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Bowl with rice, meatballs, and onions and bell peppers.

Vegetarian Chickpea Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce

These Chickpea Meatballs have it all! Sweet and tangy sauce, over the top flavor, and completely plant based! Did we mention they are meal prep friendly, too?

Course Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American
Diet GlutenFreeDiet, LowFatDiet, LowLactoseDiet, LowSaltDiet, VeganDiet, VegetarianDiet
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 5
Calories 495 kcal
Author Laura Yautz

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 3 Tbsp No Added Salt Tomato Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp ground Chia Seeds
  • 1 15 oz can Chickpeas, no added salt, rinsed and drained
  • ⅓ cup Rolled Oats
  • ¼ cup minced Onion
  • ¼ cup chopped Parsley
  • 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • ½ inch piece fresh Ginger, grated
  • ¼ - ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice
  • Cooking Spray or Oil for baking

For the Vegetables and Sauce

  • 3 Bell Peppers, any color, chopped
  • 2 large Onions, chopped
  • 20 oz can Pineapple Chunks, in 100% Juice
  • 1 cup Water
  • ⅓ cup Rice Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
  • 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 1 inch piece of fresh Ginger, grated
  • 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp Cold Water

To serve:

  • 2 ½ cups cooked Brown Rice

Instructions

  1. If you haven’t already made the rice, get that started first, and let it cook while you prepare the rest of the meal.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  3. Mix the tomato paste, olive oil, and chia seeds together in a small bowl, and set aside.
  4. Into a large food processor, add the chickpeas, rolled oats, onion, parsley, garlic, ginger, and Chinese five spice. Lastly, add the tomato paste mixture.
  5. Pulse the food processor until the mixture comes together in sort of a lumpy dough. You will probably have to scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times.
  6. Using a tablespoon, form small meatballs with the dough, placing them on a lined (or greased) baking sheet. You should get around 20 meatballs.
  7. Lightly spray each meatball with cooking spray, or brush with oil.
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crispy on the outside.
  9. While the meatballs are baking, make the vegetables and sauce.
  10. In a large skillet, add the chopped peppers and onions, canned pineapple (both solids and liquid), water, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger, and bring to a simmer.
  11. Reduce heat if needed, and continue to simmer for at least 12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
  12. Mix the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl with a fork, and pour into the vegetable mixture.
  13. Continue to simmer and stir for a minute until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat.

For immediate consumption

  1. Gently stir the meatballs into the sauce, and serve hot over rice.

For meal prep

  1. Measure ½ cup of rice into each bowl or container. Divide the vegetables among the 5 bowls and top with any extra sauce. Place the meatballs on top of the rice, out of the sauce. The meatballs will hold up to sauce for a few hours, but not days. Mix them into the sauce right before eating.