Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Just wanted to let you know that these crispy gluten free vegan chickpea meatballs are sponsored by my friends over at Jovial Foods!

These meatless, gluten free meatballs are SO crispy, they will blow your mind! Serve them with an easy tomato sauce for a tasty, healthy dinner!

PIN Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

YEP a MEATLESS meatballs recipe.

Regardless of what you’re thinking, OR your current thoughts on how Monday’s are NOT your favorite, I PINKY PROMISE that it’s going to make you RLY RLY excited about it being Meatless Monday. It MIGHT even become your new favorite day of the week.

BOLD STATEMENT? Yep.  But this vegan meatball recipe is PREPARED to jump in and MAKE IT TRUE in real-person, want-healthy-food-that-tastes-yummy LIFE.

Me and chickpeas are kind of having a moment lately because of them being:

1. PACKED with plant protein and fiber (two things I am really trying to focus on getting more of in my diet)
2. SUPER DUPER versatile. You can make anything from creamy chickpea curry to vegan chickpea cookie dough bowls.
3. They’re a little nutty, a little salty and have this somewhat grainy texture that is actually SO good with other ingredients.

So, ya. This chickpea moment? PROBABLY going to be going to be one VERY LONG moment.

I am using use Jovial Foods Chickpeas (which are actually grown right in Italy!) because I trust that they use healthy, clean ingredients in their products AND packaging! <– That’s why their beans AND tomatoes are packaged in glass. It’s naturally BPA free plus doesn’t add any strange flavor to what’s inside. They also don’t add anything to their beans, and they’re even cooked in pure Spring water!

Want FULL FLAVORED, yummy vegan meatballs? ‘Couse ya do!

So, the glass packaging is PERF.

How to make vegan meatballs

Making these gluten free vegan chickpea meatballs is actually very easy and requires only a few simple, pantry-essential kind of ingredients.

1. Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Then, rub all the thin, papery skin off them. Is that annoying? YEP. But does it make your meatballs have EPIC texture? SURE DOES.
2. Add them into a food processor with seasonings and apple sauce. <– This is for binding and I PROMISE it doesn’t make your meatballs taste like apple pie. That would be weird.
3. Sautee up some garlic and onion until golden brown. Low and slow is key here. If you burn this, it will give your meatballs a bitter, not-so-yummy taste.
4. Blend it all up and then stir in your parsley (for the FRESH) and some panko, which makes the outside of these meatless bites of BLISS so crunch-a-rifici and golden brown.
5. BAKE

Then it’s ALL ABOUT the tomato saucey goodness that your finished meatballs get to take a little swim in, wrapping themselves in this garlicky, seasoned yummiess that has JUST the right pop of natural sweetness and acidity.

Jovial Foods tomatoes are back because (just like the beans) they’re traditionally prepared, organic and grown right in Tuscany. They are also harvested, hand sorted and packed in less than 24 HOURS, which makes them taste SO FREAKIN FRESH YOU GUYS.

Jovial is committed to doing things the right way and makes sure each of their farmers (who they have been working with since the company started in 2009!) is paid fairly.  I’m convinced that aids to the yumminess of this tomato sauce.

Classic, SIMPLE tomato sauce ingredients like:

1. Olive oil
2. Onions/garlic
3. Tomatoes and tomato paste (duh)
4. Italian seasoning

Are what you’re going to find in your bubbly skillet of creamy-saucey Italian LOVIN and it’s going to make you fall in LOVE with MONDAYS ‘cause these gluten free vegan chickpea meatballs?

They’re where meatless Monday is AT.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

“Honey” Garlic Roasted Chickpeas Wrap

Peanut Butter Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Quinoa Chickpea Avocado Salad with Black Beans

5 from 12 votes

Print

Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea Meatballs

These Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea Meatballs are SO crispy, they will blow your mind! Serve them with an easy tomato sauce for a tasty, healthy dinner!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword vegan

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4 People

Calories 224 kcal

Author Taylor

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 Jar Jovial Food Chickpeas, Drained and rinsed
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp Sea salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 3/4 Cup Onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp Fresh garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp Gluten Free/Vegan Italian Seasoned Panko
• 2 Tbsp Fresh parsley, minced
• Cooking spray

For the sauce:

• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp Fresh garlic, minced
• 1 Jar Jovial Foods Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 3/4 tsp Sea salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 Tbsp Fresh parsley, minced
• Zoodles, spaghetti squash or noodles, for serving

Instructions

To make the meatballs:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Spread the drained and rinsed chickpeas until a paper towel and gently dry them off.  Gently rub the thin, papery skins off each one and place into a SMALL food processor (mine is 3 cups.) along with the applesauce, salt and pepper.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Cook the onion until it begins to soften and brown, about 4 minutes.  Add in the garlic and lower the temperature to medium/low. Cook, stirring constantly until golden brown, about 1 minute.

4. Add the onion mixture into the food processor and blend until totally smooth and combined, stopping to scrape the sides as necessary.

5. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the panko and parsley.  Use a cookie scoop to form 16 1 Tbsp sized balls and place onto the prepared baking sheet.  

6. Spray generously with cooking spray and bake for 14 minutes.  Spray again and bake another 13-14 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.

To make the sauce:

1. While the "meatballs" cook, heat the oil in a large, high-sided pan with a lid on medium hear.  Add in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is golden brown and soft, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

3. Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, uncover and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the liquid just begins to evaporate. Stir in the parsley.

4. Stir the "meatballs" into the sauce and serve over your noodles of choice.  *

5. DEVOUR

Recipe Notes

*Meatballs soften quickly once in the sauce, so they're best eaten right away.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

If you try this recipe I would love to see it and share it! Tag me on IG @foodfaithfit, using the hashtag #foodfaithfit

Get 3 Months worth of healthy, gluten free Meal Plans for $1!

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY MY FRIENDS AT  JOVIAL FOODS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE CREATING GREAT CONTENT FOR YOU BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPER-FAB BRANDS THAT FOOD FAITH FITNESS LOVES TO WORK WITH! AS ALWAYS, OPINIONS REMAIN 100% MY OWN!

Stay in touch with Jovial Foods on social media for other tasty recipes:

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Click HERE to get $1 Jovial Foods Tomatoes and Beans. You can shop ALL their products HERE. Orders of $25 or more get free shipping!

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: FREESTYLE POINTS: 3 POINTS+: 5 . OLD POINTS:4

(per 1/4 of the recipe)

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