Italian ‘Meat’balls

Name: Italian 'Meat'balls
Prep time: PT-466586H17M30S
Cook time: PT-466586H17M30S
Total time: PT-466586H17M30S
Cuisine: Italian-inspired
Ingredients: 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained; 1 cup cooked quinoa and/or brown rice; ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped; 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan + more for serving; 1 large egg, beaten; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons low sodium tomato paste; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 1 tablespoon dried minced onion; 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves; 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 24-ounce jar lower sodium marinara

By Julie Andrews

It may seem impossible to make meatballs without meat. But, I promise – it’s possible AND delicious!

In this version, I made Italian-inspired ‘meat’balls using mostly plant-based ingredients. Read on to learn how to make them yourself!

Ingredients you’ll need to make meatless ‘meat’balls:

White beans: I typically use cannellini beans, but you can use any white beans, such as Great Northern or chickpeas/garbanzo beans.
Rice: Or quinoa, farro, wheat berries or any other ancient grain you have on hand. Just be sure it’s cooked first! I like to use pre-cooked brown rice and/or quinoa that I can just pop in the microwave. Or I’ll use leftovers I have from another recipe.
Parsley: I grab a bunch of fresh parsley, chop it up and toss it in! This would also be good with some fresh oregano and basil.
Parmesan: I use freshly grated, but if you’re looking to make this recipe vegan, you can substitute with nutritional yeast.
Egg: Eggs act as a binder in meatballs and cannot be skipped or your meatballs will fall apart! However, you can try using egg replacer (such as Bob’s Red Mill) or try making a flax egg. See the recipe card for details!
Tomato Paste: This adds richness to the ‘meat’balls. Yum!
Herbs and Spices: Garlic, minced onion, dried Italian herbs and crushed red pepper flakes. This is where major flavor comes in!
Salt: As always, salt brings out the flavors of the other ingredients, but feel free to adjust the amount to make it work for you.

How to prepare the ‘meat’balls:

Simply place all of the ingredients in a food processor and give it a whirl until the mixture becomes a chunky paste. (It may not look the most appetizing at this point, but I promise they’re delicious once cooked!) If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop all of the ingredients, mix them in a bowl and use a potato masher to make a paste.
Roll the mixture into 16 balls and line on a wire rack fitted inside of a baking sheet. Be sure to use cooking spray on the wire rack to avoid sticking!
Bake at 375 degrees for 22-28 minutes or until set.
Simmer the ‘meat’balls in marinara, then serve! Delicious!

I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry! Let’s eat.