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Meatless Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara

on December 24, 2020
last updated May 14, 2024
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With a crispy exterior, meaty-on-the-inside texture, and seasoned to perfection, these Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara are an obvious choice for spaghetti night.
3 meatless chickpea meatballs stacked on each other on a plate

Need a tasty, filling, family-style Meatless Monday option? These Meatless Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara have got your back!

With a crispy exterior, meaty-on-the-inside texture, and seasoned to perfection, these meatless meatballs are an obvious choice for spaghetti night. And paired with this homemade meatless spaghetti sauce? A next-level from-scratch family favorite!

As a mom on the go, who doesn’t want to settle for subpar food, I love a recipe like this that comes together quickly and easily, and can be prepped ahead of time and used in pasta or sandwiches throughout the week!

2 servings of spaghetti topped with spaghetti sauce and meatless meatballs

Meatless Chickpea Meatballs Ingredients


  • Chickpeas. Or garbanzo beans. The canned kind is best for this recipe.
  • Grated Parmesan. Or Nutritional Yeast if you wish to make this recipe vegan.
  • Garlic. Fresh garlic goes a long way in this recipe.
  • Egg. Or a flax egg to help bind them together.
  • Olive oil. For moisture and to get that crispy exterior.
  • Thyme & onion powder. Fresh or dried thyme works. Along with the onion powder, you’ll get a flavorful meatless meatball.
  • Salt & pepper. To amp up the other flavors.
  • Crushed red pepper (optional). If you want a little spice.
  • Marinara or Spaghetti sauce. To add moisture to your chickpea meatballs and to serve them with.
Overhead picture of all ingredients needed for Meatless Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara - Parmesan, Marinara, Onion powder, Olive oil, Egg, salt, crushed red pepper. garlic, black pepper, thyme, and chickpeas

Meatless Chickpea Meatballs Tips and Tricks


Prep Your Ingredients

This recipe is just four simple steps. To prep your ingredients, all you have to do is drain and rinse your chickpeas and peel your garlic.

Add it All to the Food Processor

Dump all of your ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender and process on high until all of the ingredients are completely broken down. It should resemble a thick paste.

There’s no worry of over blending here, so just run your processor or blender on high until there are no visible chunks of whole ingredients left.

all ingredients for meatless chickpea meatballs ground up in the food processor

Shape ‘Em and Bake ‘Em

Grab a medium cookie scoop or a heaping teaspoon of your chickpea meatball mixture and use two clean hands to roll it into a perfect ball.

The mixture should yield 8 meatballs. If you have excess meatless meatball mixture after forming all 8 balls, add a little more mixture to each until it is all used up.

Spread them out on a lined baking sheet. Consider these reusable baking mats to avoid waste! They are great for nonstick and super easy to clean.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until the exterior is crispy. They may start to brown a little bit, but the best way to know if they are ready is by touching the outside (careful, they’re hot!).

If the exterior feels crispy to the touch, you’re ready for the next step!

shaped chickpea meatballs ready for the oven

Simmer in Sauce

Once baked and ready to serve, simmer your meatless meatballs in Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce. This will add moisture and more flavor.

They’re already fully cooked, so they really only need about 5 minutes simmering on low in the sauce. Flip halfway through to coat both sides.

How to Properly Store and Reheat Leftover Vegetarian Meatballs

If you have leftover meatballs, they will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days. You can also freeze these for up to 3 months.

The best way to reheat them in the sauce is to simmer over low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes until heated all the way through.

You can also reheat them in the oven in the sauce at 350°F in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil.

Making Meatless Chickpea Meatballs Ahead

I love having a stash of these in my refrigerator or freezer! If you want to make these ahead of time, simply skip the last step of simmering them in the sauce. Keep the baked meatballs in the refrigerator for up to ten days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Then, when you are ready to eat them, brown them in a large saucepan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat. Once browned, add the Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce, cover, and simmer until both sauce and meatless meatballs are heated all the way through.

plate of spaghetti and chickpea meatballs garnished with basil

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3 meatless chickpea meatballs stacked on each other on a plate

Meatless Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara

5 from 3 votes
Marley Goldin
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With a crispy exterior, meaty-on-the-inside texture, and seasoned to perfection, these Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara are an obvious choice for spaghetti night.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 meatballs

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 15 ounces chickpeas aka garbanzo beans (15 oz usually = 1 can)
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese ((or Nutritional Yeast for vegan))
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 large egg (or flax egg for vegan)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 24 ounces marinara or spaghetti sauce (or Spaghetti Sauce)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F and drain and rinse your chickpeas and peel your garlic.
    15 ounces chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, 2 cloves garlic
  • Add all your ingredients to a food processor or high powered blender and turn on high until combined.
    ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, 24 ounces marinara or spaghetti sauce
  • Using 1 heaping tablespoon or a medium cookie scoop worth of mixture at a time, roll the mixture into balls until you have 8 roughly equal-sized balls.
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes until the exterior is nice and crispy. Then, simmer in marinara sauce for about 5 minutes to add moisture.

Pro Tips

  • Consider reusable baking mats to reduce your plastic waste.
  • You can totally make these ahead of time! Just bake them up, but do not simmer them in the sauce. Freeze for up to 3 months, or store in the refrigerator for up to ten days. Reheat them in the Marinara or Spaghetti sauce when you are ready to serve!
  • Easily make this recipe vegan by substituting a flax egg and Nutritional Yeast for Parmesan.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Diet Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword 30 Minutes or Less, Chickpea Meatballs, Easy, Family Dinner, Healthy, Meatless Meatballs, Tomato
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4 thoughts on “Meatless Chickpea Meatballs in Marinara”

    1. Hi Emily!! I’m not a dietician so I don’t want to miscalculate and steer you wrong, but here is the nutrition information per meatball (based on a standard storebought marinara sauce) so you can take it from there! Hope this helps!
      Calories 347
      Total Fat 12.5 g
      Saturated Fat 3.4 g
      Total Carbohydrate 56 g
      Total Protein 16.4 g

5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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