Black Bean & Quinoa Balls w/ Spiralized Zucchini

Name: Black Bean & Quinoa Balls w/ Spiralized Zucchini
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 4 zucchinis or 350 g/12 oz pasta; 1/2 cup of quinoa; 1 can of black beans; 1/4 cup of sesame seeds; 1/4 cup of oat flour or bread crumbs; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1/2 tbsp Sriracha; 2 tbsp nutritional yeast; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1,5 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (oregano, sage, rosemary, basil…); salt, pepper; 1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes; 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 clove of garlic; 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts; 2 tbsp nutritional yeast; handful of fresh basil; 1 tsp oregano; salt, pepper; fresh basil; 1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

August 9, 2017 59 Comments

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Crispy vegan Black Bean and Quinoa Balls with spiralized zucchini and a delicious tomato sauce.

Woohoo, summer comfort food alert! This recipe is quick, easy, healthy, gluten-free and oil-free, just what you need for a perfect summer weeknight dinner. These mini balls go well with pasta or spiralized zucchini (and this sun-dried tomato pesto), and they are great simply as a snack with your favorite dip.

Looking for a super easy recipe, that’s light and healthy, yet totally delicious? Black Bean & Quinoa Balls are just what you are looking for! They are…

vegan
easy to prepare
full of protein
oil-free
gluten-free
crispy
very customizable
versatile

Yes, these quinoa balls are crispy, hearty, and full of flavor. Plus they are really simple to make, requiring only a few ingredients.

You can bake these babies in the oven, fry them in a pan with a little bit of oil, or go all in and deep fry them. Either way they are superb and they won’t fall apart.

How to make Black Bean & Quinoa Balls

Making these quinoa balls is really simple.

Using a fork or a potato masher, you mash black beans in a large bowl.

Then add cooked quinoa, oat flour or breadcrumbs, tomato paste, hot sauce, and all the flavoring you like.

Now you mix everything well, until the mixture holds nicely together. If it’s too dry, add a tiny bit more tomato paste. If the mix is too wet, simply place in the fridge for an hour, so oat flour or bread crumbs can soak up the extra liquid.

Now shape the balls. And then bake them until crispy. Or fry them until golden.

That’s it. Pretty simple.

How to serve these quinoa balls…

I really like these quinoa balls with sun-dried tomato sauce and pasta or zucchini, it’s like a classic comfort food (spaghetti and meat balls) made a bit lighter. Pesto, cheese sauce, or a store-bought marinara are delicious too.

But they are also great with salad, in sandwiches, or just stuffed into a pita like falafel balls.

These quinoa balls can be served as a snack as well. Hummus, ketchup, sour cream, white bean dip, Skordalia, tahini yogurt, or cream cheese.

If you made too much…

You can’t eat all the balls at once? Great news! The leftovers are also delicious cold, so you can take them with you the next day for lunch.

Black Bean & Quinoa Balls also freeze well, so you can put the leftovers in an air-tight container and freeze up to 3 months.

When ready to eat again, simply bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until warm again.

Or dump them into hot oil straight out of the freezer, and deep-fry until golden brown.

CUSTOMIZE IT THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!

As most of my recipes, these Black Bean & Quinoa Balls are also perfectly customizable to your liking.

You can use kidney beans, navy beans or chickpeas instead of black beans (though I have to say they are the best with black beans).
Oat flour, regular, gluten-free, or panko breadcrumbs all work here.
You can spice these balls however you like with fresh or dry herbs. Basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives, or a mix of these are always great both fresh or dry.
Play around with spicing. Try cumin, coriander, curry, caraway, fennel, turmeric, chili, saffron, cayenne pepper, sumac, or nutmeg. Or one of your favorite spice blends. I like ras el hanout, herbs de Provence, jerk or cajun seasoning.
Use ketchup or barbecue sauce instead of the tomato puree for extra flavor. Or add a little soy sauce, tamari, or liquid smoke.
Black Bean & Quinoa Balls can be baked in the oven, but if you prefer you can also fry them in a non-stick pan (without oil), or even deep-fry them.

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