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Plants Not Plastic

Chickpea Oat Flour Meatless Meatballs

These Chickpea Oat Flour Meatless Meatballs are full of Italian flavor, have great texture - though admittedly are nothing like the real thing, but we can overlook that when they're healthy and still taste great, right? Plus they do fulfill that meatball craving beautifully!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 16 balls (12-20 ~2 tbsp each)
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 80.7
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 ounces cremini mushrooms finely diced; optional
  • 1 flax egg 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water
  • 1.5 cups white beans or chickpeas drained and completely rinsed [note#1]; sub black beans
  • 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp EACH basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme & sage sub 1 heaping tbsp Italian spice mix
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional; for spiceness
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce sub tamari or liquid aminos for gluten free
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
  • 1.5 cups oat flour

Equipment

  • large nonstick sauté pan
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • nonstick or lined baking tray

Method
 

  1. Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat until the bottom of the pan has started to caramelize, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Add the mushrooms and allow their water to deglaze the pan. Add a splash of water if needed. Let their water cook off completely until the pan just start to caramelize again, then remove from the heat and allow the pan and veggies to sit and cool slightly to remove anything stuck to the bottom.
  3. In the meantime, in a medium mixing bowl, mash your beans and combine them with all of your other ingredients except the oat flour and mix until well combined.
  4. Add the veggies and oat flour and mix again until well combined. Your batter should be somewhat firm but not flakey; dry enough to hold it's shape. Add more flour 1/4 cup at a time as needed to get the right consistency.
  5. Roll out your chickpea balls using ~2 tbsp per ball and place on a dry plate or baking tray so they aren't touching.
  6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bring your clean, dry nonstick pan back over a medium heat. Sear each chickpea ball on all sides, rotating them in the pan with your fingers or a spoon or spatula [note#2] until each side is a golden brown.
  7. Transfer your seared chickpea balls into your baking tray and bake for 20 minutes to cook them through.
  8. Serve by themselves or with tomato sauce poured over the top, or serve them as a topping over a pasta of your choice.
  9. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  1. If you don't rinse and drain you beans completely, the liquid will make your chickpea ball batter too runny or sticky to work with. Add more flour if this is the case until you get the right consistency.
  2. When I do this, I start by putting them in the pan and then tipping each ball on it's side after about 30-40 seconds, and from there just rotate them with my fingers every 20-40 seconds so that any unseared parts are face down. After removing them from the heat, they will be slightly 'cube' shaped, so I reform them a bit into a ball shape before baking them.