Vegan Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner

I get asked a lot how can someone make the switch to eating a completely whole food plant based diet. My answer almost every time is to keep the meals as simple as possible and always have the staples (rice, beans, sweet potatoes, etc) cooked and ready to go in the fridge. If you can do those two things, you are well on your way to being able to thrive on a plant based diet. Some other tips I give are to make and freeze big batches of bean burgers and bean balls, these combined with a freezer full of frozen veggies mean that you are never more than 10-20 minutes away from a delicious meal. And that leads into todays recipe, my easy vegan spaghetti and meatball dinner. If you have pre made your Italian bean balls, then all you will really need to do for this recipe is mix the marinara sauce ingredients and cook your pasta. I will mention that you can always use another marinara sauce recipe or store bought, and definitely go crazy and use whatever pasta type you would like.

If you go ahead and try this recipe, let me know what you think and share a picture on my Facebook page of how it turned out!

Here's what you need! (Serves 2)

• 6 Italian bean balls (fresh or frozen)

• 8 oz pasta

• 12 oz frozen broccoli

Sauce

• 1 cup water

• 6 oz tomato paste

• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar

• 1 tbs nutritional yeast

• 2 tsp garlic

• 1 tsp onion

• 1 tsp red pepper flake

• 1/4 tsp oregano

• 1/4 tsp thyme

• 1/4 tsp basil

Directions:

1. Place the broccoli and Italian bean balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment

2. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400 F

3. Halfway through the bake turn the bean balls and mix the broccoli

4. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the pasta

5. Follow package directions for al dente pasta

6. Add the remaining ingredients into a stock pot on the stove and mix the sauce together evenly

7. Cook the marinara on low to medium heat for 10 minutes, then turn to low heat until the rest of the meal's components are ready

8. Take the bean balls and broccoli out of the oven

9. Drain your cooked pasta

10. In a bowl add the cooked pasta, broccoli, a few bean balls and top with your marinara sauce

Enjoy!

- Plant Based Gabriel