Recipe: Firecracker Chickpea “Meat” Balls

Recipe: Firecracker Chickpea “Meat” Balls

By: Caitlyn McIntosh, Development Manager, and Emily Gallion, Grant & Advocacy Manager

We received a BEANormous amount of garbanzo beans this year! To make these legumes more apPEAling, we’ve beens haring recipes with our clients to help them keep their dinner menus fresh. A Pinterest user shared this awesome recipe using garbanzo beans and we wanted to pass it along! If you try it out, let us know in the comments below.

Firecracker Chickpea “Meat” Balls

Yields about 16 meatballs, serving 4 people

“Meat” Balls

• 1 can (14 ounces) of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon canola oil or oil of your choice
• Black pepper to taste

Firecracker Sauce

• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup hot sauce, vinegar based
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 1/4 cup room temperature water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

“Meat” Ball Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine chickpeas, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, soy sauce, paprika, cumin, and black pepper into food processor
3. Pulse food processor unitl ingredients are finely chopped. Be careful to not overblend!
4. Lightly oil a baking sheet and roll bean mixture into balls
5. Arrange balls on the baking sheet and brush with oil
6. Bake meatballs for about 30 minutes, turning thema. bout halfway through, until browned

Firecracker Sauce Instructions

1. Whisk cornstarch and cold water together in a small bowl
2. Stir other ingredients together in saucepan
3. Set the pan over medium head
4. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes
5. Stir in the cornstarch mixture while simmering until the mixture thickens up
6. Serve over top meatballs and top with chives