No one’s going to confuse these quinoa vegan meatballs with actual “meat,” and that’s a good thing. They’re substantial, but not too dense. Packed with protein, but not too fatty.
You can go traditional, and serve these with pasta noodles, but I enjoyed these vegan meatballs topped with marinara sauce and served with a big green salad. They’d also make a nice appetizer.
To help bind ingredients together, I used what’s known as a ‘flax egg.’ It’s a combination of flax seed meal (ground flax seeds) and water. When combined, they gel and help provide a structure similar to what you’d find in eggs. A commercial egg substitute such as The Vegg, Neat Egg or Ener-G Egg Replacer could also work well. But since flax seed meal has multiple uses, I usually have it in my kitchen.
Also enhancing the meatballs is non-dairy cheese. (I used Daiya mozzarella shreds). They add a rich, savory flavor. When baked, the quinoa meatballs get crispy on the outside, but the cheese makes them moist and melty on the inside.
Double it! This is one of my new favorite recipes to make in bulk and freeze. I love having homemade food on hand when I’m too busy to cook. So I froze a portion of these vegan meatballs and they reheated beautifully.
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- 1 c quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 T flax seed meal
- 3 T water
- 2 T olive oil (divided in 2)
- 1 c yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 t dried basil
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1 t paprika
- ½ t salt
- 1 t lemon zest
- 1 c Daiya mozzarella shreds, chopped (or other non-dairy cheese)
- marinara sauce for serving
- optional fresh parsley for garnish
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. (You should end up with about 2 cups cooked quinoa).
- In a small bowl, combine flax seed meal and water and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Stir in garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, paprika and salt. Stir in cooked quinoa and mix well, cooking another minute or two. Transfer quinoa mixture to a large bowl.
- Stir in flax seed “egg,” lemon zest, and non-dairy cheese shreds and mix well.
- Form quinoa into balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Place on a lined baking sheet. You should end up with about 12. Refrigerate quinoa meatballs for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Brush quinoa meatballs with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake about 20 minutes until brown.
- When serving, top with marinara sauce and fresh parsley, if you like.
These sound good – how would you serve them as an appetizer? With a sauce??
Hi DeAnne! Yes, I’d make them a bit smaller and serve with a dipping sauce. Either tomato or even a bbq could be good. Perhaps even on mini buns as sliders.
Haven’t made them yet, but these look super easy and most of these ingredients I already have around the house all the time anyways. Cant wait to give it a try ASAP!
Yay! Glad to hear it, Jane. Love having the ingredients at-the-ready! 🙂
Do you have the nutritional information?
Hi Mary, Thanks for asking! I use a handy tool called caloriecount.com. When you enter the ingredients, you’ll find it has no cholesterol (since no animal products), is low in sugar, high in magnesium, phosphorous, B6 and fiber and around 400 calories/serving.
Sara, something went very wrong. I refrigerated them, following the recipe exactly but the balls flattened out lin the oven like chocolate chip cookies. What did you use to line the pan? Also, seemed like too much cheese shreds for 12 balls.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that, Jo! I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper. (I don’t add oil or grease to the pan because it can add to flattening). I suspect it could have to do with the moisture content in the quinoa balls, i.e. when there’s too much moisture remaining in the cooked quinoa. I’ll plan to make these again and see if I can test that hypothesis. I find the cheese shreds help bind the mixture together, but if you prefer, feel free to reduce.