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Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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.

Minimalist Baker's new cookbook: Everyday Cooking

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?).

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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.

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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

Zoodles! Zucchini Noodle Pasta

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).

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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!!

Vegan Thai Quinoa Meatballs with zucchini noodles- this recipe is plant based, gluten-free, and completely delicious!!

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Thai Quinoa Meatballs (V + GF)

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

Meatballs:

  • 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
  • ½ cup of cooked quinoa, about a heaping 1/4 cup of dried quinoa
  • ¼ 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
  • ¼ cup of finely chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
  • ¼ 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

Instructions 

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Once out of the oven let cool slightly and ENJOY!!
  • 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.
Tried this recipe?Mention @foodwithfeeling or tag #foodwithfeeling!


About Brita Britnell

Brita is the author of Food with Feeling which is a vegetarian based food blog. She creates easy and delicious recipes that encourage people to try more meat-free recipes!

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11 Comments

  1. Becca says:

    The link to the peanut sauce took me to a cauliflower taco recipe. Can you please let me know the link to the correct sauce? I’d really like to make this recipe this week! 

  2. KatInNM says:

    A half cup of sugar? That seems like an awful lot.

    1. B. Britnell says:

      You’re right! It was supposed to be 1/4 cup. Fixed! Thanks!

  3. Kelly says:

    These look and sound divine, yum!

  4. AZ@...And a Dash of Cinnamon says:

    These thai meatballs look tasty! I follow her blog as well!

    1. B. Britnell says:

      Thanks!! I love her blog so much!! Especially since I’ve started eating a more plant based diet this year