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.

Looking for more meat free recipes?

• Quinoa salad with sweet potatoes and carrots
• Vegan sweet potato shepherd’s pie
• Farro salad with cauliflower, fennel and tahini dressing
• Vegan quinoa and beet patties

Print Recipe

Vegan White Bean and Almonds Meatballs

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

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.

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out!
comment below or share it on instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Vegan White Bean and Almonds Meatballs הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

The weather forecast at the beginning of the week left me no choice but to declare it’s going to be soup week. I am a huge fan of soups, and can eat soups every day, all day. In a week like this I can easily make 4 XL pots of soup. When the weather outside is as stormy as it is now, and the desire to curl up appears, I automatically think what can be brewed into a pot of comforting soup.

This potato and white bean soup sat in my mind for a while. I wanted some kind of a creamy and light shaded soup but with earthy, non-dairy flavors. The best thing about soups is that you can put all kinds of ingredients in one pot and mix them so that you get exactly the balance of flavors you feel like at that moment.

So I thought and imagined it in my head, and perfected it on the stove and it turned out to be one of the best soups I had in a while. Vegan potato and white bean soup, cooked with rosemary, garlic, hot chili flakes and olive oil. I Finished the soup with a little finely chopped parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Amazing how so few ingredients can produce such a depth of flavors.

One extra note about cooking time. The cooking time is mainly determined by the white bean cooking time. The first rule is not to add any salt while cooking the beans – only at the end. The other element is the freshness of the dried beans (how old they are). The older the beans are – the longer it will take for them to soften. The last thing has to be the soaking time. The longer you’ll soak the beans – the faster it’ll be cooked. Therefore, always buy beans from a place you trust, don’t shorten the soaking time, and don’t add salt until the beans are soft.

Looking to be inspire with more delicious soups?

• White corn and miso soup with chili oil
• Green lentil and mushroom soup
• Red lentil and butternut squash soup with spicy coriander pesto

Print Recipe

Vegan Potato and white bean soup

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

beans soaking time8 hours hrs

Total Time1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Course: Soup

serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white bean, soaked in water for at least 8 hours – that is 1 cup of dried beans before soaking
• 2 large potatoes or 4 medium potatoes, coarsely sliced into medium-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 spring of rosemary
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced ​​(not chopped nor crushed)
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups water, plus more if needed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

• Soak the beans for at least 8 hours. Make sure to replace the soaking water at least once during this time
• Wash the beans, drain it and place it in a large pot. Add olive oil, rosemary, sliced ​​garlic, hot chili flakes, black pepper and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat, with the pot partially covered, for 45 minutes until the beans begin to soften. Make sure not to add salt at this time, as salt will delay the softening of the beans. See also notes regarding bean cooking times.
• Add coarsely sliced ​​potatoes to the pot and cook for another 40 minutes, until the beans and potatoes are very soft. If necessary – add more water while cooking.
• Remove the rosemary branch (s), which have shed their leaves. Add salt, stir and cook together for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add finely chopped parsley and fresh lemon juice. Mix well, taste and adjust flavors if necessary. Serve hot of course.

Notes:

• Bean cooking time depends on a number of ingredients and can vary. The fresher the dried beans, that is – the less time spent in the store – the shorter the cooking time. Also, the longer the soaking time of the beans – the shorter the cooking time. In any case, do not add salt while cooking the beans, and this is true for almost all types of legumes, but only at the end.
• Frozen white beans – can be used, although the cooking time will be significantly shortened and with it the flavors that will develop. If you use frozen beans then you should cook it together with the potatoes from the beginning for a time of about 45 minutes. In any case, add salt only at the end of cooking.

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out!
comment below or share it on instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Vegan Potato and White Bean Soup הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.