Besides pizza, I would say meatballs are on the rotating list of recipes. We eat meatballs in subs, on pizza, with pasta, or just enjoy them as is. Try this gluten-free, vegan recipe as you champion flexitarianism.
If you have yet to try any of the said zucchini recipes up to this point, you’re going to love this!
Eat them smothered with marinara on top of whole grain pasta (which brings the protein to 25 g per serving!) but feel free to substitute zucchini noodles if you’re wanting something lower in carbohydrates. Because there’s always room for more zucchini. Picture from Pinterest
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
900g marinara sauce
250g whole grain pasta
Method
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the drained and rinsed chickpeas, garlic cloves, and rolled oats. Pulse for about 5-10 seconds, until finely chopped. When you press the mixture between your fingers, it should hold together.
Transfer to a large bowl along with the dried herbs, salt, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and shredded zucchini. Do not use more than 1 cup of shredded zucchini.
Stir together until well-combined. If the mixture is too wet to handle, add a little flour (you can grind extra oats into a flour) or nutritional yeast to help absorb excess moisture.
Preheat the oven to 190°C then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using your hands, scoop out on heaping tablespoon of the zucchini mixture at a time and roll into 12 separate balls.
Arrange on the baking sheet a few inches apart then bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed.
Once the zucchini balls are light golden brown, remove them from the oven and set aside. Serve warm over cooked pasta with marinara sauce. Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!
*Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats for allergies.
*Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.