Spanakopita White Bean Meatballs with Lemon Olive Quinoa + Tahini Sauce

Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines collide in these flavourful, healthy spanakopita-inspired white bean meatball bowls with lemon olive quinoa and tahini sauce. Vegetarian meatballs made with white beans, spinach, herbs, and feta are a delicious riff on spanakopita! 

Hope you had a great weekend! I went to the farm to pick up my CSA basket on Saturday morning, came back and did a bit of work, exercised, and then went over to my brother and his fiancée’s for my mom’s birthday celebration. It was really wonderful to be together as a family for her birthday, since as I’ve mentioned, I’ll be moving away at the end of August. Maxing out on all the quality time with family I can get until then! 

These spanakopita white bean meatballs are one thing we have really been enjoying in the last little while. They’re easy to make, hearty, and destined to become a summer time staple. I don’t know about you, but I could eat spanakopita every day. I just love the rich phyllo pastry with salty feta and spinach. And there is a really great local vegetarian restaurant right near my house that makes the best spanakopita. It’s a little bit dangerous. But, I don’t believe that eating spanakopita every day would be the best thing for my health. These spanakopita white bean meatballs, on the other hand? They are a healthy way to satisfy that spanakopita craving on the daily. 

white bean spanakopita meatballs: the details 

Once I had the spanakopita white bean meatballs down pat, I decided that I ought to make a meal out of them. Initially, I was going to serve them on pasta or orzo, but I realized that I was not craving any more wheat that weekend (I had gone a bit overboard on the bread). So, I turned to my good friend quinoa, a pseudo grain that I really love, but isn’t always the most exciting on its own. I took it up a notch by tossing in some Kalamata olives, lemon juice and zest, and herbs to add a little bit of panache. And the sauce! One must never eat a bowl without a sauce. That is a recipe for a sad bowl, in my book. I went with the exact same lemon tahini sauce that I used in my ever-popular Mediterranean Lentil Veggie Wraps. Finally, I added some roasted asparagus for green goodness. Of course, kale or broccoli would be just as great! 

ingredients you’ll need

For the white bean spinach feta meatballs, you’ll need white beans, pepitas, ground flax, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, spinach, feta, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, cumin, chili flakes, oat flour, parsley, and lemon juice. 

For the lemon olive quinoa, you’ll need quinoa, water, sea salt, lemon zest and juice, Kalamata olives, and fresh bars. 

For the lemon tahini sauce, you’ll need tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, olive oil, maple syrup, and water. 

For the asparagus, you’ll need asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. 

the method

Make the spanakopita-style white bean spinach feta meatballs: Place the white beans in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and pulse several times, until broken down and crumbly, but not yet a paste. Transfer into a large bowl. Next, place the pepitas in the food processor and process into a coarse meal. Add to the bowl with the white beans. Finally, place the spinach in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the spinach to the bowl and stir in the ground flax and feta. 

Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 8 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cumin, and chili flakes. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl containing the white bean mixture. Lastly, add the oat flour, parsley, and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly to combine; I always use my hands to ensure that everything is combined as well as possible. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, if desired. Form the mixture into about 28 balls and place them on the baking sheet with a little bit of space in between each so that they cook properly. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, while the white bean balls are in the oven, make the quinoa: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and salt. Turn down heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let it rest for five minutes. Then lightly fluff with a fork and add the lemon zest, juice, olives, and herbs. 

Make the lemon tahini sauce: In an upright blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more water to thin out, if desired. Transfer into a jar or container. 

Roast the asparagus: Once the meatballs come out of the oven, increase the oven temperature to 400 F. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 8-10 minutes. 

Put it all together: Serve up the meatballs in bowls with desired amounts of lemon olive quinoa, lemon tahini sauce, and asparagus. 

Eat!! 

more plant-based meatball recipes

• Sweet and Sour Tempeh Meatballs
• Black Lentil Walnut Meatball Bowls
• White Bean and Wild Rice Meatballs with Gravy

While this recipe appears complex, it really isn’t- especially if you make the white bean spanakopita meatballs ahead of time. And they make a big batch, so you’ll definitely be able to enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day… unless you have a huge family, that is! Other ways to enjoy these meatballs include on subs, pasta, pizza… pretty much anywhere you’d have a meat meatball, you can sub these veggie ones. 

With all that being said, I hope that you love these spanakopita white bean meatballs with lemon herb quinoa and avocado sauce as much as I do! 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, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made! 

Spanakopita White Bean Meatballs with Lemon Olive Quinoa + Tahini Sauce

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• Author: Allison
• Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines collide in these flavourful, healthy spanakopita-inspired white bean meatball bowls with lemon olive quinoa and tahini sauce. Vegetarian meatballs made with white beans, spinach, herbs, and feta are a delicious riff on spanakopita!

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Ingredients

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Spanakopita White Bean Meatballs

• 3 cups cooked white beans (such as navy or great northern), or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 4 loosely packed cups spinach
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1 cup oat flour
• ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Lemon Olive Herb Quinoa

• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• Zest of 1 organic lemon
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
• Handful of finely chopped fresh parsley or basil

Lemon Tahini Sauce (Makes extra)

• ½ cup tahini
• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 medium cloves of garlic
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tbsp pure maple syrup
• ⅓ cup water

Asparagus

• 1 bunch asparagus, tough ends broken off
• ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

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Instructions

1. Make the spanakopita-style white bean spinach feta meatballs: Place the white beans in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and pulse several times, until broken down and crumbly, but not yet a paste. Transfer into a large bowl. Next, place the pepitas in the food processor and process into a coarse meal. Add to the bowl with the white beans. Finally, place the spinach in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the spinach to the bowl and stir in the ground flax and feta.
2. Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 8 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cumin, and chili flakes. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl containing the white bean mixture. Lastly, add the oat flour, parsley, and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly to combine; I always use my hands to ensure that everything is combined as well as possible.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, if desired. Form the mixture into about 28 balls and place them on the baking sheet with a little bit of space in between each so that they cook properly. Bake for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, while the white bean balls are in the oven, make the quinoa: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and salt. Turn down heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let it rest for five minutes. Then lightly fluff with a fork and add the lemon zest, juice, olives, and herbs.
5. Make the lemon tahini sauce: In an upright blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more water to thin out, if desired. Transfer into a jar or container.
6. Roast the asparagus: Once the meatballs come out of the oven, increase the oven temperature to 400 F. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 8-10 minutes.
7. Put it all together: Serve up the meatballs in bowls with desired amounts of lemon olive quinoa, lemon tahini sauce, and asparagus.

Eat!!

• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keywords: spanakopita white bean meatballs