When I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to make it.
(anyone else as obsessed with Pinterest as I am?)
It was a recipe for meatballs made with white beans and mushrooms and I knew that I wanted to try it out – we wanted to start trying new/different meals for the second half of Vegetarianism 4.0 and this really did fit the bill! I made a few small changes from the original recipe, which made the meatballs vegetarian and not vegan (I used seasoned breadcrumbs containing parmesan cheese), and my family gobbled them up for dinner this week.
And there is no approval rating/score/review better than that!
Here’s how you make these awesome meatless meatballs!
The meatball mixture starts with a large, high-sided skillet set over medium heat.
When the skillet is hot, add in some onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until soft and golden.
Then add in some chopped button mushrooms and some minced garlic. Cook the veggies for another 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and golden and the garlic is fragrant.
Finally, add in some seasonings – salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and chili flake. Stir the seasonings in.
And then toss in the drained and rinsed white beans! These are white “black” beans – not the cannelini beans – if you’re looking for them in the store, they are usually called small white beans.
Stir everything together for one final time and cook for an additional minute until the white beans are heated through.
Yum!
(feel free to take a fork and sample some of the mixture… just be careful, it’s so good you may eat the whole pan!)
Transfer the bean mixture to a food processor and pulse until the beans just start to break apart and the mixture is becoming more smooth. Stop the food processor and add in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and panko bread crumbs (Japanese-style bread crumbs) and lemon juice and then continue to pulse until the mixture is completely smooth. Let the mixture stand for about 3-5 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the moisture.
To make the meatballs, grab a tablespoon and portion out slightly heaping tablespoons of meatball mixture – roll the mixture into a ball.
Then roll the meatball in a plate of seasoned breadcrumbs spiked with black pepper.
Place the meatballs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the meatballs in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning the meatballs halfway.
Golden brown and delicious!
To serve, pop the meatballs in warm marinara sauce for 5 minutes before serving.
I served my meatballs over whole wheat spaghetti and garnished with some fresh basil, but these will definitely be delicious as a “meatball” hero sandwich too!
This is definitely a vegetarian recipe that will be a dinner staple for years to come!
Your meatball lovin’ friend,
Catherine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8oz button mushrooms, wiped down and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1-15oz can white beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
- ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- Juice of one lemon
- ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs seasoned with ¼ teaspoon black pepper, for rolling
- Cooking Spray
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large, high-sided skillet set over medium heat, add in olive oil. When oil is hot, add in onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until soft and golden brown.
- Add in mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until mushrooms are golden brown and tender and the garlic is fragrant.
- Season the vegetable mixture with salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flake. Add in the white beans and stir to combine. Cook for an additional minute to heat the beans through.
- Transfer the bean-vegetable mixture to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse the meatball mixture until the beans are starting to break down and become smooth. Add in the ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs, panko bread crumbs, and lemon juice. Continue to pulse until mixture is completely smooth. Allow meatball mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes to allow for the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the moisture.
- To roll the meatballs, portion out slightly heaping tablespoons of the meatball mixture and roll into a ball using your hands. Roll the meatball in the seasoned breadcrumbs that have been further seasoned with some black pepper. Place the formed meatball onto the baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through.
- To serve, place meatballs in heated tomato sauce for 5 minutes prior to serving. I like serving my white bean and mushroom meatballs over whole wheat pasta but they can be served in a sandwich if you prefer!
This was such a surprisingly good meal😍 Will be preparing this more often in the future.