Thai Quinoa Meatballs (V + GF)

Have I ever told you about my ever-growing cookbook collection?? It’s pretty big. The problem (not so much really) is that I have about 100 favorite food bloggers and they all keep releasing awesome new cookbooks and I obviously HAVE to buy ALL of them. Obviously.

But this particular cookbook I’ve been very excited about. Minimalist Baker is at the VERY top of my list of favorite food blogs. I honestly first started following her blog religiously because of her photography. Dana has such a unique style and ALL of her photos are gorgeous. I became a member of her Food Photography School as soon as it went on sale and I really attribute a lot of my photography growth to her help.

Anyways, since following along with her blog for the past few years, I’ve made a lot of her recipes and all of them are amazing!! Her blog is mostly plant based and gluten-free recipes. This cookbook is a great resource for someone who is wanting to eat a more plant based diet but is a bit unsure where to begin. She is SO creative with ingredients and has a recipe substitute for pretty much ANY meal that you might want (pizza, burgers, cheesecake, sloppy joe, etc).

Seriously. If you’ve never read Minimalist Baker’s blog, I highly suggest that you jump on the bandwagon. And also, buy her book because it’s the bomb!! (do people still say that?).

These meat(less) balls are pretty easy to make are keep well in the fridge for a few days. I made them for dinner and then ate on them for lunch for the next couple days.

The base of the balls is quinoa and chickpeas which is 2 of my favorite things right now.

The balls are simply rolled up and then rolled in a bit of crushed peanuts for extra texture and flavor.

They’re then place on a baking sheet and baked in the oven for roughly 25 minutes.

While the meatballs bake, I sautéed up some zucchini noodles because I’m obsessed with my spiralizer!

As recommended in the recipe, I topped my whole dish off with some quick and easy peanut sauce and a bit of sriracha (because I’m trying to build up my tolerance).

Truth be told: I ate BOTH plates of this dish that I made for the photos. Because I hate wasting things, Stephen had already eaten, AND this dish is pretty damn tasty!!

Thai Quinoa Meatballs (V + GF)

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• Author: B. Britnell
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4

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Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa (about a heaping 1/4 cup of dried quinoa)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (I used coconut sugar instead)
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce (she also recommends substituting tamari if gluten-free)
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
• 1/4 of green onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce
• 3/4- 1 cup of roasted salted peanuts, crushed, plus more for coating

For Serving:

• Cookbook recommends 6-8 ribboned carrots for serving.
• I used 2 large zucchini for 2 people.
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• peanut sauce
• lime juice
• extra cilantro
• sriracha

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes to dehydrate the chickpeas. Once done, set aside to cool and leave the oven on.
2. Add the chickpeas to a blender or food processor and blend on low to pulverize. She also says that you can mash them with a fork; I used my food processor.
3. Pour the chickpeas and remaining meatball ingredients to a medium bowl. Mix to combine thoroughly. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. If the mixture is too wet, you can add in additional crushed peanuts or even a bit of panko breadcrumbs.
4. Scoop out the mixture in heaping tablespoons. Gently roll into balls and then roll each ball in a bit of additional crushed peanuts to coat.
5. Place the balls on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip to ensure even cooking and then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or to desired doneness. The meatballs get firmer the longer that they cook.
6. Once out of the oven let cool slightly and ENJOY!!
7. I served mine over simple zucchini noodles that were spiralized and sauteed in a bit of olive oil and then drizzled with the peanut sauce.

Notes

Recipe from Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking Cookbook