Vegan Meatballs

Tomorrow we will be in Trinidad, God-willing.  We leave very early in the morning at like 5:30am, but I’m getting a little worried because they are calling for 3-4″ of snow tonight.  I so cannot wait for winter to officially be over with, although this winter has not been bad at all.  It is going to be pretty dramatic to go from 20F to 80+F and humid.  I hope hope hope my symptoms don’t hold me back too much :(.

Tim and I will be in Trinidad from March 10-19th, so I probably won’t be posting any recipes up until then.  I am looking forward to seeing the tropical greenery, swimming in warm water, and eating mangos.  My father-in-law says mango’s are in season right now, and that the mango’s in America arn’t ‘real mangos’ lol.  I hope they do taste better than the one’s we get in store here.

Anyways, I don’t have a lot of time since I still need to finish packing, shower, eat and sleep.  But this is a recipe I made from Hummusapien‘s vegan meatballs.  She used them in a sub, but I used them this week in my linguini pasta.  They had a very pleasant taste to them, nothing at all like fake ‘veggie meat’ (although I do like that too).  Although they do not taste like real meat lol.  But they do add to a dish very nicely, and are a great source of protein and vitamins with the walnuts, pinto beans and mushrooms being the main ingredients.  Next time I might try making these a little smaller, because my oven had some trouble cooking them all the way through (I think our oven is weak?  I’ve got to check that when I get back..).  I imagine you could spice and flavor these how ever you want, maybe next time I will use more Italian seasoning to give it some extra punch.  But if you decide to make these the way I write in the recipe below, I don’t think you will be sorry.  It is a fun project for any vegan to try, especially if you miss the chunky texture of meatballs!

I hope you guys give it a try and enjoy them.  Let me know your thoughts.

Have a very happy week, I will see you all when we arrive back in the states!!

<3

Vegan Meatballs

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Serves: 20 Meatballs Cooking Time: 1 Hour 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 - 'Flax Eggs', 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseeds in 6 Tbsp Filtered Water
• 1/2 Cup - Walnuts
• 8oz - Sliced Mushrooms
• 3 Cloves - Garlic, crushed
• 1/2 - Medium Onion
• 1 - 15oz Can Pinto Beans
• 2 Tbsp - Italian Spices
• 2 Tbsp - Nutritional Yeast
• 3/4 Cup - Gluten Free Bread Crumbs (I ended up using crushed gluten free pretzels because that was all I had!)
• Dash of Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a large baking tray and add walnuts and mushrooms in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes, remove and keep oven on.
2. In a small bowl, mix together your 'flax egg' ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients in your food processor or high powered blender (I used my Vitamix), and chop until in a thick gooey crumbly paste. It might take a few minutes, feel free to keep pausing to press all of your ingredients down to the blade if you are having trouble.
4. Line a large baking tray with oiled down parchment paper, and scoop out your paste with a spoon. Using your hands, roll into little meatballs about 2-3" in diameter.
5. Put into the oven for 30 minutes, then take out to flip, and insert into the oven again for another 30 minutes. Poke with a toothpick to see if the inside is still gooey and wet. If so, turn the heat down to 250F and bake for as long as it needs to firm up on the inside, perhaps another 30min-1 hour (depending on your oven and how wet it is).
6. When finished, take out to cool, and enjoy in marinara sauce and your choice of gluten free pasta.