Vegan "Chicken" Piccata Meatballs
Chickpea meatballs seasoned with poultry seasoning and filled with all the classic Piccata ingredients. Capers, lemon, and parsley!
Servings: 5
Ingredients
"Chicken" Piccata Meatballs
- 15 oz. Can Chickpeas(Garbanzo beans)
- 1 1/2 C. Panko bread crumbs, divided
- 2 Tbsp. Capers, chopped
- 1 tsp. Lemon zest
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
- 4 Tbsp. Flax meal
- 6 Tbsp. Water
- 1 tsp. Poultry seasoning*
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Black pepper
Piccata Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1/3 C. White wine
- 1/4 C. Lemon juice
- 1/4 C. Capers, drained
- 1 1/2 C. Vegetable broth
- 1/4 C. Nutritional yeast
- 1/4 C. Fresh Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Make the "meatballs" first. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor. Pulse once to break down the chickpeas a bit.
- Now in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flax meal and water(flax eggs). Set aside to thicken for a minute.
- Then, add 1 cup of panko bread crumbs, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic to the food processor. Then add in the flax eggs to the food processor. Then add the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until everything is combined and looks like ground meat. Don't over process, we are not making hummus. Make sure it has some texture.
- Next, spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
- Place the remaining 1/2 a cup of panko in a small bowl. Then taking about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of the chickpea mixture roll into a ball, roll into panko to coat the outside, then place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the chickpea mixture has been made into meatballs. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, flipping half way through. They are done when when they are brown and firm.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. In a large skillet heat the vegan butter and olive oil on medium high. Then whisk in the white wine. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes to start to cook off the strong wine flavor.
- Then add the lemon juice and capers. Simmer for a minute, then add the veggie broth and nutritional yeast. Simmer on low for another 3-5 minutes until the flavors have developed and the strong wine flavor is gone. Turn the heat off and add the chopped parsley.
- Once the meatballs are done, I recommend serving with pasta, then drizzle the sauce all over the pasta and meatballs. Serve immediately.
Notes
If you don't have a food processor, just mash the chickpeas with a fork, then chop everything fine and mix together in a bowl.
You can make this gluten free by using gluten free bread crumbs.
You can make this oil free by using a few tablespoons of veggie broth to start the sauce instead of vegan butter and olive oil.
*Poultry seasoning is not actual poultry. It is a spice blend that is called poultry seasoning because that is customarily what it is used for. It is generally thyme, garlic, celery salt and so on. *