These chickpea meatballs pack a mighty flavor punch! Smothered in sweet and spicy firecracker sauce and served with a sprinkling of fresh chives, they're perfect in a sandwich or for party snacking.
It's totally a coincidence that I'm posting these meatballs the week before July 4th. But a happy coincidence, because these suckers are kind of perfect for Independence day. What better way to celebrate a holiday that involves pyrotechnics than with pyrotechnic-themed food? And these chickpea meatballs just happen to make a great alternative to veggie burgers!
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What are Firecracker Meatballs?
I didn't invent the concept of firecracker meatballs. They seem to be a big thing in the world of non-vegan food, and I just decided it was time for a vegan version.
Usually firecracker meatballs are made with chicken and smothered in super spicy sauce. There's really no specific recipe for the sauce — some versions are similar to Buffalo sauce, some are Asian-inspired, and some are barbecue-ish.
I went with one of my favorite chicken substitutes for my firecracker meatballs: chickpeas. "Chickpeas" sounds like "chicken" and that's what makes them one of my favorite chicken substitutes.
Getting serious though, chickpeas make a great base for vegan meatballs. When lightly mashed up and combined with seasonings they have the perfect texture and seasonings for rolling into veggie balls. They're super convenient (available in cans!) so it's easy to keep all the ingredients for a batch of chickpea meatballs on hand at all times.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Canned chickpeas. Prefer to cook your chickpeas from scratch? That's fine! You'll need about 2 cups of them
- Panko breadcrumbs. Need a gluten-free substitute? Try oat flour, or just grind up some rolled oats in a food processor bowl to make your own oat flour.
- Red onion. Yellow onion can be substituted if that's what you've got on hand.
- Garlic.
- Soy sauce. Use gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos if you need to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Smoked paprika.
- Ground cumin.
- Canola oil. Just about any high-heat oil can be substituted, such as olive oil, peanut oil or vegetable oil.
- Water.
- Cornstarch.
- Hot sauce. Use a mild, vinegar-based hot sauce. Frank's is my choice for this dish, but Cholula or Crystal would also be good choices.
- Brown sugar. Make sure this is organic to keep the recipe vegan.
- Fresh Chives.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by placing your chickpeas into a food processor bowl, along the panko breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, soy sauce, paprika and ground cumin.
- Pulse everything until the ingredients are finely chopped and well-mixed. Don't overdo it or your meatballs will be mushy in the middle!
- Roll your chickpea balls and place them on a baking sheet or in an oven-safe skillet. Lightly oil them so they brown, then bake them up!
- While the balls bake you can heat up your sauce on the stove. Simmer some hot sauce, brown sugar, and water for a few minutes, then thicken the mixture by adding a cornstarch slurry.
- When the chickpea meatballs are done baking, pour the sauce over them.
- Sprinkle with chives and serve!
Leftovers, Storage & Make Ahead Options
Chickpea meatballs and firecracker sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days, or in the refrigerator for about 3 months.
Both the meatballs and sauce can be made ahead and stored together or separate (separate is better)! You can also blend up the chickpea mixture in advance and chill until you're ready to use. Then on the day of serving, roll, bake, sauce, and serve!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! If you're thinking of making more traditional, Italian style vegan meatballs in marinara sauce, I'd vary the seasonings a bit by omitting the cumin and paprika and adding an Italian seasoning blend.
The sauce is! If you're not into heat you can try serving them with a different type of sauce.
They work great as an appetizer. I also love them on a sandwich with some vegan mayo (which helps dull the heat a bit).
Usually that means you overblended the chickpea mixture. Go a little easier next time so that the mix retains some texture.
It can, though the meatballs won't brown very much when you bake them. If you omit the oil, try baking them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so they don't stick.
More Vegan Meatball Recipes
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Firecracker Chickpea Meatballs
These chickpea meatballs pack a mighty flavor punch! Smothered in sweet and spicy firecracker sauce and served with a sprinkling of fresh chives, they're perfect in a sandwich or for party snacking.
Ingredients
For the Chickpea Meatballs
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or high-heat oil of choice
For the Firecracker Sauce
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ cup vinegar-based hot sauce (preferably Frank's brand)
- ⅓ cup organic brown sugar
- ¼ cup water (this is in addition to the chilled water listed above)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
For Serving
- Fresh chives
Instructions
To Make the Chickpea Meatballs
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Place the chickpeas, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, soy sauce, paprika, cumin and black pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade.
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Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed. Don't overblend or your meatballs will be mushy.
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Lightly oil a baking sheet or oven safe skillet with about half of the oil.
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Roll the chickpea mixture into 1 ½ inch balls (you should get about 16 of them).
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Arrange the balls on the baking sheet and lightly brush the tops with the remaining oil.
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Bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes, turning them halfway through, until lightly browned.
To Make the Firecracker Sauce
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Whisk the cornstarch and chilled water together in a small dish or bowl.
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Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small saucepan.
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Set the pan over medium heat.
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Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue simmering until the mixture thickens up slightly, about 1 minute.
To Serve
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Pour the sauce over the meatballs and gently stir until the meatballs are evenly coated.
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Sprinkle with chives and serve.
How about oats instead of panko? Would that be a possibility?
Oh and by the way... Thanks for helping change my life!
Oats would probably work - you might need to grind them up to a flour in the food processor and use a couple of tablespoons less, as they soak up more moisture than panko. :) And you are SO welcome and I'm so glad to hear it!
Hi Bob, did you try with oats? Also not using breadcrumbs so curious to see how you went.
try tapioca flour/Crumbs, that´ll work :) but not starch! there is a coarsed Variation they also use in brazil, ask your asia-market-guy!
https://www.amazon.de/Tapioca-granullierte-Tapiokastärke-Tapiokamehl-Brasilien/dp/B008OZTG8U/ref=sr_1_33?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=tapiokamehl&qid=1564668918&s=gateway&sr=8-33
OMG THIS RECIPE IS GAME CHANGING OMG !!I AM A REAL TEXTURE SNOB HATE JUST ABOUT EVERY BURGER OR MEAT BALL I MAKE !! THESE HOWEVER HIT IT RIGHT IN THE MARK!! TEXTURE IS PERFECT!! I FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS AND DID NOT MIX TOO MUCH !! I THEN MADE THE SAUCE REALLY ARE YOU KIDDING ME !! YES ANOTHER OMG!! ITS ON THE SPICY SIDE BUT FOR SOME REASON I KEPT DIPPING HAHAHA! TOOK SOME FOR MY VEGETARIAN NEIGHBORS AS WELL THEY WENT NUTS! SO MY ONLY THING IS I LEFT OUR CUMIN IM NOT A FAN OF THE SPICE AND NEXT TIME MAYBE I CAN CUT DOWN ON THE 1/2 CUP FRANKS LOL MAYBE HALF WATER THEN HALF SAUCE AS THIS WAS PRETTY SPICY, BUT THE SWEETNESS KEPT ME COMING BACK FOR MORE!! THESE BAKED BEAUTIFULLY AND I USED NO OIL IN THIS RECIPE AS I DO NO OIL SO I BRUSHED THEM WITH VEGGIE BROTH!! PERFECT DELISH KIND OF REMINDS ME OF THE BEST FALAFEL OR MEATBALL I HAVE EVER TASTED!!! MAKING THESE FOR OUR ANNUAL FOURTH OF JULY WITH THE SPICY AND NON SPICY SAUCE !! THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS FANTASTIC RECIPE I MADE A MEATBALL SANDWICH WITH LOTS OF LETTUCE AVOCADO AND TOMATO!! AND OH YES BTW THIS IS AN OMG MOMENT!! HAHAHAH
Yay!! Thank you SO MUCH for that wonderful review! I'm so glad you loved them! You can certainly try swapping out some of the hot sauce with water for a milder sauce. Thanks you so much Melony!
Sounds amazing, and plan on making them tonight. Question - we don't use cane/brown sugar. Can you recommend a substitute, maybe coconut nectar or maple syrup, anything else?
Do you use any types of granulated sugars, like coconut or turbinado? I think either of those would work well. Otherwise, maple syrup should be fine - maybe give it a few extra minutes of simmer time so the extra liquid reduces. Enjoy!!
could you try monk fruit as a substitute sugar, its a 1-1 ratio
These meatballs look delicious! I'm definitely going to give this a try for 4th of July!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them!
Fantastic recipe, Alissa. The flavors just explode in your mouth. Oh, and I gave in and bought granulated coconut sugar. I'm sure we'll find something else to do with it. :)
Yay! Exactly what I was going for! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!
Made these for a BBQ this summer and they were a hit! Keeping this one in my favorites for sure. Flavor is AMAZING.
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that!
Can we freeze these meatballs?
Yup! I recommend freezing them separate from the sauce if possible. You can also freeze the chickpea mixture before rolling, and then thaw, bake, and roll when you're ready.
So deliciously sweet and spicy. This is the second recipe of yours I've made this week (or ever, actually - just discovered this site) and they were both amazing and repeatable, also tried the crispy orange ginger tofu.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them both! Thanks so much Amy!
These taste awesome- the seasoning on the "meatballs" is just right, my kitchen smelled great while they were baking.
Even my non-vegan husband liked these (he remarked that the browning on both sides was perfect).
Didn't give it a full 5 stars because forming the balls was a serious pain in the butt. My mixture looked just like yours in the picture, but it was pretty dry and crumbly. I had to work hard to mash them into a shape, and some of them were still too crumbly after cooking. Could this be because I had cooked the chickpeas myself? Maybe if I'd cooked them longer or used canned... idk...
We LOVE spicy food around here so I used sambal oelek instead of Frank's. It's not a vinegar-based sauce so I added some rice vinegar too. It's incredibly hot- but with the brown sugar it tastes awesome.
I will use this recipe again. I want to try using italian seasoning instead of paprika and cumin so we can have them with pasta. I might also try a chia seed or flaxseed "egg" to help with binding. Thanks Alissa!
I'm glad you enjoyed them! It probably is because you cooked the chickpeas yourself - I usually find home cooked chickpeas to be a bit firmer and dryer than canned, so there's less moisture and they don't blend as well. Next time I'd either try canned, or cook them a bit longer. And if you find the mixture too crumbly you could try adding a bit of water and a sprinkle of flour (chickpea flour if you've got it, but wheat works fine). I hope that helps and you enjoy your Italian version!
The recipe says 4 servings but how many balls in a serving? How many meatballs overall will this make (approximately)?
The recipe makes about 16, so you should get about 4 per serving. Enjoy!
Hi, I love the idea but I had trouble rolling the balls as the mixture didn’t bind and still half way through cooking I couldn’t turn them over without them falling apart. Any suggestions? Thank you
It could be that the mixture was a little dry - some brands of chickpeas have more moisture than others. If you make them again you can test the mixture straight from the food by pressing some of it together. If it doesn't hold together well try adding a splash of water.
Followed to a "T" and this was just not good at all.... the sauce tasted very artificial and the chickpeas just tasted like pure onion. I'm sorry--I really wanted to like them, but just not for me.
Made for a Vegan crowd. Just so delicious! Great texture on the balls. TPepped the night before and baked as directed. hey hold together best when right out of the oven. The hot sauce is as spicy and addicting as advertised. I will use if for pork balls as well. Oh forgot to put on the chives but still delicious.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks Kathleen!
Any chance these could be made in air fryer? Thoughts on how long they would take to cook with that method? Can’t wait to try them.
I think it could be done, but I don't have an air-fryer, so I'm not sure how to go about it.
I made these for a potluck tomorrow to be served with the spicy sauce on the side for drizzling. The placard reads “Firecracker ChickBalls”. Little tastes after baking indicates I’ll not be bringing home leftovers. Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful! I hope they are a hit!
These are fabulous! Love the heat and how easy they are to make. I will definitely make them again. Thank you.
Yay! Glad you like them!
Do I need to peel the chickpeas?
Nope!
These were easier than I thought and so delicious! I served over rice with a side spinach salad 👍👍
These were awesome. Is there any way to make these a little less spicier? I'm good with the spice but my daughter no so much.
Glad you enjoyed them! You could try replacing some of the hot sauce with water.
Read freezer instructions but how long can they freeze?
They should be good for at least 3 months.
I don’t have a processor - can I hand mash them with same results?
I think so! Be sure to chop the onion very finely.
I used a blender and pulsed it on the "chop" setting, being very careful not to overblend. Pulse twice, then use a big spoon to lift the bottom contents up to the top, then pulse twice again. It worked great.
Hi!! Is it possible to make these meatballs without an oven??
I'm not sure, but I think your best bet would be to cook them on the stove top in a lightly oiled nonstick skillet. Cover the skillet and cook them on medium low heat, flipping them when they have browned on the bottoms. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try!
I did a lot of alterations but I really enjoyed the results. I had made too many chickpeas a couple of days ago and needed a recipe to use them up. So I used two cups cooked chickpeas, and 1 cup Quaker oatmeal(after reading the comments I would put less), an egg and a yellow onion, with the rest the same. I only had a blender so I had to go little by little to process it all.
I cooked on the stovetop, as you mentioned in the comments. But I had tomato sauce to use up so I didn't make your saucd. After Pan frying I added some onions cut in half moons and after cooking a little I added the sauce and some water and a can of veggies.
Served over rice.
The recipe itself was very appealing. The meatballs were DRY and crumbly as anything. All of those ingredients combined, are a bit disastrous without some sort of good moisture binder. Because without, these babies crumbled and flaked faster than my love live AND a Nature Valley granola bar.. at the same time! I would recommend a flax egg with this recipe. Other then that.. thought the sauce & ball pairing were different and fun.
These are the absolute best! Everybody loves them!! Thank you so much for an awesome recipe
Where can I get the vinegar-based hot sauce (preferably Frank's brand)? Is there a different brand I can substitute if I can’t find this?
Franks, Cholula, and Crystal are all vinegar-based. You should be able to find them all in the condiment section at the supermarket.
Made this for my husband tonight, followed all instructions, turned out AMAZING!!! I don’t usually comment on recipes but this one was awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Has anyone followed the recipe and then served them from a crockpot? Just wondering how they would hold up? Thinking of making for a family event.
I wouldn't recommend serving them in a crockpot - they'll probably get mushy and maybe even fall apart. A gluten-based meatball would probably work better. Here's one: https://thestingyvegan.com/vegan-meatballs/ If you'd like, you could try using that recipe as a base, but use the spices and sauce for my firecracker meatballs.
I'm curious if this freeze well?
Yup! But I recommend freezing the meatballs and sauce separately.
Hi Alisha.
I loved the idea of these..I did not follow your recipe, except as a general guide. I basically stuck to my tried and true regular meatball recipe but swapped out the meat and substituted chickpeas and changed up the spices going more Greek than italian.
I used a food processor and both times the chickpeas balls came out great!
However some of the mixture at the bottom of the processer was to moist and sticky to form into true balls so I just plopped those onto the baking sheet in a clump. I served these to myself and buy did they taste awesome! Add I'm a meat lover!
Thankyou for a wonderful idea. Everybody loves them.
This is so amazing. I made this for my parents who are vegan and they said "OMG THIS IS THE BEST VEGAN MEAL I HAVE EVER HAD!" i tried it too and omg this is such an amazing dish.
These are sooooo good!! Put them with any sauce and they’re still lush! Thank you!! 🥺
Haven’t had the chance to try them yet as they’re still in the oven, but this recipe is in need of something to bind the ingredients together. Maybe a flax egg? I added several tbsp of oat milk and a tbsp of oil to try to get the chickpea mixture to come together. Struggled to shape into balls then once I flipped them halfway through they disintegrated again. Bummed with the time spent on these; I probably should have just pressed the mixture into a loaf pan.
Sorry these aren't working out for you! There are a couple of possible points where something may have gone wrong. Did you leave the mixture very crumbly when you processed it? That can make them difficult to shape. I like to test a bit of the mixture from the food processor by pressing it together in my hands before I start rolling. It's also possible that your chickpeas were undercooked or just unusually firm. Did you cook them yourself? If not, you could try a different brand. I don't think a flax egg would do the trick, as it usually doesn't do much as far as binding in recipes like this. I hope that helps!
I love these. I bought the brownie bite pan from Sur La Table. I double the recipe and it perfectly fills the whole pan. I still spray the pan with Pam to make sure the pieces release easily.
Many thanks!
Delicious with a perfect texture! Slightly crumbly, a bit crunchy on the outside, and tender on the inside - superb! A little heavy on the cumin for my tastes so I'll adjust next time. I think this would be awesome with an Asian spice blend as well! Maybe a little miso with sake/mirin for the sauce, or a spicy ponzu (with the addition of chili flakes and/or sansho)? Some togorashi instead of cumin? Hmm...definitely gotta play!
I have been on a plant based diet now for four years. Started with trying to do better on managing my blood sugar and overall health. It was a good decision. I'm so glad I ran across your site. I tried the Italian lentil meatballs and delicious. This is first chickpea meatball I actually like. Tasty and easy. I did use Pablo but going to try rolled oats ground instead on next batch adding a chia egg or water as you suggested for moisture. Also, made my own sodium free soy sauce and reduced Frank's due to it's high sodium as well. The meatballs and sauce are great! Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to other recipes in your file.