Tofu Nut Balls

"This recipe is adapted from a cookbook called vegetarian creations. It is a big hit with meat eaters and vegetarians alike! Even kids love it. A great substitute for meatballs and they even look like meatballs."
 
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photo by Food.com photo by Food.com
photo by Food.com
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
11
Yields:
16 walnut sized balls
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ingredients

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directions

  • Place oats and pecans in a blender or food processor and process until finely ground.
  • Remove to a large bowl.
  • Add garlic, sage, oregano, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to bowl.
  • Process tofu and water in blender (or processor) until smooth.
  • Add to bowl with other ingredients and stir until mixture holds firmly together.
  • Shape into 1.
  • 5 inch balls.
  • Heat a little bit of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and skillet fry balls until reaching the desired level of brownness on all sides.
  • Adding more oil if needed.
  • Remove to brown bags or newspaper covered paper towels.
  • Place in a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done in the middle.
  • I sometimes skip this step and just flatten the balls slightly, so they will cook well on top of the stove.
  • Yields about 16 balls.
  • Serve over pasta cooked just al dente with some nice tomato sauce or as an appetizer.

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Reviews

  1. Sorry. I have tried several vegetarian and vegan meatball recipes, and been overall happy with all of them. These fell short for me. It was so obvious they were made of oatmeal. They were dry and grainy, and as others said they don't have much flavor. They looked nice, and I will take the tip about browning quickly in a pan before baking to my other balls that tend to flatten a bit in the oven. Perhaps if they simmered in sauce for a while it would give them some moisture and extra flavor. I did take some and bake them with shells in sauce. It helped, but they still aren't the right ones for us. Thanks for the recipe all the same!
     
  2. Awesome! The pecans give it such a different taste. Note this though: they don't have the exact texture as regular meatballs. I do recommend following the recipe accordingly and use FIRM tofu. Seriously, do not give a bad review until you've tried the recipe as written. Doesn't make sense! I think they tasted even better after they've been frozen. I love to throw them in a bean and pasta soup. I'm vegan and needed a meatball substitute. Reminds me, I need to buy more tofu to make these again. They store in the freezer just fine, btw.
     
  3. I made these with silken tofu as some users suggested and the result was a little strange. They were kind of soft and mushy, and had a tanginess I didn't care for. Where did I go wrong?
     
  4. As a vegetarian, I've tried a lot of different "meat"ball recipes, and my husband, bless him, has seen me through them all. Tonight, he said these are the best I've made! I, like another reviewer, used silken tofu and omitted the water and it worked perfectly. I also only had 1 cup of oatmeal on hand, so I used two tablespoons of all purpose gluten free (Pamela's) flour and it turned out perfectly. Thank you so much! This will be a staple!
     
  5. This is a good base recipe. The balls have a great texture and are pretty versitile. I would like to really add some flavor to them. I'd love to hear suggestions about different spice combinations people have tried. Thanks for the great recipe!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I substituted hazelnuts for pecans and added more spices (cumin, basil, thyme,..) and served the balls in a tomato sauce with spaghetti. Everybody liked them, it is the best tofu recipe I tried so far!
     
  2. I have to write fast because my non-vegetarian husband is scarfing these before I can get to them! Instead of sage, oregano, & lemon, I used onion powder, italian seasoning, and a liberal sprinkling of a Grill Mates chipotle pepper marinade packet. It added some smokiness to the mix which I liked. I will be using this again! Thanks, P_S!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I have been vegan for a couple of years now. I choose organic whenever possible. I boycott irresponsible companies. If I had a month off work, I would go camping all through the pacific coastline. I want to see the redwood forests before they are destroyed.
 
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