White Bean Meatballs with Walnuts and Oats

On this food and cooking journey, I recently enrolled in a plant-based cooking class in conjunction with Forks Over Knives and the Rouxbe Cooking School.  It was a great opportunity to learn new techniques and get better at some basics in the kitchen, like knife skills.  Who doesn’t have a love/hate relationship with their knives!

One of the lessons was to use one bean two different ways.  I created a Bechamel sauce with white beans and silken tofu (that may be coming to this blog soon) and also a bean meatball.

The meatball has a softer center so the texture is different than a regular meatball. I experimented by using crushed oats and walnuts to give it some  substance.

When you mix the beans with the oats and walnuts you get a dough-like consistency.  For the liquid, I used the reserved juice (aquafaba) from the canned beans to replace the egg.  It works perfectly. Then it’s just your average meatball mix-ins (except for the meat of course).

Unlike falafel that uses chick peas and is traditionally fried, these are baked and are a nice twist on a traditional meatball with familiar seasonings such as garlic, onion and parsley.

Recipe – Serves 2 to 3

1 15 oz can of cannelini beans, drained, with reserved liquid

1/4 cup of old fashioned oats

1/2 cup of walnuts

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon of chopped basil

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Process oats and walnuts in food processor until they are powder like.  Add beans and process until it is mixed without any beans and resembles dough.

Add remaining ingredients.  Add about two tablespoons of the reserved bean liquid (aquafaba) to moisten the mixture.  Stir until combined.  Roll into about 10 medium balls and place on nonstick baking sheet.  Spray each ball with oil or nonstick spray.  Bake for 15 minutes.