used Red Wine vinegar instead? I don’t have sherry vinegar and am making these today…!
Hi Ann Marie, I haven’t tried it myself, but for a sherry vinegar-substitute I would definitely suggest you give red wine a go! Try adding it slowly, to taste. I hope this helps, and would love to know how it turns out.
Wow! Thank you for the speedy response. I will let you know how it goes. Also making your Maple Cinnamon Mashed Sweet Potatoes as well. Love your recipes and blog. Congrats on the new addition to the family :)