These are super easy and delicious gluten-free lentil falafels. Perfect in gluten-free wraps, in pasta dishes or on their own as a side. This is a versatile recipe. Change up the ingredients to your taste. I sometimes omit the basil and oregano and and cumin and curry powder.

You can see these ones aren't very ball-shaped are they? If I'm in a rush, I usually just drop them on the baking tray using two tablespoons. If you want them to be round you can use a small ice cream or cookie scoop or roll them into ball shapes by hand. The mixture is sticky, so it helps to wet your hands with water.

I often use Clic gluten-free canned green lentils in this recipe. Clic is certified gluten-free by the Canadian Celiac Association which is awesome. I love seeing that mark on food products. For more information on what the logo means check out the Canadian Celiac Association website. You can also check out my blog on reading product labels and what the GFCP mark means. As a celiac you do have to be careful of lentils. They are legumes and naturally gluten-free, but if processed in a facility that also processes gluten-containing grains they risk being cross-contaminated. I sometimes use cooked dry lentils, but I try to find ones that are certified gluten-free. When using canned lentils I drain and rinse them. You may need to add more dry ingredients to the mix depending on how wet your lentils are.

Fee Fi Fo milled golden roasted gluten-free flax is a staple pantry in my kitchen. It is also certified gluten-free by the Canadian Celiac Association. Yep, as a celiac I keep an eye out for this mark, it just makes me feel more relaxed when I purchase products with it on them. Flaxseed and flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed) is another food that is naturally gluten-free, but can be cross-contaminated with wheat or gluten containing grains if processed in a shared facility, so do be careful. I use flax meal in this recipe to thicken the mix and to fiber and omega 3 and 6 to my diet.

If you don't like or don't have flax meal you can substitue gluten-free oats if you can tolerate them. I have been using Quaker gluten-free quick oats in my recipes and love them. And you guessed it there is that Canadian Celiac Association mark!!! Oats you must be very careful with, they have a very high cross-contamination possibility, so if you are a celiac only buy gluten-free certified ones. For more information on gluten and oats here is a link to the Canadian Celiac Association statement about it. I couldn't even tolerate gluten-free oats for a few years after my diagnosis. Luckily as my gut has healed I can consume them in limited amounts now. I love oatmeal and oatmeal cookies, so I'm very happy my body is ok with eating them again. All be it in small amounts and of course only gluten-free certified ones.

Stickling's gluten-free rice bread crumbs work great to thicken and bind the mix. Use whichever ones you have on hand. Stickling's has the "Certified GF Gluten-Free" symbol on its packaging which is another symbol I look out for. It means that the company using the symbol has met the strict standards set by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. On their website they state that products with this symbol must contain 10 ppm or less of gluten. For more information on this symbol and their certification process, check out their website at https://gfco.org/. Sometimes I use my own gluten-free crumbs. I save the crumbs from my gluten-free bread and freeze them in a bag in the freezer. Gluten-free bread is way too expensive to waste any of it - even the crumbs!

Nutritional Yeast is another way to add more nutrition to your recipes!! Loaded with B vitamins and has a lovely cheesy flavour. I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free nutritional yeast. Bob's Red Mill uses their own dedicated gluten-free facility to make their gluten-free products. If you can't find any or don't like it you could just skip it or add grated cheese of your choice.

Sundried tomatoes add a little kick to the flavour and use the oil too as it has a lot of the flavour too. I like Unico brand. Use your favourite.

This is a great recipe to use leftover veggies and cheeses in your fridge. Adjust the recipe to your taste. You can add some chickpeas, or ground walnuts. When combined you want a mixture that is a bit soft, but can hold its shape on the baking tray. You may have to add extra flax or oats or gluten-free flour to the mixture as the lentils may vary as too how much liquid they have in them.

If you don't want to use an egg why not try using a 'flax egg'. Very easy to make. Just add 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds to 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. Mix well and let stand for 15 minutes then use as you would the egg.

Gluten-Free Lentil Falafels (Vegetarian Meatballs)

Ingredients

• 540 mL (19 fl oz) canned green lentils or ~2 to 2 1/4 cups of cooked lentils
• 1 egg (you can use a flax egg if vegetarian)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 garlic clove or 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
• large handful of spinach
• 3 sundried tomatoes and about 1 tablespoon of the oil, optional
• 4 -5 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ketchup or tomato paste or pasta sauce
• 2-4 tablespoons gluten-free bread crumbs
• 1-2 tablespoons gluten-free nutritional yeast
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of gluten-free ground flaxseed (amount depends on how wet your mixture is)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, optional
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano,optional
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Line baking tray with greased parchment paper and set aside
3. Wash and chop the vegetables and drain the canned lentils.
4. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. I start with a 1/4 of ground flaxseed and add more if needed to thicken the mixture.
5. The mixture will be on the soft side. You want it to be able to hold its shape when dropped onto the tray using two tablespoons to form a ball-like shape. A small ice cream or cookie scoop works well to make well rounded balls. Or wet your hands with water and roll into small balls.
6. Bake for 10 minutes then spray lightly with oil and flip and bake another 10 minutes. Then remove to cool.
7. They are quite delicate when first removed from the oven, but firm up the next day. I often make them ahead of time. They freeze well.

You can use this recipe to make lentil and black bean burger patties by just adding mashed black beans. Feel free to play with the spices. Cumin and curry powder are good too.

What do you add to your falafels?

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