White Bean and Wild Rice Meatballs with Gravy

White bean and wild rice meatballs with miso tahini gravy are the perfect vegetarian main dish for the holidays. Serve them as the vegetarian option at your Christmas dinner with all the fixings, or with oven fries and greens for a cozy meal. 

Hello my friends, and happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. I’ve been trying to study for exams, which is easier said than done when you have Christmas on your mind, haha. But now that I’ve let go of my need for perfection, I’m just trying to make the most of what I’m taking (environmental studies and geography, which, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have majored in) and not put too much pressure on myself. It’s a relief to know that I am halfway through the second-last semester of this program, at least! Zoom classes have been challenging in their own way, as I’m sure some of you can relate to- I certainly won’t miss spending most of my days glued to a screen. 

I had been wanting to create a recipe for vegetarian meatballs with wild rice for awhile, and I am very happy with what I’ve come up with! The combination of white beans, wild rice, vegetables, rosemary, thyme, nuts, and flavour makers in the form of balsamic, Worcestershire sauce, and tamari is deeply comforting and satisfying. And the miso tahini gravy takes this dish over the top! If you are familiar with my Sweet Potato Fries with Greens, Chickpeas, and Gravy or my Chickpeas, Greens, and Gravy on Toast, you are already familiar with this gravy. I put it on practically everything! It’s ultra flavourful and rich in umami, that elusive “fifth taste” that is commonly found in meat. Miso and nutritional yeast have umami in spades, which is why people love this gravy so much! Seriously, non-vegetarians I’ve served it to said that they liked it more than meat-derived gravy! 

The meatballs themselves don’t take too long to make, especially if you cook the wild rice beforehand. The cool thing about wild rice is that it adds an element reminiscent of gristle to the white bean balls. Not to say that gristle is everyone’s favourite thing about meat, haha, but it does add an interesting textural component that is sometimes missing in plant-based meatballs. The gravy also comes together quickly- you can make it while the meatballs are baking. I had to serve them with pasta because I realized that I didn’t have any potatoes on hand to make oven fries with. The pasta was tasty, but I recommend serving these meatballs and gravy with either russet potato or sweet potato oven fries and steamed greens or broccoli for the most delicious combination! They would also make a fabulous main dish for the vegetarians at your Christmas table. 🙂

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

• For the white bean and wild rice meatballs: White beans, wild rice, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, carrot, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, tamari, rosemary, thyme, walnuts, pecans, or almonds, oat flour, and egg (or sub a flax egg for a vegan option). 
• For the miso tahini gravy: Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, vegetable broth, miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, toasted sesame oil, flour, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the white bean meatballs: Pulse the white beans in a food processor until coarsely ground. Stop before they turn into a paste. Transfer into a large bowl. Next, pulse the nuts until coarsely ground and add them to the bowl. Whisk the egg and add it to the bowl. 
2. Warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add the pepper, balsamic, Worcestershire sauce, tamari, rosemary, and thyme. Cook for a couple more minutes. Add this to the bowl that has the beans, nuts, and egg. Add the oat flour and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired. However, the gravy is rather salty, so you probably won’t need more salt in the meatballs! 
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the bean mixture into 20 balls and bake for 35 minutes. 
4. Make the miso tahini gravy: In a medium saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, whisk together the broth, miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, toasted sesame oil, flour, and maple syrup. Whisk this into the saucepan and cook, whisking often, until the mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to an upright blender and blend until smooth. Finally, add the apple cider vinegar. This helps balance the flavours! (Alternatively, if you have an immersion blender, you can blend the gravy right in the pot.) Cover and keep warm until ready to serve. 
5. For serving, I like to present the meatballs in a cast iron skillet with the gravy spooned over top, but this is optional. You can serve the meatballs and gravy however you please! 

MORE PLANT-BASED MEATBALL RECIPES

• Sweet and Sour Tempeh Meatballs
• Black Lentil Walnut Meatball Bowls
• Vegan Chickpea Meatball Subs with Basil Pesto Cream

Well, folks, that’s all from me today! I’ve got to finish studying for exams, but I’ll be back very soon with another cozy recipe. And, on Friday, I’ll be sharing my favourite vegan peanut butter fudge brownies ever, so be sure to check back for that. 🙂 Until then, I hope you love these white bean and wild rice meatballs with gravy! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below. And if you share a photo to Instagram, be sure to tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made. 

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Enjoy! 

White Bean and Wild Rice Meatballs with Gravy

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Allison
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

White bean and wild rice meatballs with miso tahini gravy are the perfect vegetarian main dish for the holidays. Serve them as the vegetarian option at your Christmas dinner with all the fixings, or with oven fries and greens for a cozy meal.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

White Bean and Wild Rice Meatballs

• 3 cups cooked white beans
• ½ cup walnuts, pecans, or almonds
• 1 egg (may sub flax egg- see note)
• 1 ½ cups cooked wild rice (from ½ cup dry- see note for instructions)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegan-friendly Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ cup oat flour or spelt flour

Miso Tahini Gravy

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• Couple pinches each sea salt and ground black pepper
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons chickpea or mellow white miso
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup light spelt or all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

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Instructions

1. Make the white bean meatballs: Pulse the white beans in a food processor until coarsely ground. Stop before they turn into a paste. Transfer into a large bowl. Next, pulse the nuts until coarsely ground and add them to the bowl. Add the cooked wild rice. Whisk the egg and add it to the bowl.
2. Warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add the pepper, balsamic, Worcestershire sauce, tamari, rosemary, and thyme. Cook for a couple more minutes. Add this to the bowl that has the beans, nuts, and egg. Add the oat flour and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired. However, the gravy is rather salty, so you probably won’t need more salt in the meatballs!
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the bean mixture into 20 balls and bake for 35 minutes.
4. Make the miso tahini gravy: In a medium saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, whisk together the broth, miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, toasted sesame oil, flour, and maple syrup. Whisk this into the saucepan and cook, whisking often, until the mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes. If the gravy is refusing to thicken enough (this happens from time to time), dissolve a tablespoon more flour in a small amount of broth, and then whisk that into the gravy and cook for a couple more minutes, until it thickens.
5. Transfer to an upright blender and blend until smooth. Finally, add the apple cider vinegar. This helps balance the flavours! (Alternatively, if you have an immersion blender, you can blend the gravy right in the pot.) Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
6. For serving, I like to present the meatballs in a cast iron skillet with the gravy spooned over top, but this is optional. You can serve the meatballs and gravy however you please!

Notes

To make a flax egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon of ground flax and 2.5 tablespoons of water in a small dish and wait a couple of minutes for it to thicken.

To cook the wild rice, combine the wild rice, 1 cup of water, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 hour, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed. I recommend planning ahead and cooking the rice in advance so that it’s ready by the time you want to make the meatballs!

To make the gravy gluten-free, replace the flour with arrowroot. Whisk 2 tablespoons of arrowroot starch with ⅓ cup of water before adding it to the broth mixture. Don’t overheat arrowroot, because it tends to lose its thickening power when it gets too hot.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: North American

Keywords: vegetarian white bean and wild rice meatballs and gravy