High protein quinoa meatballs
A high protein vegan and gluten free meatball recipe that is perfect for easy family meal. Made with quinoa, black beans and mushrooms. this recipe has a great texture and doesn't fall apart. Super delicious and nutritious and totally kid friendly recipe. A great recipe to meal prepping
Servings: 40 meatballs
Calories: 46kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup quick oats add another 1/2 cup if batter is too wet
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- ½ cup black olives pitted, about 15
- ½ onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp soy sauce gluten free
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
Sauteed mushrooms
- ½ cup white mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce gluten free
Marinara sauce (skip if using store bought)
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ tbs coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 roma tomatoes diced
- 1 ½ cups tomato puree 1 can
Instructions
Making the quinoa meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile cook the quinoa (if you haven’t already) as per package directions. Then to a saucepan add the mushrooms and soy sauce and sautee for about 5 minutes.
- To a food processor add in all the ingredients for the meatballs, including the cooked quinoa and sauteed mushrooms. Process until a batter forms. It should be wet but sticky enough that you can form meatballs. If the batter is to wet add in more chickpea flour.
- Roll with your hands into meatballs and place onto a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes then increase the heat to 425 and shake the pan to move the meatballs around. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden.
Making the marinara sauce
- In a large saucepan over medium heat sautee the onions in the olive oil until soft. Then add in the garlic and spices. Cook for another few minutes then add in the tomatoes and tomato puree.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. If you like a sweeter sauce you can simmer the sauce for another 30 minutes but I find that after 15-20 minutes the sauce is perfect.
- Add in the meatballs, stir and turn off the heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the meatballs to absorb some of the sauce. Then serve over pasta, rice or with a side salad.NOTES
Notes
If you meal prep this recipe, or are wanting to freeze the meatballs, do so before you add them to the sauce. They will hold up much better that way. Otherwise they will get soggy. They are find to store in the sauce if you have leftover for a day or two.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 46kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg