Sticky Sesame Vegan Meatballs (with Peanuts + Lentils)
Author: Maria Koutsogiannis
These sticky sesame vegan meatballs are easy, delicious and the perfect recipe for lunch and dinner. You can also roll smaller meatballs and serve them as an appetizer.
Yield: 12-14 meatballs
For the Vegan Meatballs:
| 2 | tablespoon olive oil |
| 1 | small white onion, finely chopped |
| 4 | garlic cloves, finely chopped |
| 1 | teaspoon sea salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon black pepper |
| 1/2 | cup chickpeas, rice or lentils |
| 1/2 | cup panko |
| 1 | cup unsalted peanuts, pulsed in a food processor until a ground-meat-like consistency is achieved (approximately 15 seconds) |
For the Sauce:
| 2 | tablespoon sesame oil (you can also use spicy sesame oil) |
| 1/4 | cup soy sauce |
| Juice of 2 large oranges (around 1/2 cup orange juice) | |
| 3 | tablespoon hoisin sauce |
| 4 | tablespoon honey or maple syrup |
| 3 | tablespoon rice wine vinegar |
| 1 | teaspoon red pepper chili flakes |
Serve With:
2 cups cooked white rice
sesame seeds, as desired
finely chopped green onion, as desired
Instructions:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients, stir until well combined and set aside.
In a food processor, process the peanuts until a ground-meat-like consistency is achieved. Set aside.
In a medium pot, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and gently cook onions and garlic on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stirring frequently to prevent burning.
To the pot, add salt and pepper. Stir until all the onions and garlic are coated with the seasoning. Cook down the onions for 5 minutes before adding the lentils, chickpeas or rice to the pot.
Remove the lentil mixture from the pot and gently pulse in the same food processor (you can also use a hand blender) until a crumble develops.
Transfer the lentil mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl. To the bowl, add the peanuts and remaining ingredients. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove “meat” from the refrigerator and form “meatballs.” I used a 1 1/2 tbsp. ice cream scoop to measure the size. I then rolled them and placed them on the baking sheet. Cook for 20-25 minutes total, flipping and turning at least twice to avoid any burning. After 10 minutes, remove the “meatballs” and lightly coat with 1/4 of the sauce. Just before the balls are completely cooked, add another 1/4 of the sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve with white rice, sesame seeds, green onions, peanuts and as much sauce as desired.
Nutrition:
Serving Size: 14
Calories: 131
Sugar: 8.3g
Sodium: 357.3mg
Fat: 6.9g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Unsaturated Fat: 1.7g
Trans Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 15.2g
Fiber: 1.2g
Protein: 3.2g