These skillet Morrocan cauliflower meatballs, bathed in tomato sauce, are perfect when you want to eat healthy, light, and flavorful at the same time. These vegan cauliflower meatballs are little packs of flavor thanks to the rich and delicious tomato sauce base with fresh herbs and warm Morrocan spices added to it.
About Morrocan Cuisine
Morrocan cuisine is known for its incredible blend of spices and textured dishes. Couscous dishes, Tagines, and Harira soup are some of the best known. All of them are filled with a robust combination of spices and a unique layered flavor profile.
About the cauliflower “meatballs”
Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable, you can use it raw in ceviches or aguachile or you can use it cooked or as the base of a sauce. But it is also excellent to give body to tacos, vegan meat or meatballs as in this case. These meatballs are light, delicious, and very easy to make.
Ingredients for the cauliflower meatballs with Morrocan tomato sauce
- Cauliflower. Look for a fresh cauliflower with firm florets.
- Rice. I used basmati rice, but you can use brown rice, quinoa, or even white rice. This helps as a binder for the “meatballs” and to give them body.
- Onion and garlic. Because with these aromatics, everything tastes better.
- Fresh herbs. Parsley, cilantro, and mint. Adding fresh herbs to the cauliflower meatballs gives them an extra touch of freshness in every bite.
- Tomato sauce. This is the easiest step and one you are going to love, I’m sure. I used home made tomatoe sauce, but any canned tomatoes will also do the trick and just heated it with spices. I added cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, hot red pepper flakes, and coriander.
how to make Morrocan cauliflower meatballs
- Spiced tomato sauce. Add your tomato sauce to a sauce pan, add the spices and let it simmer.
- Cauliflower meatballs. Sauté the cauliflower florets with the garlic and onion until it’s soft. Put in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until everything is well integrated, form the meatballs, and cook in a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.
- To serve. Spoon sauce at the bottom of a plate, put two or three vegan cauliflower meatballs and drizzle some sauce on top. Finish with fresh herbs.
how to serve the veag meatballs
These cauliflower meatballs would be fantastic along a side of rice, couscous, quinoa, or carrot salad and a flatbread on the side. Anything that can absorb the delicious, robust flavors of the tomato sauce goes perfectly here.
How long do they last?
These will keep in the fridge for about three to four days in a tightly closed container. They freeze pretty well after being cooked, reheat in a skillet, and serve with warm sauce.
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So here is the recipe for these Morrocan cauliflower meatballs – I hope you like them as much as I do. They are delicious and come together in a pinch. When you make them, don’t forget to take a picture of them and share it on Instagram. If you want to do them later save the recipe on Pinterest.
It would also be fantastic and super helpful if you leave a comment and/or rating of this recipe in the comment section. Please feel free to write suggestions, ideas, or how it went when you made the recipe.
Morrocan Cauliflower meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- ½ cup minced onion
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups rice or quinoa
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour or oat-flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons mint finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- Olive oil for cooking the meatballs
Sauce
- 1 28 oz tomato sauce can or jar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Sauté the cauliflower with the onion and garlic in an 11" skillet with the olive oil at medium heat until all the vegetables are soft.
- Place the vegetables in the container of the food processor with the rice, flour, and salt. Pulse until all is well integrated. Add the fresh herbs and mix with a wooden spoon.
- Form the cauliflower meatballs and cook in a non-stick skillet drizzled with olive oil.
- In a saucepan, add the tomato sauce and the spices, simmer for 6 to 10 minutes or until all the flavors are well integrated.
- Serve by spooning sauce on a plate, then place two or three cauliflower meatballs on top, and drizzle a bit more sauce on top. Finish with chopped fresh herbs.
Nutrition
information
Nutritional information of this recipe is only an estimate, the accuracy for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
*Not a calorie reduced food. See nutrition facts panel for sugar and calorie content.
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