Some times a girl just wants some vegan chickpea meatballs! Meatballs had been on my mind for quite some time and so when I found out that a couple of friends were coming over for dinner, it became a vegan chickpea meatballs night! I love, LOVE chickpeas. Not only are they incredibly delicious, but they are so versatile – you can use them for appetizers (hummus) main meals (chickpea meatballs, chickpea curry, chickpea wraps, etc.) and even in desserts (chickpea brownies are a thing)!
I served these meatballs with some rice noodles (I could have easily made this meal grain-free by using squash or lentil noodles) and my salted vegan caramel cheesecake for dessert.



- 1 tbsp chia + 3 tbsp water
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups cooked (or canned) chickpeas
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- salt, to taste (I put about 1 tsp)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- *1 cup breadcrumbs
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Combine the chia with the water and set aside. Try to use ground chia but if not whole chia seeds will also work.
- Add the onions and garlic into a food processor and mix well.
- In a large sized bowl, add the cooked or canned chickpeas, basil, oregano, chilli, pepper, salt, chia mixture, onion mixture, baking powder and lemon.
- Mash by hand. You don't want to use a food processor because it will thin it out too much. You want it thick enough where you can form the mixture into balls.
- Add the bread crumbs and mix again.
- From into balls and place on a greased pan.
- Bake for about 30 minutes (flipping mid way through).
- Add on top of your choice of spaghetti and add some additional toppings if you wish - (vegan) cheese, chilli flakes, etc.
- Enjoy!
- Use gluten free breadcrumbs if you have a gluten intolerance/allergy.