Roasted Spaghetti Squash + Chickpea Meatball Bowls

Spaghetti & meatballs are a classic combo everyone should be able to enjoy, especially vegans :) Spaghetti squash has become a staple for me this season & this is my new favorite way to eat it! With tomato sauce and meatballs made with chickpeas & italian spices. They are super easy to make and have very little ingredients that I'm sure you already have in your pantry. Not to mention they are gluten-free & oil-free. Perfect to make ahead of time and eat throughout the week or freeze for a later date. Feel free to make your own sauce (here is my recipe) or use a store bought one, just make sure you check the ingredients carefully! And you can't forget to make LOTS of vegan parmesan for this meal! Recipe video at the bottom of this post!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Ingridients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds
3. Season with salt, pepper, & garlic powder
4. Place face down on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Should be caramelized and fork tender

Chickpea Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed & drained
• 1 white onion, chopped then cooked (or sub 1 tsp onion powder)
• 2 cloves garlic (or sub 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or sub 1 tsp dried)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or sub 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 flax egg (1 tbs ground flax + 3 tbs water, thickened for 10 mins)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2-4 tbs oat flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a food processor or high speed blender, combine chickpeas, onion, garlic, & spices
3. Blend that until a smooth paste forms. It's okay if there are some bits of unblended chickpeas, the texture is good
4. Add in the flax egg, nutritional yeast, and 2 tbs of oat flour
5. Blend and scrape down the sides as needed
6. The dough should hold together when pressed, if it's not, add more oat flour little at a time until it hold the shape of a meatball when formed
7. Once the dough is at the right consistency, make meatballs using about 1-2 tablespoons of the chickpea mixture
8. Roll with your hands and place in a baking dish lined with parchment
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes. You won't see much of a difference once they have baked, however they may be slightly golden brown and cracked on the sides
10. Serve right away or freeze for a later date

Assemble

The spaghetti squash should be shaped somewhat like a bowl, this is a perfect vessel to hold our sauce & meatballs!

1. Place the squash face up and scrape it so the strings start to break up and look like pasta. This will make it easier to eat
2. Add about a 1/4-1/2 cup of sauce to the bottom and then pile on some meatballs
3. Sprinkle liberally with Vegan Parmesan and fresh basil and/or pasley
4. Enjoy!