The tender chickpea meatballs with zucchini, carrots, and cheese are served with marinara sauce and pasta; this is our favorite vegetarian meatball recipe.
I have to say that we do have a soft spot for meatballs in our family. We love real meatballs, like turkey meatballs without breadcrumbs, Turkish beef kofta, and pork meatballs in tomato sauce, but we love our vegetarian chickpea meatballs just as much.
This is a super easy recipe made with pantry staples; it's all about searching and blending some ingredients, forming balls, and baking them in the oven.
I am trying a new meatball recipe at least once a month, and we love most of them. This vegetarian meatball recipe is a new variation that my kids love. So filling and satisfying, yet completely wholesome and healthy. Check out this collection of Meatball Recipes, too.
Ingredients: 18 + oil, salt & pepper | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 | Difficulty: Easy
Recipe ingredients
For the veggie meatballs (1)
- Chickpeas from a can.
- Vegetables: One small zucchini and one small carrot.
- Breadcrumbs: Fresh and dried breadcrumbs.
- Make the fresh ones from a slice of bread. You will need about 30 g/ 1 oz fresh breadcrumbs; I prefer to weigh that amount because slice sizes can vary from one bread type to another.
- See How to Make Breadcrumbs if you want to learn how to make breadcrumbs from old bread at home.
- Cheese like Gouda or Cheddar, and hard cheese - a vegetarian hard cheese to keep the recipe vegetarian. Otherwise, Parmesan cheese is excellent.
For the marinara sauce (2)
- Strained tomatoes/ tomato puree/ passata are more or less the same thing. Not concentrated tomato paste.
- Two small red bell peppers
- More ingredients: Onion, garlic, and oil.
A great shortcut is to serve the chickpea meatballs with spaghetti and your favorite brand of marinara sauce. In this case, just warm the sauce in a small pan and serve.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make chickpea meatballs?
The quickest way is to use a food processor. Alternatively, you can crumble the bread with your hand and grate the vegetables and cheese before blending them with the chickpeas and spices using an immersion blender.
Use a mini-muffin pan with olive oil. If you don't have one, bake them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, but I like using the pan. The balls will keep their shape better, will be prettier, and more evenly golden.
Make the chickpea balls
- Step #1: Breadcrumbs: If using crusty bread, remove the rind. If using soft bread, there is no need to remove the rind. Process and transfer to a large bowl.
- Step #2: Cheese: Process it and add it to the bowl with the fresh breadcrumbs.
- Step #3: Vegetables: Chop the zucchini and the carrot roughly and pulse a few times until finely chopped. The veggies should look as if they were grated.
- Step #4: Mix: Return fresh breadcrumbs and cheese to the food processor. Drain the can of chickpeas. Add the pulses, spices, and egg to the bowl of the food processor. Blitz the chickpea mixture until finely chopped. Don't overdo or the meatballs will be too mushy. The mixture should be finely chopped but not become a paste. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to the bowl you used before.
- Step #5: Form 24 balls, as many as the holes in the muffin tin. They should be about as large as a golf ball. You can use a cookie scoop, but I never bother. Forming the meatless meatballs with the hands is easy; just remember to clean them from time to time to stop the meatball mixture from sticking too much. Place in the prepared muffin tray.
- Step #6: Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until deeply golden and cooked through.
Make the red pepper sauce
- Make the sauce and cook the spaghetti noodles while the meatballs are in the oven.
- Step #7: Cook onions in a little oil on medium-low heat until softer and golden.
- Step #8: Peppers: Add finely chopped garlic and peppers. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes until the peppers are soft. Add two splashes of water during the cooking time. This will help the peppers soften and will stop them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add spices.
- Step #9: Add the strained tomatoes, water, and sugar. Stir well, cover, and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. The sauce should have thickened slightly. Adjust the taste with a bit of balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Store and reheat
Refrigerate: The chickpea balls keep well in an airtight container for at least 3-4 days. Serve at room temperature or reheat in the leftover sauce.
Freeze: for up to 2 months in freezer bags or containers. Defrost in the fridge or reheat from frozen in the oven at 320°F/ 160°C for about 20 minutes.
How to serve?
- Serve the chickpea meatballs with pasta and tomato pepper sauce.
- Stuff the veggie balls into sandwiches or hoagie rolls. You can top them with mozzarella and place them under the hot grill for 1 or 2 minutes until the cheese melts nicely.
- Crumble on salads or eat them as they are with your favorite dipping sauce - a super delicious, healthy snack.
- Make some wraps with guacamole/ cream cheese/ salsa + chickpea meatballs + grated cheese. So good!
- Stuff into pitas smeared with low-calorie hummus. Add julienned or grated veggies like fresh carrots, kohlrabi, cucumbers, cooked beets, onion slices, and so on. Add some crumbled feta.
Chickpea Meatballs (with Vegetables and Cheese)
Tender vegetarian chickpea meatballs served as a snack or appetizer or with spaghetti and tomato sauce. A super easy recipe that the whole family will love.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 300kcal
Equipment
- Food processor or box grater
- Skillet
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 slice of whole wheat bread about 30 g/ 1 oz
- ⅓ cup vegetarian hard cheese Note 2
- ¼ cup gouda or cheddar cheese
- 4 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
- 1 zucchini about 200 g/ 7 oz
- 1 carrot about 60 g/ 2 oz
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
For the sauce:
- 1 onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 small red bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups tomato puree Note 2
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Make breadcrumbs: If the bread is crusty, remove the rind. If it's soft, leave it. You will need about 30 g/1 oz of breadcrumbs. Cut the slice of bread into cubes and pulse in the food processor until you obtain breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl. 1 slice of whole wheat bread
- Shred cheese: Cube all the cheese and process it as well; add it to the bowl with the breadcrumbs. ⅓ cup vegetarian hard cheese + ¼ cup gouda or cheddar cheese
- Shred vegetables: Top and tail zucchini and carrots, peel the carrots. Cut into smaller pieces and process in the food processor until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can grate everything with a box grater.1 zucchini + 1 carrot
- Mix ingredients: Return fresh breadcrumbs and cheese to the food processor. Add the drained chickpeas, dry breadcrumbs, egg, spices, salt, pepper, and blitz until everything is mixed. Don't overblend! The mixture should be finely chopped but not become a paste. Adjust the taste again, be generous with the salt and pepper. If the mix is too wet and you cannot form the balls easily, add 1 or 2 extra tablespoons of breadcrumbs until you can form the balls. Do not add too many extra breadcrumbs; the mixture should be pretty soft.breadcrumbs + cheese + 1 can chickpeas + 4 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs + 1 large egg + ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper + 1 teaspoon sweet paprika + ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes + ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Shape chickpea balls: Brush the mini-muffin pan with olive oil. Form 24 balls about the size of a golf ball.
- Bake: Place the balls into the muffin tin and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. In the meantime, make the sauce.
Sauce:
- Chop the onion and the garlic cloves finely. Quarter and then slice the bell peppers thinly.1 onion + 2-3 garlic cloves + 2 small red bell peppers
- Cook: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and cook the onions until lightly golden, about 3 minutes on medium-low heat. Add garlic and peppers and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until soft, frequently stirring and adding two splashes of water in between to help the vegetables soften and to prevent them from catching. Add paprika, chili, thyme, and stir for 1 minute.1 tablespoon olive oil + onion + garlic + peppers + 1 teaspoon sweet paprika + ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes + 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Simmer: Add the strained tomatoes, water, and sugar, stir well. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes. 2 cups tomato puree + ½ cup water + 1 teaspoon sugar
- Adjust the taste with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and reheat gently. Serve with pasta.
Notes
- Parmesan is fine as well, but it's not vegetarian.
- Tomato puree (passata or strained tomatoes), not tomato paste. If using tomato sauce or marinara, which are already flavored, you can leave out the spices (Amazon affiliate link).
- The nutrition is calculated without considering the pasta. 6 balls and ¼ of the sauce per serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 1179mg | Potassium: 1061mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 6275IU | Vitamin C: 102mg | Calcium: 302mg | Iron: 5mg
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Jasson says
Very nice recipe chef 👍👌👏. My lunch for tomorrow 😋. Thank you for your effort 🌹🌞😎
Brie says
So excited to try this recipe, we picked up the few ingredients not in our pantry today to make these on New Years Day! The meatball sandwich picture has my mouth watering already 🙂
Adina says
Wow! I am so glad, I hope you all like them, I almost feel a bit nervous about it! 🙂 Happy New Year!
Brie says
They were delicious and the recipe was just as easy as advertised!
I only had one mini-muffin pan so we used a regular muffin tin for the rest, cooking a few minutes longer. The mini and jumbo veggie meatballs were a big hit with the hubby 🙂 I tossed a few of them in the freezer so we could make pitas this weekend.
We will definitely be making them again but first I want to try your recipe for the Broccoli Cauliflower ones!
Leslyn says
These vegetarian meatless meatballs look absolutely amazing. I must give them a try. I love your pictures 🙂
Kate says
Oooo yummy! These look delicious.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
These vegetarian meatballs look droolworthy!
prince says
Your pictures always look amazing and your recipes are so easy to follow. Can’t wait to try these once.
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says
I love meatballs, and I bet these veggie ones taste absolutely scrumptious!
Jess @ Sweetest Menu says
Ooh I love anything with chickpeas! This looks just lovely!
Monica says
Now I am dying to try some vegetarian meatballs! I eat a lot less meat these days and I know I would love these. I'm not sure I can convince the little one at home but this really looks delicious, with that great sauce.
Adina says
I think they would like the meatballs. My two kids do and they can be annoyingly fussy too when it comes to food. 🙂
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
Love these meatless meatballs! I try to eat meatless meals at least once or twice a week, so I love finding recipes like this. And that tomato/bell pepper sauce sounds amazing!
Adina says
Meatballs are great, aren't they? And I am glad that I discovered meatless meatballs for us, there are such endless possibilities to make them...