INGREDIENTS:
12 oz. pasta or 2 spaghetti squash
1 jar (25 oz.) marinara sauce (or pasta sauce of choice)
Bean Balls
1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water, for water saute
8 oz. mushrooms (about 8 oz), sliced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup walnuts or sunflower seeds, optional
1 can (15 oz) beans (cannellini, chickpeas, kidney or black beans), drained and rinsed
1 cup of oats (old fashioned or quick oats)
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings (sub with dried oregano, basil, thyme or a mixture of these)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
sea salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Cut spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds. Rub olive oil on the open faces and place face down on a cookie sheet in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until fork tender. While you're baking your spaghetti squash, start the meatless meatballs:
Saute: In a skillet or pan, heat oil or water over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic, add saute for 5 minutes, adding the herbs during the last minute. Let cool for a few minutes.
Food processor: If using the nuts/seeds, place in food processor first and pulse until coarsely ground, and continue. Also, if using old fashioned oats place them in the with the nuts to chop them up a bit. Add the beans, sauteed veggies, oats. Pulse until just combined (don’t overmix or it’ll turn into a paste). Taste for seasoning adding anything extra you may like. I added in some fresh chopped basil I had on hand.
Shape vegan meatballs: Roll mixture into balls, about 1 1/2 – 2 inches, and place on a baking sheet. I was able to get 10 jumbo sized bean balls. You can easily make smaller balls, yielding 16 – 20.
Cook in 1 of 2 ways:
Bake: Place balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone mat. Put in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 400 degrees F. If roasting spaghetti squash, add in while the squash is cooking. Remove both when time is up and let cool.
Stovetop: In a skillet or shallow pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat, add meatballs and cook for 15 – 20 minutes, turning often to brown all sides.
Add the pasta sauce and meatballs together, cook over low for 10 minutes, or until sauce is warmed through.
Scrape flesh out of the spaghetti squash with a fork to get desired texture.
Pour the sauce & meatballs over your spaghetti squash while hot. Enjoy!
