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Cauliflower Quinoa Meatless Balls

Nicole Kearsley

Enjoy a meatball meal and whip up these Quick and Easy Cauliflower Quinoa Meatless Balls. With only a few and simple ingredients, they're kind of a no-brainer!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Vegan
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Cauliflower Rice
  • 1 cup Cooked Quinoa cold
  • 1 cup Fresh Cilantro or Parsley chopped
  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 2 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed
  • 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon  Allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoon Vegetable Oil to pan fry the meatballs
  • 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Medium Onion chopped
  • 2 Carrots chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic sliced
  • 1 inch Fresh Ginger Root grated (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional
  • 1 cup Canned Coconut Milk
  • 1 cup Vegetable Broth or water
  • 1 Lime zest
  • 1/2 Lime juice
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

  • Combine ground flax seeds with 6 Tbsp water and 2 tsp olive oil. Set aside for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine remaining meatball ingredients (except the vegetable oil for pan-frying) in a large bowl. Mix in flaxseed & oil mixture and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
  • In the meantime, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onions and carrots(optional) cook over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes or until translucent.
  • Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes. Add turmeric, salt, black, and Aleppo pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Add coconut milk, lime juice, and vegetable broth and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes
    Add chopped cilantro and lime zest, remove from heat and set aside
  • Prepare the meatballs, using 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture at a time, form about 22 meatballs. Heat oil in a skillet and cook over medium heat, 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside.
  • Once meatballs are browned, place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes (if the sauce has thickened too much, you can add a little water to get the desired consistency)

Notes

MAKE IT A MAIN COURSE: Add carrots and lime zest to the sauce then served the meatless balls over Basmati rice.
*COOKING TIP: I recommend putting the cauliflower through the food processor first and THEN slowly adding in the quinoa. I tried to throw both in at the same time and it took for-e-ver. Just a suggestion! 
**MEATBALLS: Turn the meatballs slowly and gently, as they may start to fall apart if you turn them too quickly. They shouldn't though, as long as you're careful.
***TOO MUCH MOIST?: If mixture seems to moist and everything doesn't seem to be holding together very well, add an extra tablespoon of flour.
****CAULIFLOWER RICE: You can male your own cauliflower rice by chopping cauliflower in a food processor.
*****QUINOA: Make sure quinoa is cool before making the meatless cauliflower meatballs.
******SERVING: This recipe yields 8 grams of protein for each serving.
*******CREDIT: Recipe adapted from May I Have That Recipe?