I am so excited to share this recipe for Hearty Meatless Meatballs – aka vegan meatballs – from Cook Lively by Laura Jane Koers!
Koers is the recipe developer behind the popular website, The Rawtarian, and Cook Lively is her very first print cookbook! It’s packed with 100 plant-based recipes with a focus on raw foods, though there are some cooked recipes in the book as well.
More raw goodness: Raw Spring Rolls that Taste Good
In the book’s introduction, Koers describes her journey from eating processed, packaged, Standard American Diet-type foods to a whole food, plant-based vegan lifestyle. Recipes like these vegan meatballs prove that you can make healthy, satisfying meals from plants.
Other mouth-watering, vegan recipes in the book include:
- Creamy Pesto Pasta
- Famous Raw Brownies
- Grapefruit Sherbet Cake
- Spaghetti Alfredo with Zucchini Noodles
- Thai Coconut Soup
On top of recipes, Cook Lively includes sample grocery lists and meal plans along with guides to sprouting grains and lentils. There are also metric conversions to help you easily make any recipe work for you.
Ready to make some vegan meatballs? Me, too! Let’s do it.
Hearty Meatless Meatballs With Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Walnuts
Yield: 12 small vegan meatballs; Servings: 4
These hearty nut-based meatballs are surprisingly versatile: serve with Traditional Spaghetti and Sauce (page 146), Spaghetti Alfredo (page 145), in a wrap, on a salad, or as shown here, with a sprinkling of hemp seeds and a splash of Sweet Asian Dressing (page 95)—or however your heart desires! The results are very similar whether you dehydrate them or bake them in the oven. These vegan meatballs freeze very well, making them a great staple food to have on hand for those busy days.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup walnuts (or pecans)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/3 cup oil-soaked sun-dried tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons flax meal
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
- Directions:
IF MAKING IN AN OVEN
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, process the walnuts until they are the size of coarse crumbs (about 15 seconds).
3. Add all the remaining ingredients: celery, tomatoes, flax, salt, and chili powder, if using. Process the mixture into a smooth, moist paste
(40 seconds).
4. Using your hands, form 12 meatballs by rolling the mixture between your palms. Place on the parchment-lined pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip, and bake for an additional 10 minutes (25 minutes total).
6. Enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
IF MAKING IN A DEHYDRATOR
1. Line a dehydrator tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, process the walnuts until they are the size of coarse
crumbs (about 15 seconds).
3. Add all the remaining ingredients: celery, tomatoes, flax, salt, and chili
powder, if using. Process the mixture into a moist paste (40 seconds).
4. Using your hands, form 12 meatballs by rolling the mixture between your
palms. Place on the parchment-lined tray.
5. Dehydrate at 145°F for 11⁄2 hours. Reduce the temperature to 104°F and
dehydrate for another 4 hours, or until dry to the touch.
6. Enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Excerpted from Cook Lively!: 100 Quick and Easy Plant-Based Recipes for High Energy, Glowing Skin, and Vibrant Living—Using 10 Ingredients or Less by Laura-Jane Koers. Copyright © 2017. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.