Vegan Quinoa Balls | Fake Meat Balls

Whether you have them as a snack, add them to your pasta, on top of your lentil dhal or into your lunch box: these quinoa balls can be enjoyed hot or cold and are always a winner. Very often I cook a big portion of quinoa and keep leftovers in the fridge. These leftovers are perfect to use for the quinoa balls!

Quinoa is available in different types. In this recipe I use the red quinoa but of course you can also use the white quinoa instead. It works just as good! Quinoa is an ancient grain is naturally glutenfree. Furthermore it contains quite a lot of protein (compared to other grains). I could list endless facts about quinoa and how beneficial it is for your health but if you’re interested in details just give Google a go.

Of course you can use quinoa for many more dishes. I personally like to add it into my vegetable sti-frys, to curries of any kind or to a good Italian tomato sauce. Cooked in a big batch you can easily store the leftover quinoa in the fridge for a few days and save some time. You can also prepare quinoa sweet e.g. in a sweet quinoa bake or as quinoa porridge.

One could also see these little balls as fake meat balls. I have to say though that they taste different and have a slightly different texture, though. However, the combination of quinoa and kidney beans results in an amazing consistency. Through baking in the oven you won’t need any additional fat for frying them. Nevertheless you could use some coconut oil to fry them in the pan instead. This will give them a little more crunch on the outside.

These quinoa balls are…

• perfect as finger food
• ideal to serve with any savory dish you desire
• good for using up leftovers
• simply delicious

If you have any questions or anything you want to mention or if you tried the recipe feel free to leave a comment down below! In case you’re posting a recreation on instagram make sure to tag me with @sheloveseating so I don’t miss your post 🙂

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Vegan Quinoa Balls

Servings 18 balls

Author Tanith Schmelzeisen

Ingredients

• 200 g cooked quinoa
• 1 can kidney beans
• 55 g rolled oats
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tbs almond butter or tahin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170°C.
• In a blender combine all ingredients expect the quinoa and 30g of the oats. Blend until well combined. 
• In a bowl mix the bean puree, the cooked quinoa and the oats. If necessary use your hands.
• Form little balls with your hands and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (make approx. 18). 
• Put the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Serve freshly baked or let them cool down and store them in the fridge.