This recipe is one of those recipes I really want you to make. Vegan white bean and almond meatballs, served in a wonderful and creamy pumpkin curry sauce. It’s both delicious and nutritious main dish, that you just can’t stop eating. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free and generally contains real, natural ingredients, no substitutes for anything. The preparation is simple, but contains several steps, so let’s get started.

What binds the meatballs together is flaxseed. In addition to all the health benefits of flaxseed (fiber, omega 3 and the list goes on), it functions in this recipe just like eggs. Make sure you buy it from trusted stores since flaxseed is sensitive to heat and humidity. Before using flaxseed, it’s necessary to grind it. The easiest way is by using a coffee/spice grinder. You can buy ground flaxseeds if it’s more convenient. In any case, store it in the freezer, that’s what I do. Add a little water to the ground seeds – 2.5-3 tablespoons of water to 1 tablespoon of flaxseed. Mix and let it sit for 10 minutes. During this time the mixture will become slightly gelatinous.

How to make vegan white bean and almonds meatballs?

Start with cooking the potatoes. Peel and cook a medium size potato (about 9 oz/ 250 gr) until soft. You can either cook it in boiling water, in the oven or in the microwave. Strain excess water if any and let it cool. Then, mash the potatoes with a fork to obtain mashed potatoes with a relatively coarse texture.

For preparing the vegan white bean meatballs use a food processor. Place in the food processor cooked white beans, ground almonds, onion, cilantro, ground coriander seeds, salt and black pepper. Add also the flaxseed mixture. Process until a uniform mixture is obtained. If necessary, stop and scrape the mixture from the sides when needed.

Transfer the vegan meatballs mixture to a large bowl. Add the mashed potatoes (the potatoes shouldn’t go in the food processor), and mix well.

Use your very clean hands, preferably a bit wet either by water or olive oil, and form about 20 meatballs, each approximately 4-cm/ 1-inch diameter. Place the vegan meatballs on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly goldened. Allow the meatballs to cool completely before moving them.

While the meatballs are in the oven start preparing the sauce.

Preparing the curry sauce –

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large deep sauté pan. Add chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring. Then add chopped celery, cubed pumpkin, sliced carrot and season with finely grated ginger, chopped garlic, curry powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook while stirring for another 5 minutes. Finally add 2 cups of liquid – I added 1.5 cup of water and half a cup of coconut milk. You can use either more or less coconut milk depending on how creamier you want the curry to be, as long as you maintain a proportion of about 2 cups of liquids in total. Cover the pan with a lid, bring to a boil and cook on a medium heat for 20-25 minutes, until the pumpkin softens completely.

After cooking the curry sauce I like to mash it a bit, possibly with a potato masher. That will get you a thick and creamy sauce without adding additional cream or flour.

Add the vegan white bean meatballs to the sauce just a few minutes before serving. If you prepare it in advance – keep the meatballs and the sauce separate. When needed, heat the curry sauce and then add the vegan meatballs to it. Let the meatballs cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes on low heat, lid on. Don’t play or move the meatballs around too much, they are indeed firm, but over-mixing it could damage it. Garnish with chopped cilantro on top, and if you want, also chopped chili. Serve with quinoa or rice.

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Vegan White Bean and Almonds Meatballs

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Total Time1 45

Course: Main Course

serves: 20 meatballs

Ingredients:

For the meatballs –

1 cup cooked white beans
1 cup ground almonds (100 gr/ 3.5 oz)
1 medium size potato (250 gr/ 9 oz), cooked
1 medium size onion, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water, see notes
1 cup cilantro, leaves and chopped soft stems only
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
bit of olive oil for forming the meatballs

For the curry sauce –

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
500 gr/ 1.1 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large carrot, sliced into rings
2 celery branches, chopped
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger root
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½1 cup water
½ cup coconut milk, see notes
handful of chopped cilantro for serving

Instructions:

Peel the potato, cut into cubes and cook until soft. You can either cook it in boiling water, in the oven or in the microwave. After that, drain any excess water, if any, and allow to cool slightly. Using a fork or potato masher, mash the potato coarsely. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Prepare an oven tray lined with baking paper or silicone roasting mat.
Place the ground flaxseed in a small bowl. Add 2.5-3 tablespoons of water and mix. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes before using.
In a food processor, place cooked white beans, ground almonds, onion, coarsely chopped coriander and the spices – ground coriander seeds, salt and pepper. Add in the flaxseed mixture and process until a smooth texture is obtained. If necessary, occasionally stop the food processor and scrape the mixture from the sides.
Transfer the bean mixture to a mixing bow. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
Use your very clean hands, preferably greased with some olive oil, and form from the mixture about 20 meatballs, each 4-cm/1-inch diameter. Place the vegan meatballs on the sheet pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the meatballs are slightly golden. Allow the meatballs to cool completely before removing them from the pan, otherwise they could fall apart.
While the meatballs are in the oven – prepare the curry sauce. In a deep sauté pan heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, except for the liquids – pumpkin cubes, carrot rings, chopped celery, finely grated ginger, chopped garlic cloves, curry powder, nutmeg powder, salt and black pepper. Sautee for another 5 minutes while stirring.
Add the liquids – water and coconut milk, mix and cover the pan with a lid. Bring to a boil and then cook with the lid closed on a medium heat until the pumpkin softens, about 20-25 minutes.
After the curry sauce is cooked completely, mash it coarsy using a potato masher or a fork, to obtain a thicker texture. Notice there is no need to reach a smooth texture.
Add the vegan meatballs to the sauce just before serving time. If cooking ahead – keep the sauce and the meatballs separately and combine it when wanted. Add the meatballs to the hot curry, cover and cook on a low heat for 5-7 minutes. Avoid mixing and moving the meatballs too much in the pan.
Serve with lots of chopped cilantro on top. You can add chopped chili pepper if you like. Serve with rice or quinoa. Enjoy!

Notes:

You can use either cooked white beans out of can/jar or frozen (I use frozen(. When using frozen bean, please allow 10-15 for defrosting outside the freezer before using it.
You can either buy whole flaxseed or ground flaxseed. If you’re using whole flaxseed – be sure to ground it before use, either by using a coffee grinder or blender.
It’s possible to replace the pumpkin with sweet potato or use only carrots
If desired a creamier sauce you can adjust the amount of coconut milk and add some more, as long as you maintain a total amount of 2 cups of liquid.

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