This is a variation of our vegetarian meatball base recipe. We mash chickpeas with Indian spices, garlic, and ginger for flavor that can’t be beat! Serve these chickpea meatballs as an appetizer, or make them the center of a beautiful Whole Life Plate.
Three Must-Know Cooking Skills
For recipe success, learn how to:
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Culinary Tips for the Best Indian Chickpea Meatballs
Drain the beans in a colander to remove the liquid. If you drain the beans using the can lid, they might be too wet!
Mash to the texture you like. You can leave them slightly chunky or keep mashing to resemble refried beans.
If you have picky eaters, dice the onion or shallot finely so they don’t notice them.
Do not overcook the meatballs, or they will dry out! Once the edges are brown, remove them from the oven.
This recipe easily scales up. Simply double or triple the ingredient quantities. You may have to use two baking sheets to cook the chickpea meatballs; overcrowding the pan will prevent browning. Browning or caramelization adds delicious flavor!
Ingredient Substitutions
- Chickpeas: substitute canned cannellini or navy beans. You can also use 1 ½ cups of leftover beans from our stovetop or Instant Pot beans base recipes.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: substitute plain, whole wheat, or seasoned bread crumbs, but cut back on the added salt if you do. Panko is typically very low in sodium.
- Cilantro: substitute chives or Italian parsley. Their flavors are much different than cilantro, but will still complement the recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: substitute canola or avocado oil. Try out Enzo’s table for delicious oil that also shares the name of Chef V’s oldest son!
- Shallot: substitute white, yellow, red, or onions. You can also substitute ¼ teaspoon onion powder.
- Egg: to make these chickpea meatballs vegan, substitute 1 flax egg. Stir together 1 Tablespoon ground flax with 3 Tablespoons water and let rest for 10 minutes or until mixture has thickened.
- Garlic: substitute ½ teaspoon pre-minced garlic, ½ teaspoon garlic flakes, ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic, or ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Ginger: substitute ⅛ teaspoon ginger powder.
- Garam Masala: if you don’t have garam masala, you can make your own! Use 1 ½ teaspoons of the following mixture:
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Turmeric: Don’t have it on hand? Just leave it out. There is enough flavor from the garam masala.
We like to buy our spices from the Spice House. They have great quality, variety, and flavor!
Chickpea Meatball Recipe Variations
To make spicy bean meatballs, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ½ of a minced jalapeño to the bean mixture.
Want some vegetarian meatball flavor inspiration?
Use our vegetarian meatballs base recipe as a guide, and have fun exploring different flavors, ingredients, and textures!
Equipment Recommendations
Use these kitchen tools for recipe success:
- Colander
- Mixing Bowl
- Masher
- Measuring Spoons & Cups
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Pastry brush
- Portion scoop
- Baking sheet
Check out our essential equipment guide to stock your kitchen with ALL the tools you need to prepare anything!
Is this chickpea meatballs recipe healthy?
These easy chickpea meatballs are a healthier choice than their greasy counterparts. Unlike beef, beans provide fiber and no saturated fat. The featured ingredients in this recipe are chickpeas, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh herbs.
Chickpeas
Beans of all varieties contain plant-based protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. These nutrients promote gut health, decrease the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and promote a healthy weight. Beans are a key component of longevity diets around the world.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean Diet. It contains high amounts of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols, which may reduce inflammation. (1, 2) This recipe replaces the saturated fat typically found in 100% beef meatballs.
Cilantro
Not only does the cilantro add a pop of freshness and flavor to the dish, but it adds nutrition too! Herbs are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that promote health and help fight diseases.
For more information about the best ingredients to use, check out our ingredient guide!
Serving Suggestions
Serve baked chickpea meatballs as an appetizer with our curry ketchup, stuff a pita along with some fresh veggies, or top a salad.
Meatballs are an easy finger food for kids. Pair with roasted vegetables and a side salad for a meal the whole family loves!
Learn how to build a healthy balanced meal with our Whole Life Plate, meal plan, and book!
How to Store and Reheat Chickpea Meatballs
Cool leftover meatballs completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Leftover meatballs can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, place on a baking sheet and freeze for 1-4 hours. Once partially frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before heating.
To reheat, place bean meatballs on a pan and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven to heat to 350° F. Once the oven hits 350° F, your bean meatballs should be warmed and ready!
Want more bean-based dinner recipes?
Try out these delicious recipes!
Healthy Burrito Bowl Base Recipe
Indian Meatballs with Raita Yogurt Sauce
Share the Love – Leave us a Review!
Unlike many other recipe blogs, we actually encourage you to tweak our recipes. Not because they’re in need of change, haha, but because we believe one of the secrets to success in the kitchen is cooking to YOUR taste. Make the recipe, leave us a review, and tell us if you made any changes! We love hearing how you’ve made it your own.
Chickpea Meatballs with Garam Masala
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1, 15- ounce can low-sodium chickpeas
- ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon finely diced shallot
- 1 large egg
- 1 small garlic clove, minced (~1 teaspoon)
- ½ teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Dash pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Drain beans in a colander, but reserve the juice. Place beans in a large mixing bowl and mash until almost smooth or leave slightly chunky.
- Add bread crumbs, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, shallot, egg, garlic, ginger, spices, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined. If mixture is crumbly, add some of the reserved bean juice.
- Spray a pan with cooking spray. Use a portion scoop or spoons to create golf ball sized meatballs and place on the pan, spaced ~1” apart.
- Cook 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and slightly brown on the edges. Enjoy!
This Post Has 6 Comments
The “meatballs” were very dry and crumbly inside, even though I added 2TBS of water so I could form the balls.
I added 1 tsp smoky paprika and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes for additional flavor.
We ate this with a Greek yogurt and dill based dressing and enjoyed it very much.
Awe man, sorry to hear they were dry! We have learned that different brands of canned chickpeas can result in a drier meatball. Smart thinking to add the water! We will make a note in the recipe to reserve some of the bean juice to add if this happens to anyone else. Thank you for letting us know!
Also, great flavor additions 🙂
Can you provide any guidance for converting this recipe into a chickpea meatloaf recipe?
We have not made it into a loaf before, but you could try cooking the entire mixture in a greased loaf pan. Glaze the top with some ketchup or tomato paste. Lower the temperature to 375 F, and try cooking for about 30 minutes or until set. If you try it out, let us know how it turns out!
I made these chickpea meatballs tonight such a delicious blend of spices! The garam masala really brings out so much flavor, and they turned out perfectly tender. Will definitely make again!
Love hearing that 🙂