There’s no going wrong with a flavorful meatball meal. In the midwinter, meatballs are a perfect comfort food that can be paired with marinara sauce and your favorite pasta. But these meatballs have an advantage: they’re vegan, but still just as hearty and delicious as the original thing. Whip these up for yourself or prepare them for a dinner party or family get-together.
This recipe is from noracooks.com. Enjoy!
Vegan Meatballs
- 3 tablespoons ground flax
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 cups organic drained and rinsed chickpeas, *this is how much is in 2 cans of chickpeas
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (see notes for gluten free option)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Serving Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles (gluten free if needed)
- 25 oz jar your favorite marinara sauce
Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ground flax and 8 tablespoons water. Let sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the chickpeas.
- In a food processor with the "S" blade, add the chickpeas and pulse until there are almost no whole beans left. If you do not have a food processor, you can mash them by hand with a potato masher. Add the processed chickpeas to a large mixing bowl.
- Now add the flax/water mixture, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning and salt to the bowl. Stir with a large wooden spoon until well combined. The mixture will be very thick; sometimes I even use my hands to make sure everything is incorporated well.
- Roll into balls (about a heaping tablespoon each) and place on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, turning once halfway through.
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Warm the marinara sauce in a large pan, big enough to add the vegan meatballs to.
- When the meatballs are done cooking, carefully place them in the marinara sauce.
- Gently stir to coat, but be careful not to break them as they aren't as firm as regular meatballs.
- Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles with optional vegan parmesan, if desired. Enjoy!