Tofu Spinach Meatballs

Name: Tofu Spinach Meatballs
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, kale or collards, thawed and squeezed dry; 1 (14 ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed; 1/2 cup nutritional yeast; 2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds, chopped; 4-6 tablespoons chickpea, oat or whole wheat flour; 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon dried parsley; 1 teaspoon salt-free Mrs. Dash or to taste; 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds; 2 tablespoons water; 1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs; 1 1/2 cups low sodium or no-salt-added pasta sauce; 1/4 cup non-dairy mozzarella

By: David Grosch

by 21 members

G - BOMBS

Category: Main Dishes - Vegan

Tags: Athletic/Higher caloric Kid-Friendly

Time for an Italian comfort food classic? Try these flavorful baked meatballs in tomato sauce.

Recipe
My Notes
Nutrition Facts
Ratings & Comments (16)

Serves 4

Ingredients

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10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, kale or collards, thawed and squeezed dry

1 (14 ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds, chopped

4-6 tablespoons chickpea, oat or whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt-free Mrs. Dash or to taste

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

2 tablespoons water

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups low sodium or no-salt-added pasta sauce

1/4 cup non-dairy mozzarella

Instructions:

Place spinach (or kale or collards) in a large bowl and separate it with your fingers. Crumble the tofu into the bowl. Add the nutritional yeast, nuts, 4 tablespoons of the flour and the seasonings. Combine ground flax seeds with water to form a paste. Add to the spinach-tofu mixture and mix together to form a dough. Add additional flour as needed if mixture seems too wet.

Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, form mixture into compact, firm balls. Roll in bread crumbs.

Spoon some sauce into a baking dish, add the balls and cover with additional sauce and top with non-dairy mozzarella. Cover the baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Serve with additional sauce, if desired.

Can be served with bean pasta (available at www.drfuhrman.com).

This mixture would also work as a warm spinach dip for raw vegetables.

My Notes: (Click Edit to enter your notes about this recipe)

Serves 4

Per Serving:

Calories 435
Protein 30 g
Carbohydrates 46 g
Sugars 9 g
Total Fat 15.3 g
Saturated Fat 2.4 g
Cholesterol 4.4 mg
Sodium 475 mg
Fiber 11.8 g
Beta-Carotene 5525 ug
Vitamin C 4 mg
Calcium 386 mg
Iron 6.6 mg
Folate 158 ug
Magnesium 181 mg
Potassium 851 mg
Zinc 5.7 mg
Selenium 20.1 ug

My Rating:
(click on a star to select your rating)

ashe

11/06/2013 04:08 PM

Rated this recipe:

Delicious! Italian comfort food.

Victoria1111 replies:

01/02/2017 09:33 PM

Rated this recipe:

That is a good way to describe this recipe!

Wrekkless

11/13/2014 01:14 PM

Rated this recipe:

This was a huge hit with my 18 yo son and his 5 friends (mix of vegan and non). After eating one, one of the non-vegan friends suggested I should give his mom some of my recipes. Another said it was like Chicken Parmesan, without the chicken or Parmesan. I got about 30+ meatballs out of it, and I was lucky I had one before they got to them because there weren't any left. I made the recipe almost as written. I didn't have quite enough pine nuts, so I added some pumpkin seeds, didn't use Mrs. Dash/salt-free seasoning, made my own pasta sauce, and didn't top with any non-dairy cheese. After cooling a bit, they didn't hold together as much as I was expecting, but served over pasta, no one seemed to mind in the least. Next time, I might use a bit more chickpea flour to make them a bit drier. Great recipe - can't wait to make them again!

henrybvsi

11/14/2014 06:35 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Please send us a recipe for bean pasta that we can make at home. Thanks.

Elaine Garces

11/18/2014 07:45 PM

Rated this recipe:

4.5 stars. Delicious, quick and easy. I will make this often. Served over black bean pasta. Thank you!

Victoria1111

01/02/2017 09:32 PM

Rated this recipe:

I Love this recipe!

EacyDayANewBeginning replies:

07/01/2017 04:00 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

Me too!

sjs5877

07/02/2017 12:00 PM

Rated this recipe: (no rating)

I baked the meatballs for about 20 minutes, then let them sit. Then added pasta sauce with mushrooms and baked another 15. They are really good.

Wafson

09/01/2017 09:19 PM

Rated this recipe:

Tasty and filling. My 3 years old loved it too. Will surely add it to my usual meals!

This comment was last edited on 09/01/2017 09:19 PM

Finnoula

09/22/2017 04:52 PM

Rated this recipe:

Delicious! This recipe is a keeper!

Sparktn

01/20/2018 06:52 PM

Rated this recipe:

The recipe is just OK. The balls are VERY filling, but rather flavorless even with the spices. They need some mushrooms to give them more of a meaty flavor and some much needed moisture, and the breadcrumbs need a squirt of of Pam to make them brown a little in the oven. I didnt add the mozzerella cheese and maybe that's was missing. I served it over spagetti squash with Muir Glen sauce.

BJL

10/31/2018 08:25 PM

Rated this recipe:

These are absolutely delicious. We make them with whole-grain or bean pasta. We also use pasta sauce with no oil or salt added. Everyone loves them.

MonalisaZ

12/06/2018 12:00 PM

Rated this recipe:

I'm very impressed with this recipe. I followed the ingredients and instructions as written. Very delicious! Thanks for sharing. :)

LaceyL

11/28/2020 06:12 PM

Rated this recipe:

Thank you for this recipe, David, it is one of my favorite recipes on here!

rosesattic

12/03/2020 01:28 AM

Rated this recipe:

This was so yummy. I personally think it does not need the 'cheese' on top. Pretty easy to make.

stuart4life

01/10/2021 12:51 AM

Rated this recipe:

Great recipe! I used chopped kale and chickpea flour. Next time I'll try spinach, more flour since my "meatballs" were more free form than ball-shaped.

Since I got at least 6 servings, I felt justified using a whole bottle of very low sodium marinara sauce.

Delicious over been pasta.

slimjim123

12/29/2021 06:02 PM

Rated this recipe:

Loved it...had it over bean pasta...what a wonderful way to get the high protein content of tofu...great spaghetti and meatball dish!!

CleanLivingDiva

11/27/2022 06:50 PM

Rated this recipe:

These were so good! I was overly hungry and needed something substantial and this recipe did the trick. I didn't have WW bread crumbs so I toasted an Ezekiel bun and pulsed it into crumbs and it worked perfectly. I also added more water because I thought the paste was too thick. Can't wait to have the leftovers!

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Tofu Spinach Meatballs

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