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    Home » Appetizer Recipes

    Vegan Broccoli Balls

    Published: Jan 18, 2016 · Modified: Jul 1, 2018 by Richa 119 Comments

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub. Easy Vegan Recipe. Can be gluten-free. Makes 10 to 12 1 – 1.5 inch balls  Jump to Recipe   

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com #vegan #recipe

    I have been trying to incorporate more broccoli in my meals. Yes, yes, I have to admit that it isn’t a vegetable that makes me go yay. I mean I eat it, but am not excited about it as I am with Cauliflower. That is about to change this year with my challenge to make dishes with said nose wrinkling vegetable, that I will like to eat. Lets see how Okra fares this year. 

    These balls worked out well to get me to somewhat actually like eating broccoli. Broccoli is roasted to dry out the excess moisture, spices, almond meal, breadcrumbs and chia egg or flax egg are mixed in and rolled up into balls to bake until crisp. The spices get stronger as the baked balls sit and I like the stronger spice flavor. Some vegan cheese in the balls also helps the balls in texture and flavor. 

    Do you have an unexplained dislike for a certain vegetable or food? How do you get over that dislike?


    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com #vegan #recipe

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com vegan recipe

    More Apps from the blog to try

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    Balls ready to be baked. 


    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com #vegan #recipe

    Baked below. Serve with marinara or spicy tomato chutney or over spaghetti as veggie balls, or make a veggie ball sub.

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com #vegan #recipe

    Print Recipe
    4.95 from 17 votes

    Vegan Broccoli Balls

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub. Easy Vegan Recipe. Can be gluten-free. Makes 10 to 12, 1 - 1.5 inch balls
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: fusion
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 60kcal
    Author: Vegan Richa

    Ingredients

    • 1 tsp oil
    • 1/2 cup (80 g) finely chopped onion
    • 1 large head of broccoli , florets and tender stem (peel off the knobs from the stem and use)
    • 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil
    • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) dried oregano
    • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garlic
    • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) chipotle pepper
    • 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground black pepper
    • 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) 1/3 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp or more nutritional yeast
    • 1/4 cup (28 g) almond meal
    • 1/4 cup (27 g) or more bread crumbs
    • 1 chia seed egg 1 tbsp chia seeds or chia seed meal mixed with 3 tbsp warm water, let sit for 2 minutes to gel

    Variations

    • 1/4 cup (62.5 g) my almond milk pepper jack or other vegan cheese shreds like daiya cheddar or pepperjack optional

    Instructions

    • Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
    • Pulse the broccoli and basil in a food processor until grated. Add to the pan. (2.5 to 3 cups grated). Add a dash of salt, mix and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out the excess moisture. (If the broccoli is dry, cook for only a minute). Take off heat.
    • Add in the spices, almond meal, breadcrumbs. Mix well. Make the chia seed egg or use 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed meal + 2.5 Tbsp warm water) or egg replacer for 1 egg.
    • Mix in. Add vegan cheese shreds if using. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.
    • Shape the mixture into balls. If the balls are too crumbly (depends on the moisture content, size of grated broccoli etc), add another chia egg, or sprinkle some non dairy milk or aquafaba and mix well.
    • Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F / 200ºc.
    • Bake for a total of 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp and golden on the outside. (Turn the sheet around after 15 minutes, and continue to bake.). you can also sprinkle some cheese shreds on the balls in the last 5 minutes. Serve warm with marinara or over spaghetti or as veggie balls in a sub sandwich.

    Notes

    Use other nuts as walnuts or pumpkin/sunflower seeds(nut-free) instead of almonds. Process into meal and use. Or use more breadcrumbs.
    For variation: add a 1/2 to 1 cup cooked mashed chickpeas or other beans for a hearty veggie ball.
    Nutritional values based on one broccoli ball

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Broccoli Balls
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 60 Calories from Fat 18
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 2g3%
    Sodium 108mg5%
    Potassium 190mg5%
    Carbohydrates 7g2%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 340IU7%
    Vitamin C 45.8mg56%
    Calcium 42mg4%
    Iron 0.7mg4%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Vegan Broccoli Balls. Broccoli Cheese Balls, veggie / meat balls. Serve with marinara, or over spaghetti or in a sub.| VeganRicha.com #vegan #recipe

    In other news,

    Microbeads have finally been banned. These tiny plastic beads in hundreds of products ranging from body scrubs to toothpastes provide an exfoliating sensation for users and are designed to wash down drains. But because they are made of plastic, microbeads do not dissolve and may pose a threat to the environment. In September, a study published in Environmental Science & Technology reported that more than 8 trillion microbeads were entering the country’s aquatic habitats daily causing many issues for the aquatic animals. The volume was enough to coat the surface of 300 tennis courts every day.

    Ringling is retiring elephants from their shows, but wait, the elephants will head to cancer research and breeding facility and not a sanctuary. Lets get these elephants to a true sanctuary where they can live a somewhat natural life after years of abuse.

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    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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    1. Michele

      March 14, 2023 at 7:00 pm

      5 stars
      These are just plain delicious! Great, simple recipe. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        March 15, 2023 at 8:07 pm

        awesome!

        Reply
    2. Randi

      May 24, 2022 at 6:34 pm

      These are great! I’ve made them several times now. The only suggestion I have is to move your directions to make the flaxseed egg up since that has to sit for 10-15 minutes before use.

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        May 29, 2022 at 6:37 pm

        thanks Randi

        Reply
    3. Ks

      February 01, 2022 at 9:10 am

      What’s the purpose of almond flour?

      Reply
      • Richa

        February 01, 2022 at 10:33 pm

        Adds some volume as broccoli will reduce in size on cooking.

        Reply
    4. Kaye

      October 07, 2021 at 6:13 pm

      5 stars
      The recipe is Delicious! I couldn’t get them to “stand up”. I reread the recipe again and again. I think in the end I just needed to bake longer. I have put the in the freezer tonight and will bake tomorrow before I serve.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        October 11, 2021 at 9:36 am

        How long did you bake them for?

        Reply
    5. Mary Ellen

      May 19, 2021 at 10:25 am

      Would love to see a photo of what broccoli grated in a food processor is supposed to look like.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        May 20, 2021 at 1:44 pm

        good idea, thank you

        Reply
    6. Heather

      February 02, 2021 at 1:29 pm

      In the description it says that the broccoli is roasted, but I don’t see this in any of the steps. Is raw broccoli grated, then fried with the onions? Looking forward to making this for super bowl!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        February 05, 2021 at 4:11 pm

        its pan roasted: Pulse the broccoli and basil in a food processor until grated. *Add to the pan. (2.5 to 3 cups grated). Add a dash of salt, mix and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out the excess moisture. (If the broccoli is dry, cook for only a minute). Take off heat.

        Reply
    7. Dulce

      December 15, 2020 at 1:12 pm

      Very nice and tasty. Easy to make. I’m thinking about shaping them into patties to make veggie burgers with it.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        December 16, 2020 at 1:22 pm

        cool

        Reply
    8. Maggie

      August 18, 2020 at 9:49 am

      These look wonderful, but wondering, do you think I could substitute more breadcrumbs for the almond flour? Is the purpose of the almond flour to hold them together? I am excited to try them!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        August 18, 2020 at 12:57 pm

        that’ll totally work – go for it Maggie. chia/flax egg are the binder. (hold together)

        Reply
    9. Ramya Jeyaraman

      April 06, 2020 at 3:06 am

      Tried this today without cheese, I loved it: simple and easy to make. My 4yo enjoyed it as well. Thanks for sharing!:)

      Reply
    10. Marcus Flores

      January 04, 2020 at 6:02 am

      5 stars
      Great recipe! Made it for my holiday party and my coworkers were skeptical at first, but ended up saying how yummy they were.

      Reply
    11. Patti

      December 19, 2019 at 2:47 pm

      Hi,
      Do the balls freeze well? I would like to prepare them a day or two ahead of time.

      Reply
      • Richa

        December 19, 2019 at 3:10 pm

        they would need more binding for freezing. add more flax egg and breadcrumbs

        Reply
    12. Pat Saunders

      November 21, 2019 at 1:54 am

      5 stars
      We loved these. I used the stalk also which added a little crunch to the balls. I had to add more chia egg which worked well. Will definitely make again. Thank you.

      Reply
    13. Onahleigh

      October 22, 2019 at 6:03 am

      I would like to make these tonight for the weekly dinner my mother in law, problem is I leave for class at 5:30 and my husband doesn’t get home to eat until 6:30. Could I prep them to the point they’re on the baking sheet and my MIL pop them in the oven an hour later?

      Reply
      • Richa

        October 22, 2019 at 10:45 am

        Yes, prebake for 10 mins and your mil can put them in the oven to continue baking

        Reply
    14. Jen

      September 22, 2019 at 4:32 am

      Oh, yes! Artichoke is my enemy. I don’t actually dislike it – there’s just something about the smell that tells me I should be vomiting soon. I just avoid it, actually.

      Reply
    15. Rita

      March 28, 2019 at 12:09 pm

      Do you have a recommended recipe for spicy tomato chutney?

      Reply
      • Richa

        March 28, 2019 at 12:49 pm

        https://www.veganricha.com/2012/08/my-moms-tomato-chutney-sweet-sour-and.html

        Reply
    16. Tiffani Wells

      December 17, 2018 at 4:06 pm

      5 stars
      I love this recipe! I put them on top edamame spaghetti with cauliflower Alfredo sauce. Soooo good!

      Reply
      • Richa

        December 17, 2018 at 7:23 pm

        awesome!

        Reply
    17. Claire

      November 29, 2018 at 3:17 am

      Can you leave the yeast out?

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 29, 2018 at 10:44 am

        yes

        Reply
    18. Bonnie Yonker

      November 16, 2018 at 7:38 am

      Can you use frozen broccoli?

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 16, 2018 at 11:05 am

        havent tried it.it should work fine. you might need to add additional breadcrumbs

        Reply
    19. Sue

      November 09, 2018 at 4:06 am

      Thinking these might work well as a finger food option with cocktail sticks in for an upcoming birthday party (will also make my regular Red Lentil and Tomato Pulao from your Indian book). That one is nicknamed ‘Laurel Rice’ in our house as it’s the favourite dish of Laurel, our grandaughter.

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 09, 2018 at 9:42 am

        totally. You can make them smaller for finger food.
        thats awesome! i love that pulao. so easy and quick

        Reply
    20. Jane

      November 08, 2018 at 2:45 pm

      Thank you for so generously sharing your recipes. I just had a birthday. With my birthday money I’m gifting myself both of your books 🙂

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 08, 2018 at 5:43 pm

        <3 <3

        Reply
    21. Leah

      July 01, 2018 at 1:46 am

      5 stars
      These are so freaking delicious! I love how you can use the stalk as well as the florets, too! I hate wasting the stalk, but I don’t really like it by itself, so this is great! Thanks for the great recipe!

      Reply
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