These chickpea meatballs are seriously delicious! They are loaded with flavor and so easy to make. Serve them plain or with marinara sauce for a satisfying meal.
Chickpeas are awesome. They’re so versatile too. I mean we’ve made vegan tuna from chickpeas. Need I even say more. That’s how versatile these little guys are.
So it’s no surprise really that they also work wonderfully in some vegan meatballs. These chickpea meatballs are SO tasty.
You definitely can’t have just one. This is a ‘must eat them all’ sort of scenario. They’re delicious served on their own or smothered in marinara sauce and served with spaghetti for a fabulous vegan spaghetti and meatballs dinner.
You can bake them or you can fry them (we baked them). Either way they’re amazing.
And if you love making your own homemade meatballs then check out our recipe for vegan meatballs made with seitan.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- Chickpeas – we use canned chickpeas in this recipe for the sake of simplicity. If you have cooked chickpeas on hand then you can use 1 and ½ cups.
- Nutritional yeast – this gives these meatballs a slightly cheesy flavor which we found delicious! But if you’re not a fan of nutritional yeast you can leave it out.
- Breadcrumbs – you can use any brand of vegan breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs.
How To Make Chickpea Meatballs
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add canned chickpeas to the food processor along with chopped onion, crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, soy sauce and tomato paste. Process until smooth.
- Add smoked paprika, coriander powder and cumin and process.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add breadcrumbs and fresh chopped parsley and mix in. Use your hands to form it into a dough.
- Scoop roughly tablespoon sized amounts of dough, roll them into balls and place evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Place the tray into the freezer for 15 minutes so that the balls can firm up.
- Remove the tray from the freezer and lightly brush each ball with olive oil.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, turning the balls over once at the 10 minute mark.
Recipe Tips
Let the balls firm up in the freezer. The reason we place the tray into the freezer before baking is so that the balls will hold their shape really well when baking or frying.
Bake them or fry them. You can either bake or fry these meatballs. Of course baking is a low oil option since we just lightly brush them with olive oil prior to baking. If you’d prefer to fry them then heat up two tablespoons of oil in the frying pan until hot and then fry as many meatballs as comfortably fit into the pan. Fry for a few minutes, turning regularly until golden and crispy all over. Repeat with the next batch.
Make them oil-free. If you’d like these meatballs to be oil-free then baking would be the best option, you can simply omit brushing them with olive oil. They are slightly drier of course but once served with a sauce that won’t matter.
Recipe FAQ
These chickpea meatballs can be made ahead of time. Make them up to the point that they would go into the freezer to firm up for 15 minutes. And then instead of baking them, move them to the fridge for up to 48 hours before baking.
Keep them stored in a covered container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave.
Baked meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or frying pan.
More Vegan Chickpea Recipes
- Vegan Falafel
- Vegan Chickpea Burgers
- Vegan Chicken Salad
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Vegan Chickpea Salad
- Vegan Chickpea Curry
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Chickpea Meatballs
Ingredients
- 15 ounce Can Chickpeas (1 can) Drained
- ½ Small Red Onion Finely Chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 cup Breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Chopped Parsley
- Olive Oil For Brushing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Add canned chickpeas to the food processor along with chopped onion, crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, soy sauce and tomato paste. Process until smooth.
- Add smoked paprika, coriander powder and cumin and process.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add breadcrumbs and fresh chopped parsley and mix in. Use your hands to form it into a dough.
- Scoop roughly tablespoon sized amounts of dough, roll them into balls and place evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Place the tray into the freezer for 15 minutes so that the balls can firm up.
- Remove the tray from the freezer and lightly brush each ball with olive oil.
- Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, turning the balls over once at the 10 minute mark.
Notes
- Chickpeas – if you happen to have cooked chickpeas on hand (not canned) then you can use 1 and ½ cups.
- Bake them or fry them. You can either bake or fry these meatballs. If you’d prefer to fry them then heat up two tablespoons of oil in the frying pan until hot and then fry as many meatballs as comfortably fit into the pan. Fry for a few minutes, turning regularly until golden and crispy all over. Repeat with the next batch.
- Make them oil-free. If you’d like these meatballs to be oil-free then baking would be the best option, you can simply omit brushing them with olive oil. They are slightly drier of course but once served with a sauce that won’t matter.
- Make Ahead: These chickpea meatballs can be made ahead of time. Make them up to the point that they would go into the freezer to firm up for 15 minutes. And then instead of baking them, move them to the fridge for up to 48 hours before baking.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep them stored in a covered container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave. Baked meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or frying pan.
- Prep time – includes the 15 minutes firming up in the freezer.
I made these and my whole family loved them! Can you cook these in an air fryer?
So glad you loved them Julie! We haven’t tested this recipe in the air fryer but I think it’ll be fine! You can cook them at 350F for 15 minutes, but turn and check them every 5 minutes. All the best!
I voted twice. Dinner didn’t go as planned but I had these ready in the fridge, uncooked. I toasted a slice of artisan garlic bread (the sourdough type with chunks of garlic), added some plant based butter, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, then smeared two tiny “meatballs” on top. Omg I cannot explain how amazing it was. So good I had to share the unconventional way I ate them. I can’t wait to try with spaghetti style shirataki noodles & my fav garlic pasta sauce. Just a lovely recipe!!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Stacey! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review.
Made these yesterday to take to my Daughter and Son Inlaw for lunch as they are vegan. They were easy to make and very tasty, I did add some chopped walnuts which gave a nice little crunch. Had them with satay sauce. Will make them again. Thank you 😊👍❤️
So happy to hear they worked out well! Walnuts is definitely a good addition. 🙂
Making these tonight mate! They look so easy! Best of all is (like almost ALLLL of your recipes) I already HAVE all the required ingredients in my pantry!! So no need to specialty shop. And no need to delay making these beauties til after said shop day!! You are the BEST hun! Thanks SO MUCH for all you do for us!
Ah thank you so much for the awesome comment! So pleased to hear that!
For the first time I’ve tried a recipe where the balls held! I was short on breadcrumbs and topped up with couscous and they were perfect. Would add a bit of salt next time. Thanks so much!
So glad they held up well!
Hello can you use flour like almond or coconut flour instead of breadcrumbs? And do you have to use nutritional yeast? Please let me know asap thanks! 🙂 -Mike
Hi Mike, I don’t think almond or coconut flour would work at all. Nutritional yeast can be omitted.
What about regular flour?
You can try that!
Thank you for simple and delicious recipes! Yum
These are so tasty. The recipe is also way easier to make then I originally imagined. I will definitely double the recipe next time I make them. Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed them Val!
These are absolutely gorgeous. Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed them Ivana! 🙂
I served these with pasta, but I think they would also be great as the base for a Reuben, pairing very well with sauerkraut. Thank you!
Awesome! And yes I agree completely about the Reuben! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
these were tasty but i found them a little dry. Perhaps because I baked instead of fried. I will make again as they’re nice to have around. Used them up crumbling into salads which was nice.
Can I make these with Italian seasonings instead of the ones in the recipe?
Sure you can tweak it as you like. 🙂
An absolute hit in my opinion! Protein rich and mouth wateringly delicious!
Thanks Anna!
Allison, you’ve come up with some really great recipes lately. Thanxalot!! .. Ken
Thanks so much Ken!
Hi, Alison! Thank you for this and so many other recipes! I am going to try this recipe, but just wanted to confirm that the chick pea balls will hold their shape after cooking. I’ve made so many vegan patties or balls that fall apart after cooking, that I’m now skeptical. I did read in the recipe that freezing them prior to cooking helps, so I definitely won’t skip that step.
Hi Ali, these hold their shape SUPER well, but freezing them first before baking is an important part of the process.
Made these today and doubled the batch. I brushed them with tomato paste and olive oil and cooked in the air fryer. One batch I used in salad wraps and the second batch I used as meatballs with marinara sauce and added onion garlic mushrooms zucchini and capsicum to sauce and served over spaghetti. Loved them both ways. Affordable and nutritious.
So happy you enjoyed them Janet!