These vegan lentil-mushroom meatball sliders are a simple, bun-nestled twist on the Italian-Style Lentil + Mushroom (Not) Meatballs from Heather Crosby's latest cookbook Pantry to Plate: Improvise Meals You Love—from What You Have! These (not) meatballs are hearty, brimming with herbaceous (fennel-kissed) flavor, and versatile to boot.
It's hard to believe it's been 2 ½ years since I shared a review of Heather's first YumUniverse cookbook (along with the recipe for that dreamy hot fudge sauce of hers). As I wrote my review, I remember being completely enamored by the creativity, heart, and palpable passion that emanated from those perfectly designed pages, and I felt all those same feelings as I flipped through her second book.
If you aren't already privy to the sheer talent and plant-powered force that is Heather Crosby, it's time to get yourself acquainted. Heather's gifts aren't limited to the kitchen, nor are they limited to the charismatic way she strings together words on a page. No, no.
Heather is also a graphic designer, and she's designed both of her cookbooks—front to back. But "designed" hardly feels like enough credit, because in addition to the fresh text and modern, easy-to-follow layout, Heather's books are downright artful, captivating even.
Hand painted fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and legumes dance across the pages, inviting the reader to play in the kitchen. Heather even designed her own tea towels in honor of the Pantry to Plate launch. I mean, come. on.
What's more, is that the recipes in YumUniverse Pantry to Plate are approachable, delicious, and PACKED with real, whole, feel-good foods.
This cookbook takes a one-of-a-kind approach to plant-based, gluten-free cooking. Heather provides 30 templates readers can use to mix and match flavors, and based on those templates, she provides sample recipes to show what's possible using the simple guidelines. Then, she encourages users to explore and adventure beyond the foundational elements of each recipe.
To give you an idea, here are a few (okay, a generous handful—couldn't resist) of the template titles:
Scrambles
Granola
Pancakes + Waffles
Breakfast Cookies
Crackers
Amazeballs
Dips & Spreads
Crunchies
Bites & Tots
Soups
Cheesy Comfort Food
Mmmaki
Tacos & Wraps
'Banzo Bakes
Hand Pies
Nice Crispy Bars
Sneaky Brownies
Crisps & Crumbles
After skimming through the book my first thought was, "This is genius." My second thought was, "Why didn't I think of this?"
There are so many ways to mix and match flavors, add-ins, and ways to serve that the options are truly endless.
The extra great part is that these recipes are accessible enough for the novice plant-based cook yet creatively stimulating enough to keep the seasoned plant-powered chef coming back for more. I own a lot of vegan cookbooks, and there are very few, if any, that have the mass-appeal and versatility of this one.
This cookbook is heart- and craving-based, real-foods cooking at its most convenient, and it proves that "healthy" doesn't have to be synonymous with complicated.
Photo credit: Heather Crosby
YumUniverse Pantry to Plate officially launched TODAY (5/16). If you need more convincing to hop over here and grab a copy for yourself (and all your plant-curious loved ones), then be sure to make these vegan lentil-mushroom meatball sliders and get back to me.
You can serve them up classic (not) meatball style with pasta, go the noodle-free route and pile them high on a bed of spaghetti squash (like above), or turn them into sliders/burgers like I have here.
I followed Heather's recipe to a T. Then, toasted up a few split slider buns, warmed up a bit of marinara, and created handheld sandwich minis.
These (not) meatballs are meaty and satisfying. You'd never know they were brimming with carrots, mushrooms, and lentils.
Scroll down for the recipe and enter for a chance to win a copy of YumUniverse Pantry to Plate (details below)!
Italian-Style Lentil + Mushroom (Not) Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cups cooked green, brown, or French green lentils (roughly ¾ cup dry)
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground psyllium husk
- 2 teaspoons rough-chopped fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon fresh-cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Marinara sauce, warmed (optional)
- Slider buns, split and toasted (optional)
Instructions
- In a skillet heated to medium, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and sauté the carrots for 20 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork but firm, not mushy.
- Add the mushrooms and onion and sauté over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened and browning a bit. Transfer to a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pulse together 30 to 35 times, until just broken up and sticky with texture and bits of color intact. Taste—if needed, season with more salt or seasonings. Pulse or stir to incorporate.
- Form 1 ½-inch (4 cm) meatballs (or 2-inch patties if you're making sliders) with your hands. Heat a skillet to medium and add the remaining oil. Slow-cook the meatballs, rotating often, for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on all sides. Serve warm.*
Notes
YumUniverse Pantry to Plate Giveaway
One winner will receive a copy of YumUniverse Pantry to Plate by Heather Crosby. For a chance to win, simply enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below and comment on this post between May 16th and May 30th. Please note: this giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada.
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These are beautiful! I want to win a copy because I get so much inspiration from cookbooks!! And this one looks especially amazing
This seems like a great cookbook to use along with CSA subscriptions or for people who make a lot of impulse purchases at the grocery store! I love concepts like this that encourage using up ingredients you already have.
I've been wanting to build a cookbook collection, and this would be a great first start! These look delicious (and easy!), so I'm sure the rest of the recipes are just as good!
I love trying new recipes and there is something so satisfying about cooking from a book that you actually hold in your hands!
I am always on the lookout for simple recipes that make the most of fresh produce letting the produce shine..this book looks perfect for that!
I would like this book because I am desperate to find easy, hearty, delicious recipes for my family. It breaks my heart to see their health decline.
I love new ideas and recipes to try and this one looks great. this would be a great addition to my cookbook collection.
I would love this cookbook to join several others that are vegan and vegetarian. I am always searching for the delicious and cicolorful food that I find in Blissful Basil and hope that I can will PLantry to Plate.
I would absolutely love to win this book. Heather gives one all the tools you need in the kitchen to 'do it well'! From equipment to sauces, dressing and spice pairings- which I absolutely need!
Fingers crossed! Thanks for the burger recipe...I'm in love with mushrooms and lentils these days! Perfect dinner for tonight:))
I would love to win this because it sounds amazing and would love to try her recipes!
I would actually love to give it to my mom as a gift because she is gluten-free :)
These look yummy. I think that I will make them this week!
Beautiful colors and flavors!
I want to win because I think it will help me to cook more dinners that my family will love--I am interested in the mix and match style of the cookbook.
The book looks great and flexible recipes are perfect for busy families!
I'd love to add this to my plant based cookbook library! The format of the book sounds exciting and new! Can't wait to try some of the recipes
This sounds amazing!! Mix and match is my kind of style--I like to work with what I have on hand. Thanks for the opportunity!
THIS! I recently dipped my toe into the world of making non-meat meatballs, and so far I'm loving it! Can't wait to add another recipe to my repertoire.
I would love to win this book! This recipe looks delicious and I am always looking to try new foods.
I have (and love!) the first YumUniverse cookbook and this would be the perfect companion!
I would like to win this book because I'm stuck in a recipe rut! I want AMAZING and healthy recipes that will wow my family!
Ooooh yes please! Would love to win and will be making these vegan "meatballs" asap ;)
I'm actually here because it said "lentil mushroom", and anything like that can only be good! Now if for some bizarre reason I actually win the cookbook, that would be the icing on the cake
I saw Heather's promotional video for the book today, and I was drooling!!! Over three hundred thousand possible combinations, what??!! I love her customizable approach to the book, it's basically what I do anyway when I cook from recipes. I love having options, maybe this will solve my problem of not being able to stick to recipes, hehe. And... I want all of those things you listed in the titles, especially crunchies.
I've been looking for more ideas to help in transitioning my family to a more plant based diet! This sounds amazing!
I love the idea of making new yummy foods with ingredients I already would have! I'm always on the hunt for new plant meals!
because your recipes are always awesome! and i am a cookbook fanatic
Thanks, Paula! I think you'll love Heather's recipe, too, then!
This cookbook would be a great addition to our already substantial library; sounds down to earth and I like the fact that there are suggestions for subs! Am going to try the (no) meatballs, too. Love mushrooms.
Oh my.....a cookbook after my heart....VEGAN....yes! Am making your burgers tonight....oh, to be so lucky to win your book....good luck everyone! Thanks! :)
What are amaze balls? and a whole section dedicated to cheesy goodness! I am so curious abot this cookbook, I want it now.
this cookbook sounds wonderful. You can never have enough ideas and this sounds like it"s brimming with creativity. I would love a copy.
This cookbook would be a great addition to my small collection! I love the concept of recipe templates based on ingredients you have on-hand...very inspiring!!
These look delicious! Although I haven't converted to a plant based diet it's bloggers and authors like the 2 of you that have opened my mind to trying more recipes. Thank you! I would love to own a copy of this book!
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I definitely need to increase my collection of plant-based recipes and this would help in that area.
This looks like a great book i would love to add to my library!
I literally (within the last week) stumbled upon YumUniverse independently of the book release and have been obsessively scouring recipes since, so the timing was perfect. It would be super lovely to win a copy, but I have also never won anything in my life. Anyway, here goes nothing. :)
Even with all the recipes available on websites and in ebooks some cookbooks just need to be bought. Real life hold in your hands cookbooks. And that's the case with Yum Universe. The best in plant based dining.
I want to win the book because I need inspiration to get me cooking more and eating a better diet. At this point i'm a very lazy vegetarian that is relying too much on nut butters and bread.
This recipe is droolwowrthy! I am constantly on the prowl for innovative plant-based healthy recipes and would love to win this cookbook.
So good! because I love trying new dishes and this cookbook looks so amazing!
I would love to find some new healthy recipes to work into the rotation. It sounds like I would find lots in this cookbook.
I would really like to win this book because I am trying to incorporate more plant based food into our diets. My son will be starting Kindergarten in September and I know I could use recipes from this book for his lunch.
I have Heather's first book and I love it. This one looks even better!
I would love to win the book. I love to cook and getting a new cookbook and reading like a good book and planning what I'll be making from it.
My favorite granola recipe is mix and match. A whole book of recipes to pick and choose would be tops.
Words cannot express how badly I would LOVE to own a copy of Heather's book. For one, because, as a follower and reader of her blog, I know that her recipes are always on point, so this book certainly won't disappoint, and for another because I am huge fan of her whole food, minimally processed, nutritious AND delicious approach to food. Moreover, the flexible concept of this second book of hers really speaks to me, as does the clean layout and overall design. Also it is obvious that a LOT of love and hard work have gone into the making of this baby (I mean, it's got illustrations! And she painted them herself!) and that is something I appreciate a great deal.
All in all, from everything I have seen and heard about it so far it seems incredible in every way and I have no doubt that I would use (and swoon over) it frequently.
In a continued effort to stop wasting food, I've been trying to do better about cooking with what I have on hand. I think this cookbook looks like a great way to do that.
So so interested in the templates - I love learning what the basis of a recipe is, and what the non-negotiables are, and then making it my own! Thanks for the chance at the giveaway!
Yum Universe it awesome! Love the creativity & would love to explore the secrets inside the pages of this book!
I'd love to win the book for the fabulous recipes!
Wow! These have me drooling!
Everything about this has me inspired - to cook, to paint, to eat delicious food. I love when people combine their passions into an amazing product and it looks like Heather's done just that!
I love the idea of a cookbook that lets you exercise your creativity and combine elements in new ways.
I would love to win as I la la LOVE trying new recipes! Cheers! xx
I would love to explore some new recipes and try something outside of what I am used to making.
I want to win cause I'm already a big dean of my first Yum universe cookbook
I love the idea of recipe templates so I can cook with what I have on hand!
I am new to the vegan universe and would love some new recipes to replace my traditional ones. Thanks for sharing your creativity and inspiring us towards a healthier lifestyle!
she's coming to dc!
I'd love to win a copy because I love to cook and really enjoy trying new inventive recipes!
I'd like to win because it looks like a good cookbook to have -- AND it's Vegan and Gluten-free
I would love to win to cook new things
Those tea towels are ADORABLE. The book looks beautiful and the recipes sound delicious (scrolled through the recipe index on amazon)! I love trying new recipes or new ways of putting ingredients together :)
These sliders look so good! I've been gluten free for several years and am new to the plant based diet within the last few months. This cookbook looks like a must have for me! I would love to win it, but I'll be purchasing it even if I don't win it. :-) Thnaks for the chance to win!
Thank goodness!! I needed inspiration for dinner tonight - and here it is.
I would love to win this cookbook because I am always in need of ideas for how to use the vegetables that I buy at the farmer's market!
I love trying out new ways to enjoy plant-based food! These recipes look delicious.
I'd love to win in order to up my vegan cooking game!
I love the mix and match concept. It would inspire me to be more cteative
I'd like to win a copy of Pantry to Plate because I have a tight budget, and often run out of food money before the end of the month. Having a reference book of suggestions for how to creatively use my pantry goods to make interesting, nutritious meals would be a really good addition to my kitchen knowledge.
Love Heather's work. Her first book is one of my favorites
I would like the cookbook because I LOVE making delicious vegan food!
I have been in a cooking mood lately, I am somewhat new to most cooking concepts so I am looking for wonderful recipes to add to our family dinner routine!
Seems like a great way to learn about more plant based eating. trying the burgers this weekend!
This cookbook is completely unique and creative in its design. I like that, while it still guides, it hands over the reins to the reader and allows them to make the plant-based meal most in tune with their appetite and desires. My least favorite thing is when people say they have to "eat healthy" and that means they pile their plate high with things like broccoli and force themselves to eat it all. They hate the food they eat, and grow to hate plants in response. Eating healthy doesn't have to mean being miserable; find healthy foods that you love and incorporate those into the recipes you make, and then eating healthy becomes just EATING. I think this book gives people the power to achieve this in their everyday lives.
This looks soo delicious! As an Italian Vegetarian, I'm always looking for ways to recreate those flavors. Can't wait to try!
I would love to win because I just turned vegetarian!
These were so flavorful!! My vegetarian teenagers loved them! The key was to make them small and brown slowly on all side so they were not mushy. . I did add a tiny bit of nutritional yeast and an egg. I did not have parsley so I used a little basil and chives. For the meat eaters in the family I added ground turkey to some of the mixture, making them about half turkey and half veggie, baked them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. These were also amazing!!