Italian Bean Balls (Vegan, WFPB)

Growing up one of my dads favorite things to do when we went out to eat was see how many meat balls he could get the waiter to load up onto his bowl of spaghetti. And if you happen to know the captain, you would be correct in guessing that he was always quite successful at this task. And following right in his footsteps I was always one to enjoy the meatball mania. So when I went plant based I thought that I would be stuck in the foreverness of plain spaghetti and sauce, unless I wanted to go for one of the oil filled and heavily processed faux meat balls that were available. But I recently decided to come up with a healthy vegan and plant based meat ball alternative. And the Italian bean ball was born. I love making this recipe for our non-veg friends who might just be expecting some pasta and sauce when we have them over for an Italian themed dinner. In this recipe I used my easy InstantPot marinara sauce, but any pasta sauce will work.

Here's what you will need!

• 4 cups of cooked black beans (drained & rinsed)

• 1 cup of cooked brown rice

• 1 cup of raw quick cooking oats

• 1/4 cup of oat flour (GF)

• 1/4 cup marinara sauce

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• Food Processor (Dough Blades) or large mixing bowl

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to the food processor or into a large bowl

2. Mix by hand or with the food processor on low-medium speed for 1-2 minutes (stopping and scraping down the sides if needed)

3. Form the mixture into golf ball sized bean balls

4. Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes on a silicon mat or a baking sheet covered with parchment paper

Enjoy!

- Plant Based Gabriel