Spicy Bean Balls
Inspired by Tex-Mex flavours, these easy Spicy Bean Balls take just 20 minutes to bake. Serve in a wrap with veggies, cheese, chilli sauce and yogurt.
Ingredients
- 2 x 400g tins beans e.g. black, kidney, cannellini, haricot, borlotti drained, approx 460-480 g of beans in total
- 100 g rolled or porridge oats or breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely grated or chopped
- 2 rounded tbsp spicy chutney, mild chilli sauce, or tomato puree see Recipe Note #1
- 1 small bunch coriander, leaf and stems finely chopped
- 2 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
- 1 heaped tsp dried oregano
- 1 heaped tsp dried sage
- ½ - 1 tsp hot or mild chilli flakes or chilli powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 egg Optional: see Recipe Note #2
- olive oil for coating
To serve (optional)
- tortilla or flatbread
- salad
- grated cheese
- chilli sauce
- yogurt or soured cream
- pickled chillies
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 200 C / 180C Fan / Gas 6.
Line a shallow baking tray with greaseproof baking or lightly oil it.
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Put the drained beans in a mixing bowl and break up with a potato masher, fork, or your hands.
Add to the bowl the oats, chopped onion, garlic, and coriander, the chutney, chilli sauce or tomato puree, all the spices and dried herbs. Season with the black pepper and ½ tsp salt.
Crack in the egg (or flax egg or alternatives - see Recipe Note #2) and stir everything together well.
Important: take a small amount of the mixture and shape it into a patty. Fry in a little oil and taste: add more seasoning if needed.
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Take pieces of the mixture and roll into walnut-sized balls. For a crispier exterior roll each in a little olive oil to give a light coating.
Place the balls on the tray and put it into the preheated oven.
Cook for 10 minutes. Turn the balls over and cook for another 8 - 10 minutes or until crisp and brown on the outside and hot all the way through.
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Serve with tortilla, salad, sauces etc.
Will keep 3-4 days in the fridge or can be frozen. You can also freeze before cooking, after rolling into balls.
Recipe Notes
#1 Spicy chutney: my Smoky Tomato Chilli Chutney is perfect for this recipe.
#2 Egg alternatives: although the recipe hasn't been tested without an egg, it should still work with either a flax 'egg' (mix 1 tbsp of milled flaxseed with 3 tbsp boiling water, leave for 1 minute or until gel like then mix with the rest of the ingredients), or by adding a few more oats and chutney, chilli sauce or tomato puree until you get a mixture that binds together easily.