greek quinoa meatball hummus bowls
Happy Meat-bowl Wednesday. That’d sound better if it were Monday, but it’s not, so that’s all I got for you nerds.
Taking up my traditional chickpea meatball a notch with the addition of epic Greek flavors, dished up bowl style with lots of greens and a big serving of hummus. I love me a good Mediterranean mainstay, but oddly enough I have very few (if any) here on FMG. Probably because my biggest phase of Greekdom happened when my photography looked shameful and I was ignorant of such.
But that changes today. These pretty, colorful, summery bowls are the prime way to enjoy the bevvy of flavors characteristic of the cuisine while keeping it completely vegetarian. Most Greek fixtures contain lamb, beef, and sometimes chicken, but these “meatballs” are made for us meatless folk. Sure, they don’t taste like meat, but the rich seasoning blend more than makes up for it.
A Meaty Mouthful
I opted for a combination of chickpeas and quinoa for these particular meatballs. I’m aware the recipe, then, contains a lot of chickpea action, but keep in mind that many brands of hummus are based on white beans or veggies nowadays, too. Or, you can sub out white beans of the chickpeas in the meatballs themselves. I just love chickpeas, and don’t mind piling them up as high as I can in a dish.
As far as the quinoa goes, I prefer using day-old quinoa from the fridge. If you do need to cook some up, do so, and give it time to come to room temperature. This may make your batter a bit more wet, so keep that in mind before you begin.
You’ll need a good, strong food processor for the job, but the ingredients are easy to access. Breadcrumbs, egg, feta, garlic, lots of herbs and spices, sesame seeds, lemon zest, and the aforementioned chickpeas and quinoa. Blend it up until well combined. The batter will be a bit sticky, but that is normal, so long as it’s not sopping and drippy.
To form the meatballs, speaking of, I run my hands in oil, then roll them up. This makes them a bit more moist and helps prevent excessive stickage. Lay the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spray with a touch more oil to coat both sides.
Hot Potato, Hot Potato
If your multitasking skills are dope, feel free to bake up the batch of sweet potato fries at the same time. You could swap these out for regular fries, too, if you please, but I like the hit of sweet in my bowl. As the name sweet potato fry implies. Whatever.
For the fries, I season them in a mix of smoked paprika, oregano, garlic and onion powders, cayenne pepper, honey, salt, and pepper. Throw in some olive oil, too. Lay them out on another parchment-lined baking sheet.
Place both sheets in the oven. Bake the meatballs 12-15 minutes, turning once halfway through, and the sweet potatoes about 20 minutes. So a bit of extra time, but nothing a timer can’t handle.
Fill Your Bowl
Beyond those two components, bowl assembly is a flash.
I use chopped romaine and sliced cucumber as my base, so this is kind of a salad bowl when all is said and done.
Then, I pile on the hummus. Don’t be shy, load it up. You can make some homemade or use your favorite store brand. I wish I’d be smart enough to put up my extra creamy homemade hummus before I make hummus recipes, but I will share it soon. It will change your goddamn life.
Add some sprinkles of feta and a drizzle of tzatziki, and you’ve got a beautiful little bowl to enjoy. Warm, fresh naan is never a bad idea here either to scoop up the meatballs and the hummus. You can even throw in some of your favorite veggies, like tomatoes or avocado, to really jazz shit up.
It’s your bowl, fill it how you like it.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
More ballin’ meatballs:
Sticky Basil Peach Meatball Bowls
Weeknight Sticky Sesame Jalapeno Chickpea Meatballs
greek quinoa meatball hummus bowls
Ingredients
quinoa meatballs
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh chives
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, each
for the bowls
- 2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into matchsticks
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3-4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 2 cups hummus, homemade or store bought
- feta cheese, tzatziki, naan, and fresh herbs, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ingredients for the meatballs. Blitz until smooth. The dough may be sticky, but cohesive.
- Oil your hands and roll the batter into meatballs. You will get anywhere from 12-20 depending on the size you make them. Lay the meatballs on the baking sheet. Spray both sides with oil.
- Bake the meatballs for 12-15 minutes, turning once halfway through, until lightly golden and firm.
- On the second baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, honey, salt, and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- Spread hummus on the bottom of the bowl. Top with shredded romaine and chopped cucumbers. Arrange a few meatballs on top of the lettuce and set a pile of sweet potato fries in one corner. Drizzle with tzatziki and sprinkle with feta, as desired. Serve with extra hummus and fresh naan.
