Get ready to try these tasty vegan chickpea meatballs! Each bite bursts with smoky, savory goodness that will bring you back for more. These delicious appetizers are perfect for any gathering and impress your guests, leaving them begging for the recipe.

White plate with several brownish-redish balls on top of each other sprinkled with sesame seeds. In the background a small glass jar with red sauce.

Meatballs are a quintessential dish in a vegan diet. The best way to eat many veggies, nuts, grains, and legumes in one go. They are extremely versatile, just like burger patties. Try our other recipes, such as our vegan eggplant meatballs, vegan mushroom meatballs, tofu meatballs, and TVP meatballs.

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What can you expect?
Ingredients
Instructions
Cooking tips
Serving ideas
Storing ideas
More vegan meatballs recipes
BBQ Vegan Chickpea Meatballs

What can you expect?

Let’s start with expectations. Most people who hear chickpea and balls in one sentence probably think of a falafel recipe, but it is not the only delicious one. Skip cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and add Italian seasoning to turn chickpeas into vegan meatballs.

It will be closer to Italian meatballs in taste due to the seasoning.
Technically, it is not really a veggie ball, as this recipe has only grains, nuts and legumes, but no veggies per se.
It is crusty and crispy on the outside, but soft inside.
The garlic, the basil, and the parsley will be the dominant flavors.
The balls will not fall apart if you add them to any sauce.

A hand is holding a brown-red ball sprinkled with sesame seeds. In the background more balls on a white plate.

Ingredients

If you make this recipe, you will need 3 main ingredients:

Chickpeas (canned or cooked)
Rice (cooked) → We love the idea of BOSH’s pastaball, but gluten-free pasta is tricky. So we thought of rice instead, which we already used rice in our delicious vegan mushroom meatballs recipe.
Walnuts → We like to sneak in some extra protein and nutrition to recipes. So it was quite natural to add some nuts to make it more meaty, since we already loved walnut mince to make vegan spaghetti bolognese.

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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Instructions

Add canned or cooked chickpeas, walnut halves, cooked rice, seasoning, and spices: olive oil, tomato paste, basil, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, turmeric to a food processor.

The ingredients of chickpea meatballs are measured in small glass containers 8 for seasoning and 3 for main ingredients. A food processor is empty in the middle.

Pulse the mix gently. Don’t puree it! It would be best if you had some chunks and bits for a better texture. Depending on the size of your container, work in batches.
When the mix is ready, add oat flour or quick oats, one tablespoon at a time. You know it is enough when you can form a ball easily.
Take 1-2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture and create small balls.

Yellow balls lined on a parchment paper in a sheet pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (ca. 177 °C) and bake them for 20-30 minutes. Flip at half-time! You know they are ready if they are lightly brown and a crust is formed.

Cooking tips

Immersion blender or food processor – It can be tricky to get the right consistency with immersion blender. If you don’t have a food processor, we recommend using ground walnuts or walnut meal instead of whole or halves.
Quick vs. rolled oats – If you use rolled oats, the mixture should rest to leave enough time for the rolled oats to soften and absorb a bit of moisture.
Size matters – Baking and frying time depend on the size of the meatballs you make. The smaller they are, the cooking time will be shorter.

Serving ideas

Turn these vegan chickpea meatballs into a crowd-pleasing appetizer by heating a generous amount of vegan BBQ sauce and glazing them in the simmering sauce for a smoky finish.

Frying pan from above with several brown-red balls sprinkled with sesame seeds. A hand holding tongs takes one ball.

If you are looking for other serving tips, here are some examples:

Cook our quick, 15-min homemade vegan marinara sauce and make spaghetti and meatballs or an eggplant meatballs sub.
We have many vegan pasta sauces, but we recommend this delicious caramelized carrot pasta sauce to try first.
Drop them in vegan mac and cheese.
Make a complete meal by adding vegan mashed potatoes or any combination of veggies like roasted asparagus and mushrooms.
Stuff pita bread with veggies and these vegan eggplant meatballs and top them with vegan tzatziki.
Add them to your vegan shakshuka to make it more filling.
Can it be a delicious pizza topping? Why not?

White plate with several brownish-redish balls on top of each other sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Storing ideas

You can keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days without any problem. To ensure their freshness, we suggest keeping them separate from any sauce.

Freezing these vegan chickpea meatballs after baking is the best option, as the uncooked mixture may turn too soggy upon thawing. We recommend reheating them in the oven or on a frying pan to restore their crispy exterior.