The Best Vegetarian Meatballs

These vegetarian meatballs are a cozy, flavorful plant based dinner! The baked meatballs are smothered in a creamy vegetarian gravy.

Ingredients:

For the vegetarian meatballs:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, peas and green beans)
• 15-ounce can chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (for gluten free, try Gluten Free 1 for 1 flour)

To serve:

• Easy Vegetarian Gravy*
• Chopped Italian parsley

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Saute the vegetables, chickpeas, garlic powder, smoked paprika, oregano, kosher salt, and pepper for 3 to 5 minutes until warmed through and the vegetables are evenly coated in spices.
3. Add the vegetables and the flour to a food processor. Pulse about 20 times until chunky paste forms, scraping down the bowl of the food processor as necessary.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently form the dough into about 40 to 46 balls (using a 2 teaspoon cookie scoop** or two spoons) and place each on the baking sheet. Resist the urge to roll the balls in your hands or they will come out too dense.
5. Use a pastry brush to brush the outsides of the meatballs with olive oil.
6. Bake the vegetarian meatballs for 30 minutes until lightly browned, rotating the pans at 15 minutes to allow for an even bake. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before adding to the gravy.
7. Meanwhile, make the vegetarian gravy. When the meatballs are done, add them to the pan with the gravy. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

NOTES:

• *For vegan gravy, try this vegan gravy or this one. **A size 60 cookie scoop is helpful to get the round shape for these vegetarian meatballs; we’d highly recommend using one! It also makes the process much faster. (If you buy one, you can use it over and over for cookies too, so it’s not single use!) If you use the two spoons method to shape the dough, the meatballs will look less beautifully round — but they’ll still taste good. You can use your hands to spot fix any balls that are misshapen on the baking sheet. The timing in this recipe is based on using a cookie scoop.