Spicy Rice Meatballs

Submitted by spatchcock

"These are really good either straight from the pan or thawed and reheated. I don't think many meat lovers will miss the meat in these. I just ate them plain, but you could freeze them with sauce and reheat the whole recipe."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 cups cooked long-grain rice (I used brown)
• 1⁄2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 onion, finely chopped (be sure to chop this very finely, or your meatballs won't hold together well!)
• 1⁄4 cup dry packaged breadcrumbs
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used at least 1/2 tsp)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1⁄2 cup wheat germ (I ran out of wheat germ halfway through and used quick oats. Not the same, but it worked ok!)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except wheat germ and vegetable oil. Again, make sure you REALLY chopped your onions very finely or they will make your "meat"balls fall apart.
2. Cover and chill mixture well, at least 1 hour, in fridge.
3. Shape mixture into meatballs and roll each in wheat germ/oats (my last resort, but they turned out fine!) to coat.
4. Heat oil in a (preferably) nonstick skillet over medium heat.
5. Cook the meatballs in the oil for 8-10 minutes, turning carefully, until light golden brown.
6. Drain meatballs on paper towels.
7. Flash freeze on a pan in the freezer, then put in freezer bags. To reheat, microwave for a few minutes or put on pan and reheat in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
8. Or, gently mix meatballs with spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade) and place in heavy duty ziplock freezer bags and freeze. To serve this way, just thaw a bit in the fridge and then reheat and serve with pasta.

Reviews

[Katie S.]

I made a few changes to this recipe. Instead of breadcrumbs I used crushed herb and garlic croutons. I also used the crushed croutons mixed with grated parmesan cheese to coat the rice balls instead of wheat germ. They turned out delicious! However I didn't like them with spaghetti, I think they were great on their own, or would go well with some kind of mushroom sauce. I had no problems with the rice balls falling apart, and I chopped my onions by hand. I would suggest cooking them until the outside is nice and crispy, as the taste and texture is much better that way.

 

[MooseCall]

these don't look particularly appetizing, but tasted pretty good. remember to season your patty with salt. i chopped my onions fine in the food processor, but the patty still fell apart. the cayenne pepper was a good addition. i think the overall texture was not as good as i had imagined; next time, i will incorporrate some grounded cashews, and i will edit this review. they do make good brownbag pita stuffings though. thank you