Amazing Pesto Spaghetti with Vegan Meatballs made with Chickpeas. 24 gm of protein per serve. Vegetarian Chickpea Walnut "meatballs" over pesto pasta. Ready in 40 Minutes. Vegan Soyfree Recipe. Can be Glutenfree.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 40 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Italian, Vegan

Ingredients

For the Chickpea Meatballs:

  • 1 small onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 2 tbsp flaxmeal (mixed with 1/4 cup water)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp pesto or a handful of basil
  • 15 oz chickpeas (, 15 oz can or 1.5 cups cooked)
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp parsley
  • 1/2 tsp salt (, less or more depending on the chickpeas)
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

For the Pesto:

  • 2 cups basil (or basil + parsley/other greens (packed lightly))
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp walnuts or cashews or toasted sun flower seeds (, less or more to preference)
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast ((use 1/2 tsp ground mustard and 1/2 tsp miso to sub))
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • water as needed (, a few tbsp)

For the pasta:

  • 8 to 9 oz spaghetti
  • black pepper (pepper flakes for garnish)

Method

  1. Make your pesto by blending the basil, garlic, nuts, nutritional yeast in a small food processor or blender until minced. Add the salt, lemon, oil and pulse. Add water to make desired consistency. Taste and adjust flavor with more lemon, salt, nutritional yeast or basil. Pesto can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for upto 3 days or frozen in ice cubes for a month.
  2. Chickpea Balls: Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent
  3. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until a coarse meal. Add the onion mixture and the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine. I usually use the same food processor that I used for pesto. no need to clean as we add pesto to the balls as well.
  4. Transfer chickpea mixture to a bowl. Add breadcrumbs and mix in. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. (Add some poultry seasoning or more herbs if needed). Chill for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  5. Make balls of the mixture or use an ice cream scoop and place on parchment lined sheet. 1 to 1.5 inch balls (16 to 18 balls). Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes or until golden.
  6. Cook the spaghetti according to instructions on the package.
  7. Toss in the pesto. Serve with meatballs a very good dash black pepper and red pepper flakes and additional lemon if needed.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.