Vegan Eggplant Meatballs
These gluten-free and vegan eggplant meatballs are made with the cleanest and simplest of common pantry ingredients. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and a perfect complement to a bowl of pasta, buddha bowl or eggplant parm sub!
Ingredients
- 2 6-8" eggplants
- 3 oz mushrooms shiitake is preferable
- 1/3 cup walnuts, pulsed
- 3-5 cloves of minced garlic
- 1.5 cups rolled oats, pulsed
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 flax eggs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a baking sheet.
- Rinse and dry your eggplant and mushrooms. Slice off the ends of the eggplant; do not peel off the skin. Then slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. Then cube it.
- Add cubed eggplant and mushrooms to a bowl. Add 1/3 cup olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix until well coated. Then spread the eggplant cubes and mushrooms on your sheet pan in one layer ( don't let them lay ontop of each other).
- Roast eggplant and mushrooms for 15 minutes.
- While the eggplant is roasting, make your flax eggs and set aside.
- In your food processor, pulse the oats and walnuts separately. Do not grind into a flour. Pulse until a crumble or breadcrumb texture. Set aside.
- When the eggplant and mushrooms are finished roasting, turn the oven down to 400 and set the pan on the oven to cool for a few minutes.
- After a few minutes, add the eggplant and mushrooms to your food processor. Pulse for a minute or two until well incorporated.
- Add the rest of your ingredients to the food processor: walnuts, oats, 2 tbsps olive oil, salt and pepper (I did 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp pepper), oregano, basil, onion powder, fresh parsley leaves, lemon zest, and the flax eggs. Pulse until well incorporated and smooth. The batter should not be chunky.
- Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, roll 1 inch balls and place them on the sheet pan. You should get about 20 - 24 1 inch balls.
- Bake for 25 minutes, flipping at the 20 minute mark.
Notes
For nut-free version, substitute the crushed walnuts with hemp seeds.