Simple vegan black bean "meatballs" are perfect with spaghetti or as an appetizer.
These scrumptious black bean balls have been waiting to be unveiled for months. Why? Because as much as I loved the taste of them, they just didn’t hold together when they hit the sauce. Lay off the sauce, you say? Never! Balls need sauce. So I kept searching for a good binding agent, and my friends, I finally found one. So without further ado, meet my simple vegan black bean “meatballs," that actually maintain their ballish shape when plunged into a spicy sauce.
Should I have rewritten that introduction to sound less erotic? Yes. But no. 😉
For all of you beautiful vegan people reading this, you know what I’m talking about when I get excited about finding a good binding agent to hold those vegan balls together. So what’s the secret ingredient? Tapioca flour (affiliate), and aquafaba.
They rolled into balls with ease. They didn’t crumble when I browned them. And best of all, they kept their form while they simmered in the marinara sauce. Victory!
Since I’ve already addressed my beautiful vegan friends, let me address my beautiful non-vegan friends who haven’t had black bean “meatballs” before. Don’t expect them to have the same texture as real meat balls. They won’t. But they’re really good, so don’t be afraid to try them.
Bean balls are delicious. Mine are made with shallots, garlic, sautéed Portobello mushrooms, parsley, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. They’re full of savory flavor and protein. The texture is slightly crusty on the outside (because I brown them before simmering them in the sauce) and moist and firm on the inside. But remember, these are made out of beans, and beans don’t have that chewy consistency that meat does, so don’t expect that.
As we head into autumn—say it isn’t so—your stomach is going to be requesting warm and hearty meals. Make these heatlhy and simple vegan black bean “meatballs” with my spicy marinara, and then pour it over a big pile of spaghetti. If that doesn’t satisfy you, nothing will.
Or if pasta isn’t your thing, just eat them as is with some crusty bread and a salad. Soak up the sauce with the bread, but be careful because you could eat an entire loaf before you even know what happened. How would I know that? I’ll never tell.
Affiliate: This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Simple Vegan Black Bean "Meatballs"
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 skillet
- 1 stove
Ingredients
- FOR THE MARINARA
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 26 ounce 794 g crushed tomatoes ( I use Pomi brand)
- ⅓ cup 80 ml red wine (or 3 tablespoon (45 ml) balsamic vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon 2 g dried Italian seasoning
- 3 teaspoons 15 g ground sea salt, or to taste
- 2 teaspoon 1 g red pepper flakes (optional)
- Ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup 20 g fresh basil leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup 10 g flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- FOR THE BEAN BALLS
- 15 ounce 425 g black beans, drained (reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the juice) and rinsed well
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large Portobello mushroom cap – gills removed and sliced thin
- 1 shallot peeled and sliced thin
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup 10 g flat leaf parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon 2 g dried Italian seasoning
- ½ cup 61 g breadcrumbs (use gluten free if desired)
- ½ cup 86 g cornmeal
- 2 teaspoon 6 g tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
- Black pepper to taste
- FOR THE SPAGHETTI
- 1 1 lb 454 g box of spaghetti
- 2 tablespoon 30 g sea salt
Instructions
- FOR THE MARINARA
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the tomato, wine, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes and salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add the basil and parsley when you add the bean balls and simmer for 15 more minutes.
- FOR THE BEAN BALLS
- Drain (reserve the juice) and rinse the beans and put them in the food processor.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushroom slices and cook until browned and soft, approximately 10 minutes. Flip occasionally. When the mushrooms are soft, add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften and brown, approximately 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Transfer the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic to the food processor with the beans. Add the reserved juice, parsley, Italian seasoning, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, tapioca starch, salt, and pepper to the food processor and process until it begins to turn into a ball. It should be smooth and sticky.
- Carefully remove the blade from the food processor and scoop out ¼ cup (54 g) of batter and form into a ball. Repeat until you’ve used all of the bean batter (10-12 balls).
- Heat the tbsp. (15 ml) of oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Spread the oil evenly throughout the pan. When the oil is hot, add the bean balls and cook until the side facing down in the pan is browned. Turn and brown each side. This will take approximately 5 minutes per side. When the bean balls are browned on each side add them to the marinara (with the basil and parsley from the marinara ingredients) and roll them in the sauce to coat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- For the Spaghetti
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling add the salt and cook the spaghetti according to the instructions. Drain and top with the marinara and bean balls.
Notes
Nutrition
Susan Wright says
glad to
Susan Wright says
I bakes mine like you suggested and they turned out great thank you
Linda Meyer says
Hi Susan! This is great to hear. Thank you for taking the time to let us know. 🙂
Claire Prendergast says
Could the balls be baked rather than fried? I have an aversion to frying foods, mainly because I'm not great at it!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Claire! I haven't baked them so I don't know how they'd turn out. I'd spray them with a thin coat of olive oil, just so they get crispy on the outside, and bake them for 30 minutes or more at 375 degrees. Test the center of one at 30 minutes to see if they're done in the middle. Let me know if you try this and how they turn out.
Amy Estes says
I made these and my family could not believe how good they were! Great recipe!! I will be making these again.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Amy! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know how much you and your family enjoyed our "meatball" recipe. We really appreciate it and are so happy you liked them. 🙂
Emmi says
Hi!
I use for my "no meat" balls potato starch 😉 But I'd like to test tapioka! Thank you for this inspiration!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Emmi! Thank you, and you're welcome! 🙂 Potato starch or tapioca starch should work the same.
Fred says
What is the macro breakdown?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Fred! I have no idea. I eat a well balanced whole foods diet and I don't really worry about those things, and I don't use nutrition or macro calculators for my recipes because they're not 100% accurate and I don't want to mislead my readers. Your'e welcome to look up a macro nutrient calculator on line and figure it out based on the amount of the recipe that you consume.