I had planned for today’s post to be something completely different but last night’s dinner was so well received I thought I’d bump it up the queue. Most of my burger recipes use a binder of some description to help keep them together but due to cupboard shortages last night was an attempt to build a vegan meatball without a binder. Thankfully, I think I can say this black bean based attempt was a complete success! They’re only a little delicate and not crumbly, with bags of flavour. Seved with a really simple spicy tomates sauce, it makes for an easy and slightly different dinner option.
I do have to admit that I’m not sure what to call them, they’re obviously inspired by meatballs but contain no meat, are made of beans but bean balls don’t have a great ring to them, so a couple of times here I’ve just resorted to ‘balls’. let me know if you have a better idea!
I’ve deliberately gone for a slightly dryer sauce here so the bread doesn’t get drenched but if you want to turn this into spaghetti and meatballs, just add 250ml of vegetable stock with the tomatoes to the sauce. This one took me no more than 45 minutes to pull together so it was really worth it!
- Makes: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the Vegan Meatballs:
- 250g Black Beans
- 250g Mushrooms
- 30g Walnuts
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
- 100g Cooked Rice
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For the Simple Spiced Tomato Sauce:
- 1 Large Onion, diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp basil
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Harissa
- 2 tins Chopped Tomatoes
Directions
Preheat your oven to 220 C/200 C Fan/ 425 F. You’ll be baking the bean balls and they really won’t take long to throw together.
Put all the ingredients for the balls into a food processor, except the rice, and blend until really smooth. Add in your rice and blend until the rice is well broken up and fully combined.
You’re now going to shape your balls so have a baking tray prepared with a sheet of grease-proof paper to one side. I found it much easier to shaped them with oiled up hands and with the help of a small ice cream scoop. Roll them into quite small balls and place on the tray. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a lovely toasted brown.
While the balls are cooking, we’re now going to pull together your sauce. Put a large pan over a medium heat and add your onions with the dried herbs. Cook until the onions are softened and just starting to brown. Add your garlic and cook for a few minutes and the garlic is softened. Add in the tomatoes and harissa, stir well to combine, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until you have a good thick flavourful sauce. Season to taste and add your beanballs – stirring them in gently so you dont break them up.
Serve in your favourite gluten free rolls – you can even top them with vegan cheese if the mood takes you!
Notes
As per my comment above, if you want to serve this with pasta instead of in a sandwich then add 250ml stock along with the tomatoes. Once simmered down it’ll still be a thick and tasty sauce but it’ll be thin enough that it’ll mix better with the pasta.
Allergy Notes; This is naturally gluten free and vegan but I’d double check your liquid smoke as some contain gluten. If nuts are a issue for you then I’d sub in sunflower seeds instead of the walnuts.
