We use a combination of walnuts and beans to create our delicious protein-packed vegan meatballs, which we fry until crispy and serve on top of a super creamy orzo pasta.
This dish is surprisingly simple with only a few components and we use ingredients you should be able to find at your local supermarket.
Notes:
If you prefer, you can bake the meatballs instead. We recommend brushing with oil, then baking at 180°C fan (400°F) for 20 minutes.
We use borlotti beans, which are creamy and pale in colour. But pretty much any tinned beans will do, such as black beans, butter beans and red kidney beans.
We use regular soy sauce, which is also sold as light soy sauce. It’s saltier compared to dark soy sauce so generally you don’t need to add as much salt when you season the components in this dish.
Breadcrumbs give the meatballs more structure. We use regular white breadcrumbs from our local supermarket, but you can also use panko and golden breadcrumbs.
You should be able to find vegan cream cheese in most large supermarkets. If you can’t find it – or you’d prefer not to use it – you can leave it out completely. Or alternatively you could add a few tablespoons of plant-based milk to give the pasta a more creamy texture.
Things to know:
This dish contains 28g of protein per serving, which means it’s a great way to pack lots of protein into your diet!
We suggest tasting the components as you go and adjusting the amount of salt to your liking. The soy sauce and vegetable stock are both salty ingredients, so you’ll want to work with them to determine the right amount of seasoning for the dish. Always trust your palette.
We advise using a non-stick pan when you fry the meatballs, otherwise they might stick to the pan.
When you pulse the ingredients in the food processor, it’s important not to over-process the mixture – otherwise the balls might become too soft and they are more likely to break down when they’re cooked. You want to pulse the mixture until most of the beans have broken down, but a few whole ones remain.
If you prefer, you can shape the meatballs a day in advance and store them in an air-tight container in the fridge, then cook them the next day.
2x 400gtins of borlotti beans, drained + rinsed (see notes)
1lemon, zest only
2sprigs ofrosemary, leaves picked
100gdried apricots
2tbspsoy sauce, see notes
salt + pepper
80gbreadcrumbs
Method
Start with the meatballs. Add a splash of olive oil to a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 8 minutes or until it begins to brown. Next add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until both the onion and garlic are brown and caramelised.
Add the onion and garlic to a food processor, followed by the walnuts, beans, lemon zest, rosemary leaves, apricots, soy sauce, a pinch of salt and a large pinch of pepper. Keep pulsing until the mixture has mostly broken down. Note: it's really important to avoid over processing the mixture, otherwise the balls will be too soft and mushy. The mixture should be crumbly with a small pieces of walnuts, apricots and beans still visible.
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, then use your hands to combine the mixture with the breadcrumbs. If the mixture feels too dry, add a drizzle of oil to help bind the ingredients, then take a small handful of the mixture and use the palms of your hands to roll it into a ball. Repeat until you have 16 evenly-sized balls.
Add another splash of olive oil to the pan you used earlier. Next add the balls and – on a medium heat – cook them for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are brown and crispy all over. See notes if you prefer to bake the balls instead.
Meanwhile add the stock to a large saucepan, quickly bring it to a boil, then add the orzo. Gently boil the orzo for 10-12 minutes or until al dente, stirring regularly to prevent the orzo sticking to the bottom of the pan. Note: add extra hot water from a kettle, if necessary.
When the orzo is cooked, reduce the heat to low and stir in the nutritional yeast, cream cheese, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Cook for a minute, then remove the pasta from the heat.
Next, finely chop the basil, then combine it in a bowl with a few glugs of olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper.
To serve, add the creamy orzo to bowls, then top with the meatballs and basil oil. Enjoy!
I made these the other night, but while the mixture smelled great, it was just incredibly dry and the balls would fall apart when frying — I even added a bit more soy sauce as I was shaping them into balls but they still came out too dry. Would you recommend adding some vegetable stock to the mixture, or oil, when shaping them? I did use dried beans that I had to rehydrate, so that could have contributed, but I’m disappointed these just fell apart. The orzo was absolutely delicious though!
Hey CJ. Sorry to hear the balls were too dry for you. This can depend on lots of things, including how much oil you used to cook the onion and garlic, how soft the apricots are and how wet the beans are after rinsing them. We would recommend adding a splash of olive oil to the mixture if it feels too dry, and adjusting the amount as you go. Thanks!
AMAZING! Flavor combo in the meatball is off the charts delicious and pairing it with the creaminess of the orzo is just phenomenal. Well done Roxy and Ben. And thanks for sharing your recipes with the world❤️
24 Comments
Do you have nutritional data for the recipe? Looks delish!
We don’t currently have the nutritional info on our website, but you can access nutritional info for all our recipes on our app.
CAN I MAKE THE MEATBALLS IN ADVANCE AND FREEZE THEM OR KEEP THEM IN THE FRIDGE?
Yes absolutely!
This was fantastic! Thank you!
Thank you!
This was SO good! Will become a regular recipe in our household!
Yay thank you!
Hi- I don’t like to fry can these be baked?
I would also love to know that and at what temperature and how long…
Yes absolutely! We recommend brushing with oil, then baking at 180C fan (400F) for 20 minutes.
I would also love to know that and at what temperature and how long…
We recommend brushing with oil, then baking at 180C fan (400F) for 20 minutes.
I made these the other night, but while the mixture smelled great, it was just incredibly dry and the balls would fall apart when frying — I even added a bit more soy sauce as I was shaping them into balls but they still came out too dry. Would you recommend adding some vegetable stock to the mixture, or oil, when shaping them? I did use dried beans that I had to rehydrate, so that could have contributed, but I’m disappointed these just fell apart. The orzo was absolutely delicious though!
Mine were dry too! I used canned beans and they still were dry, but eating with a bite of the orzo helps distract from that!
Hey CJ. Sorry to hear the balls were too dry for you. This can depend on lots of things, including how much oil you used to cook the onion and garlic, how soft the apricots are and how wet the beans are after rinsing them. We would recommend adding a splash of olive oil to the mixture if it feels too dry, and adjusting the amount as you go. Thanks!
Looks fantastic! I always struggle to have a good texture into those self made meatballs or burgers. I will definitely try your variant.
P. S. I think this will be also awesome with your potatos: https://www.wearesovegan.com/harissa-glazed-roast-potatoes/
Is there a substitute for the walnuts?
Most other nuts would work, such almonds or cashews.
yummy i just made these with red lentils, dried rosemary as i didnt have fresh on hand, and omitted the breadcrumbs and it was DELISH!
Yum!
AMAZING! Flavor combo in the meatball is off the charts delicious and pairing it with the creaminess of the orzo is just phenomenal. Well done Roxy and Ben. And thanks for sharing your recipes with the world❤️
Yay thank you!
I tried these last night and they were amazing! But I wasn’t too fond of the soft texture of the meatballs
Will this recipe still work if I replaced the beans with vegan mince to give it some more firmness?