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Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub. Easy Vegan Recipe. Can be gluten-free. Makes 10 to 12 1 – 1.5 inch balls Jump to Recipe
I have been trying to incorporate more broccoli in my meals. Yes, yes, I have to admit that it isn’t a vegetable that makes me go yay. I mean I eat it, but am not excited about it as I am with Cauliflower. That is about to change this year with my challenge to make dishes with said nose wrinkling vegetable, that I will like to eat. Lets see how Okra fares this year.
These balls worked out well to get me to somewhat actually like eating broccoli. Broccoli is roasted to dry out the excess moisture, spices, almond meal, breadcrumbs and chia egg or flax egg are mixed in and rolled up into balls to bake until crisp. The spices get stronger as the baked balls sit and I like the stronger spice flavor. Some vegan cheese in the balls also helps the balls in texture and flavor.
Do you have an unexplained dislike for a certain vegetable or food? How do you get over that dislike?
More Apps from the blog to try
- Kung Pao Cauliflower Make it!
- Spicy Crispy Cauliflower with celery ranch.
- Vegan Cheese balls
- Dips for Gameday.
Balls ready to be baked.
Baked below. Serve with marinara or spicy tomato chutney or over spaghetti as veggie balls, or make a veggie ball sub.
Vegan Broccoli Balls
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 large head of broccoli, , florets and tender stem (peel off the knobs from the stem and use)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, or 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp or more nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup or more bread crumbs
- 1 chia seed egg, 1 tbsp chia seeds or chia seed meal mixed with 3 tbsp warm water, let sit for 2 minutes to gel
Variations
- 1/4 cup my almond milk pepper jack, or other vegan cheese shreds like daiya cheddar or pepperjack optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pulse the broccoli and basil in a food processor until grated. Add to the pan. (2.5 to 3 cups grated). Add a dash of salt, mix and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out the excess moisture. (If the broccoli is dry, cook for only a minute). Take off heat.
- Add in the spices, almond meal, breadcrumbs. Mix well. Make the chia seed egg or use 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed meal + 2.5 Tbsp warm water) or egg replacer for 1 egg.
- Mix in. Add vegan cheese shreds if using. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.
- Shape the mixture into balls. If the balls are too crumbly (depends on the moisture content, size of grated broccoli etc), add another chia egg, or sprinkle some non dairy milk or aquafaba and mix well.
- Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F / 200ºc.
- Bake for a total of 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp and golden on the outside. (Turn the sheet around after 15 minutes, and continue to bake.). you can also sprinkle some cheese shreds on the balls in the last 5 minutes. Serve warm with marinara or over spaghetti or as veggie balls in a sub sandwich.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
In other news,
Microbeads have finally been banned. These tiny plastic beads in hundreds of products ranging from body scrubs to toothpastes provide an exfoliating sensation for users and are designed to wash down drains. But because they are made of plastic, microbeads do not dissolve and may pose a threat to the environment. In September, a study published in Environmental Science & Technology reported that more than 8 trillion microbeads were entering the country’s aquatic habitats daily causing many issues for the aquatic animals. The volume was enough to coat the surface of 300 tennis courts every day.
Ringling is retiring elephants from their shows, but wait, the elephants will head to cancer research and breeding facility and not a sanctuary. Lets get these elephants to a true sanctuary where they can live a somewhat natural life after years of abuse.
These look wonderful, always looking for fun new ways to enjoy broccoli. Thanks!
I really love brassicas so it’s easy for me eating broccoli. I use to bake them with chili, smoked paprica and origan or I cook them in a tajine with parsley, chili and a teaspoon of coconut oil. Maybe you just have to get used to this flavour step by step and keep on being creative. Love your blog and ideas, you’r so inspiring! xoxo eli
I used to do something very similar with cauliflower and chickpea flour before. Should give this a try! I used to hate broccoli for a while before, but ever since I tried it in some Indian recipes, I seem to have fallen in love with that veggie 🙂
I tried broccoli in Indian dishes some time back. Didn’t work for me 🙂 It might work now since I am warming up the flavor.
Just made those balls, but I subbed cauliflower for the broccoli because I had that on hand, and I used pumpkin seeds instead of almonds. They turned out great. Thank you! 🙂
Awesome!
I made these and they were perfect, so quick and easy and they were great stuffed in a pita with hummus and tomatoes!
Awesome!! thats a great combination with pita and hummus!
These look really good but I’m at a loss as to how you’d serve them. Just dipped in tomato sauce or….?
yes serve with marinara or tomato basil sauce. Dip and eat. or use wherever you use meatballs, like with pasta or sub sandwich.
These look so delicious! I love broccoli, so would love these. The one veg I hate? Sprouts. Oh, and I hate onions but I can eat them when they’re onion rings!
These look great. Can’t wait to try these this weekend. What would you suggest is a good replacement for the nutritional yeast? I don’t tolerate it. Thanks Richa!!
Omit it. there is enough flavor in the mixture. you can taste the mixture before shaping into balls and see if you need anything. ground mustard will add a slight cheesy flavor as the nutritional yeast.
I love broccoli! It’s cauliflower I use to crinkle my nose up at, but now we’re all good. These broccoli balls look delicious-a must try. Thanks for sharing!
🙂 cauliflower is so awesome! 🙂
Hi Richa;
For those of us who have to be GF, what do you recommend in place of breadcrumbs?
use gluten-free breadcrumbs, or coarsely ground oats.