Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Meatballs

June 10, 2013

These vegetarian meatballs are a hearty meatless meal. "Beef" crumbles are combined with oatmeal and plenty of garlic and onion to make a succulent meatless meatball. If you have fresh herbs handy, you can throw those into the mixture as well. These meatballs are tasty on top of spaghetti with marinara sauce or even in a hoagie with melted provolone.

Vegetarian Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 pounds Morningstar Farms "beef crumbles"

1 tablespoon minced onion flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup milk (whole, skim, soy, etc.)

3/4 cup multi-grain oatmeal

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

vegetable cooking spray

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and water; blend until smooth and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 . Lightly spray a 10-inch baking dish with nonfat cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine "beef crumbles", onion flakes, garlic powder, milk, pepper, and oatmeal. blend well and shape mixture into small balls.

Lightly spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Place "meatballs" in skillet and brown on all sides. Turn carefully with a slotted spoon.

Place "meatballs" in prepared baking dish. Cover with barbecue sauce and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until bubbly.