Quinoa Cauliflower "Meatballs" with Turmeric Coconut Sauce

Name: Quinoa Cauliflower "Meatballs" with Turmeric Coconut Sauce
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds; 6 tablespoons water; 2 cups cauliflower, riced (see note); 1 cup cooked white quinoa; 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped; 1/2 cup chickpea flour; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon cumin; 2 cups diced yellow onion; 1 cup sweet bell pepper, cut into rings; 4 cloves garlic, sliced; 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger; 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes; 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk; 1 cup no-salt-added or low sodium vegetable broth; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice; 1/4 cup basil, stems removed, leaves sliced; 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

By: Victor Boroda

by 10 members

G - BOMBS

Category: Main Dishes - Vegan

Flavorful meatballs served with a creamy, well-seasoned sauce? Go ahead and indulge! There is nothing to feel guilty about in this recipe.

Recipe
My Notes
Nutrition Facts
Ratings & Comments (13)

Serves 4

Ingredients

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For the Meatballs:

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

6 tablespoons water

2 cups cauliflower, riced (see note)

1 cup cooked white quinoa

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

For the Sauce:

2 cups diced yellow onion

1 cup sweet bell pepper, cut into rings

4 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk

1 cup no-salt-added or low sodium vegetable broth

2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

1/4 cup basil, stems removed, leaves sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions:

To make the meatballs:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the flax seeds and water and allow to sit and thicken for five minutes. Place flax mixture in a large bowl along with remaining meatball ingredients and mix well.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 ounce scoop, place meatballs onto baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes.

To make the Turmeric Coconut Sauce:
Water saute the onion, peppers, garlic and ginger until tender, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes and turmeric and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon or lime juice, basil and cilantro.

Serve meatballs with hot sauce.

Note: Riced cauliflower can be purchased frozen or you can make it yourself by pulsing cauliflower florets in a food processor. Frozen cauliflower should be defrosted before making meatballs.

My Notes: (Click Edit to enter your notes about this recipe)

Serves 4

Per Serving:

Calories 292
Protein 9 g
Carbohydrates 35 g
Sugars 7 g
Total Fat 14.3 g
Saturated Fat 9.7 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 82 mg
Fiber 7.5 g
Beta-Carotene 679 ug
Vitamin C 80 mg
Calcium 103 mg
Iron 4.9 mg
Folate 148 ug
Magnesium 118 mg
Potassium 808 mg
Zinc 1.8 mg
Selenium 4.4 ug

My Rating:
(click on a star to select your rating)

vaporz

01/20/2025 01:02 PM

Rated this recipe:

The meatball recipe also makes great burgers.

marlalorraine

03/23/2022 08:46 AM

Rated this recipe:

I always appreciate contributions made by others. I am not willing to put forth that effort so thank you for sharing an idea with us. Unfortunately I just didn't like it and felt it was too time consuming to make the meatball portion as well. The sauce is quite good and I may make that again just over riced cauliflower and quinoa.

This comment was last edited on 03/23/2022 08:47 AM

cpanta

03/07/2022 07:54 PM

Rated this recipe:

So delicious. I added steamed kale to mine and they were amazing. My nonvegan husband loved them.

T.Knight

08/09/2021 06:38 PM

Rated this recipe:

Absolutely fabulous flavors! I used brown rice instead of quinoa(just because I had some leftover) and I baked the balls at 1oz size rather than 2oz. Also doubled the baking time. Sauce is great! Will make this dish regularly.

vaporz replies:

03/08/2022 04:12 PM

Rated this recipe:

Brown rice is now off-limits due to the arsenic content.

HealthyMeredith

01/18/2021 02:56 PM

Rated this recipe:

The sauce was delicious! Similar to dishes I'd see for $15-20 as a Thai restaurant.

However, I'd call these "fall-apart balls". The health food store was out of chickpea flour, so I used almond & whole wheat mixed.

nowhereman

12/05/2020 10:24 PM

Rated this recipe:

This recipe has lots of potential. I made it according to instructions but I prolonged the meatball baking time by about 20 minutes, which I found improved the texture. Texture seems always to be the weak point in vegan meatbal/meatloaf recipes - almost invariably mushy or pasty. But I was satisfied with the texture of these - not at the prescribed cooking time but after "over" cooking them. Flavor is bland, but that can be fixed. Cauliflower always needs help in the flavor department. My next rendition will be kicked up with chopped onion, onion powder, garlic powder, liquid aminos (not too much), liquid smoke (just a dash), chopped porcinis water sautéed til liquid released, collected, and some added back in. Might even kick in some porcini powder. I could see some chopped kale or spinach added in, making sure it isn't too wet. The sauce, btw, is great as is. I'm confident that my adjustments will kick these guys up to 5 stars.

betsym

10/19/2020 08:57 PM

Rated this recipe:

Delicious! I made the meatballs as is. From the photo, it looked like the sauce might not be enough for me so I made 1.5 times - it was too much. That being said, I only used 1 can of coconut milk and 3/4 cup of broth and I needed to let it cook down more as it seemed thin. This did take me a while from start to finish but I think the flavors were worth it - the meatballs aren’t your typical ‘bean burger’ and have a really nice texture. Also meatballs were done way before sauce was. Next time, will have all ingredients prepped for the sauce before I put the meatballs in the oven.

chikai

10/12/2020 07:53 AM

Rated this recipe:

Delicious! Company good in taste and presentation! Fun to make and not that time-consuming. I did not put the water in my sauce which was fine...made it thicker.

Jeanna0505

10/01/2020 07:29 PM

Rated this recipe:

This is excellent Victor! And is simple - even for me! Great dish. Thanks, Jeanna

Jeanna0505

10/01/2020 07:27 PM

Rated this recipe:

softweave

10/01/2020 09:39 AM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Simply do not believe each serving has Protein 79

Linda P. replies:

10/15/2020 10:26 AM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Nutrition Facts adjusted using different data base for chickpea flour!

Ellrien replies:

10/01/2020 10:24 AM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

There is no way one serving has 79g of protein, it's probably closer to 7.9g per serving. For the entire recipe caulifower has 4.2g, quinoa has 4.4g, chickpea flour has 10.5g of protein, and the amout of protein from the rest of ingredients is probably even lower. It llofnfo is way ks like all the nutrition is way off - with 79g of protein, 243g of carbs and 21g of fat each serving would be ~1600 calories.

This reply was last edited on 10/01/2020 01:29 PM

lavender56

09/30/2020 10:01 PM

Rated this recipe:

This was delicious! Not hard at all - throw it all in a bowl, mix and roll into balls. Made the sauce while the balls were cooking.

AnnaB

09/30/2020 09:22 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Looks too complicated and time consuming to me. There are much simpler meat ball or veggie burger recipes out there as well as sauce options.

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Quinoa Cauliflower "Meatballs" with Turmeric Coconut Sauce

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