Curried Walnut Meatless Meatballs
Jenny Dunklee | The Lazy Vegan Baker: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Simple, nutritious, flavor packed meatless meatballs, made with only 8 ingredients and featuring California Walnuts.
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced (jarred garlic is ok here too)
  • 1 cup California Walnuts, diced fine or pulsed quickly in a food processor *
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder **
  • 3 cups baby bella mushrooms, diced (approx 8 oz)
  • 1 15 oz can white beans - do not drain! ( I used cannellini) ***
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs (regular or gluten free)
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or grease lightly with oil.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the walnuts and curry powder and saute for another 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the mushrooms and saute until they are cooked through, approx 6-8 minutes.
  5. Pour the beans and their liquid into a medium bowl and smash them well. Different size chunks are ok and provide texture but you want them to be mostly mashed.
  6. Add the walnut-mushroom mixture to the beans and stir it all together.
  7. Add the breadcrumbs and mix until completely combined.
  8. If you find your meatballs seem too dry to form into balls, add 1 tablespoon water at a time until you get a good consistency. If it is the opposite issue and they seem to wet, add 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs at a time until it adheres well into a ball.
  9. Season with salt and pepper as needed/desired.
  10. Form into balls. You can make them any size you want. I made 2" balls and the recipe yielded 16 this size.
  11. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bottoms are nicely browned and balls are cooked through.
  12. Serve over pasta or quinoa or another grain. Or serve on their own with a nice sauce. Or snack on them straight off the pan until you remember you meant to serve them with something :-D.
Notes
* I pulsed the walnuts a few times in a food processor. You can also do this in a blender or chop them by hand. You want them to be approximately breadcrumb size or a bit bigger and with some variation to add texture. Be careful not to turn them into a powder! Or into walnut butter!

** If you are a huge curry fan, please feel free to add more powder. These are medium/mild for those who have more sensitive palates.

*** Do not drain the beans! The bean brine, lovingly referred to as aquafaba, is an amazing egg replacer and in this recipe acts as a binder. You can use any white bean (navy, butter, kidney...) for this recipe. I used cannellini.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 4
Recipe by The Lazy Vegan Baker at https://thelazyveganbaker.com/2016/06/10/curried-walnut-meatless-meatballs/