Vegan Meatless Tofu Meatballs Recipe

I think tofu is one of the most misunderstood ingredients of all time. Most chefs don't understand it and the average person is repulsed by it. 

But my experience with tofu is that if you know how to correctly manipulate it, it can help you create brilliant food that's packed with complete protein. 

I enjoy making my own meatless meatballs. I've made black bean ones and red bean ones and various other beans. 

So with the goal of incorporating more protein, especially more complete protein into my daily food intake, I tried to do some tofu meatballs. 

The first attempt was pretty tasty. Nice texture. Still it, needed a little tweaking. 

The second attempt was, to me, entirely successful. 

Ingredients
1/2 a 14 ounce block of extra firm tofu, drained and chunked
1/2 a can of black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos, mostly deseeded, chunked
1 serrano, mostly deseeded, chunked
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3 tbls olive oil
2 tbls nutritional yeast
2 tsps Aleppo pepper flakes or sub crushed pepper flakes
2 tsps garlic powder
2 tsps dry basil
2 tsps black pepper

Buzz it all up in your food processor until a thick, slightly crumbly paste is achieved. 

Cover tightly and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I left mine overnight. I just sealed the chute of the food processor with some plastic wrap and a rubber band. No need to dirty something else. 

Once sufficiently chilled, roll the mixture into small balls. about 2 inches in diameter. Try to work quickly. As the mixture warms it will get stickier. 

Place them on a large baking sheet sprayed with some non-stick. I line mine with foil for easy clean-up.

You'll wind up with 12-18 balls. 

Set oven to 375 F. 

I put the tray in as the oven was still preheating. 

When the oven dings to indicate it has reached temp set a timer for 13 minutes. 

After the 13 minutes are up, turn off the oven but leave the balls in there for 10 more minutes. 

Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating or transferring to a storage container. 

Tip: A nice variation  might be to roll the balls in panko breadcrumbs before baking. 

These can also be deep fried. With or without the breadcrumb coating.