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Vegan air fried meatballs stacked in a ceramic bowl
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5 from 9 votes

Vegan Air Fryer Meatballs

These delicious air fried chickpea, mushroom and walnut vegan meatballs take mere minutes to put together in a food processor, and another 14 minutes to bake in an air fryer. Dunk them in a flavorful barbecue sauce or mushroom sauce for a delicious and easy weeknight meal. A gluten-free and soy-free recipe.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Soaking time for mushrooms30 minutes
Total Time54 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 6 servings (4 meatballs each)
Calories: 174kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shiitake mushrooms (dry)
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 2 cups chickpeas (canned or cooked. Strained of all liquid)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoon dry sage
  • 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce or vegan Worcestershire sauce, Skip if soy-free or add 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoon parsley (chopped, optional)

Instructions

  • Place mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water, approximately 2 cups. Steep for 30 minutes, then drain the mushrooms. Reserve the mushroom stock, which is extremely flavorful and can be used in whatever sauce you make with these meatballs.
  • Place the mushrooms in a food processor and process until they are finely shredded but not pasty. If the stems are tough even after soaking, discard them and use just the tops of the mushrooms.
  • Add walnuts and process them until they are broken into small bits but not powdered.
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients --chickpeas, garlic, ground cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, sage, soy sauce/tamari/Worcestershire sauce, and salt and black pepper to taste
  • Process or pulse a few times until the chickpeas are broken down and the mixture holds together firmly when you ball it up. If the ball falls apart after you form it, process the mixture further.
  • Remove the blade from the food processor bowl. Form 24 meatballs.
  • Place the meatballs in the air fryer basket. Preferably do this in two batches of 12 meatballs each so there is enough room for the air to circulate around the meatballs.
  • Spritz some cooking spray on the meatballs or brush on a bit of oil. If you want to make these completely oil-free you can leave out this step.
  • Click the air fryer basket into place. Set the air fryer to 375 degrees and air fry the meatballs for 14 minutes. About halfway through, open and rotate the balls so they cook evenly.

Nutrition

Serving: 4meatballs | Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 344mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 253IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2mg