Recipe: Nondairy Vegetarian “Meatballs”

I’m not gonna go into some big long schpiel. I understand the point…the recipe blogs have lots of ads and sponsors…and whatever. I’ll only say one thing before giving you the recipe:

By nondairy, I mean no cow’s milk products. This still contains an egg. I’ve included vegan changes in parenthesis next to the one dairy ingredient and one other ingredient (which is likely unnecessary for those who aren’t brand new vegans…but just in case…)

Ingredients – Step 1

2 c. dried chickpeas
4 c. water
2 Knorr beef bouillon cubes (or vegetarian bouillon measured out for 4 cups of water)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1.5 t. Italian seasoning

Place the above ingredients into your handy, dandy crock pot. I cooked mine on high for about six hours. I did add a little extra water once. Once they are finished, do not drain them. I actually stored mine in the refrigerator until the next day.

Ingredients – Step 2

1.5 c. seasoned bread crumbs (you could also use oat flour or whatever else you want as a binder; I like seasoned bread crumbs)
1 egg (flax egg is a-okay!)
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. Italian seasoning
Black pepper to taste
Pinch of Himalayan salt, or whatever salt you have

In a big bowl, place 2 cups of your cooked chickpeas. Use a potato masher to mash them. They don’t need to be completely mashed. Yes, you can use a food processor. I don’t because my youngest son has autism and hates the noise. It takes me about 45 seconds to do it by hand so it’s not that serious.

Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside. Add bread crumbs and seasonings to your chickpea mix. And, yes, you ARE seasoning them again. If you refrigerated your chickpeas overnight like I did, you don’t need to drain them. In fact, you probably noticed that they soaked up more liquid. Mix the seasoning and bread crumbs in with the chickpeas. Then, add the egg and mix well.

Preheat your oven to 450 and line a cookie sheet or cake pan with parchment paper. Don’t skip this step. Use the parchment paper. Do NOT use wax paper. I guess you could use a cooking spray. I didn’t…so I don’t know how the end result would turn out.

Use a spoon or a small melon baller to make balls. I ended up with nine and they were kinda big. You can make them the size you want. Place them on the parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes. Then, GENTLY turn them over. Put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes to finish crisping and browning.

That’s it. And I don’t have any pictures of it. I ate them. I was hungry.