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Thai Quinoa Meatballs (Lettuce Wraps)

These flavorful meatballs featuring chickpeas and quinoa are a perfect filler for lettuce wraps! And it wouldn’t be complete without peanut sauce!

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 can 15 oz chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter, smooth or chunky
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (optional)
  • 1/4 to 1 cup peanuts, roasted and salted, crushed or finely chopped

Peanut Sauce

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
  • 2 - 4 tablespoons hot water to thin

Lettuce Wraps

  • 1 to 2 hearts of romaine or one head butter or bibb lettuce
  • shredded carrots
  • sliced green onions
  • chopped peanuts
  • chopped fresh cilantro
  • lime wedges

Instructions

  • Dehydrate chickpeas: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange chickpeas in a single layer. Bake for 12 – 13 minutes, set aside to cool. Leave oven set at 350 degrees and keep pan nearby to bake the meatballs.
  • Mash chickpeas: In a medium size mixing bowl, add chickpeas and mash well with the back of a fork or pulsing in a blender/food processor.
  • Mix the meatball mixture: Add in the remaining ingredients for the meatballs with the mashed chickpeas. Mix well to combine until the mixture clumps together (one to two minutes of mixing). Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If mixture is too wet, add a bit more crushed peanuts.
  • Roll meatballs and bake: Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls, using about 1 – 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons (yields approximately 12). Optional: Roll each ball in finely chopped peanuts. Place on the same baking sheet you dehydrated the chickpeas on. Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, turning once during cooking.
  • Make the peanut sauce: In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, tamari, sugar, lime, garlic and chili sauce. Add hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. If too thin add more nut butter.
  • To serve: Place lettuce on individual serving dishes, top with carrots, meatballs, scallions, peanuts, cilantro and a drizzle of peanut sauce.

Notes

Serves 3 (4 meatballs per serving)
Serving suggestion: Serve meatballs over spiralized zucchini, cucumber noodles, soba or rice noodles with peanut sauce.
Recipe from Minimalist Baker’s cookbook, ‘Everyday Cooking’.
https://simple-veganista.com/thai-quinoa-meatballs-minimalist-bakers-cookbook/