Italian Bean Balls with Marinara

Ingredients

• Walnuts

  Nuts, english

  ¾ cup, chopped or 88g

• Rolled oats

  Plain, dry oatmeal

  ¾ cup or 60g

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 cup grated or 110g

• Parsley

  Raw

  ½ cup or 30g

• Basil

  Fresh

  ⅓ cup leaves, whole or 8g

• Sun-dried tomatoes

  2 tbsp or 7g

• Garlic

  Raw

  3 cloves, minced or 9g

• Kidney beans

  All types, mature seeds, canned

  1 ½ cup or 384g

• Flaxseed

  Seeds

  1 tbsp, ground or 7g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  3 tbsp or 44g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  ½ tbsp or 7g

• Oregano

  Spices, dried

  1 tsp, leaves or 1g

• Salt

  Table

  ¾ tsp or 5g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

• Pasta sauce

  Spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve

  1 cup or 257g

• Crushed red pepper flakes

  ¼ tsp or 0.08g

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment, spread the walnuts on it, and toast until fragrant and lightly golden, 7–9 minutes. Let cool briefly.
2. Pulse the rolled oats in a food processor to a coarse flour; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the grated carrots, parsley, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and the toasted walnuts to the bowl with the oat flour and toss to combine.
4. In the food processor, pulse the drained, rinsed kidney beans to a coarse paste. Scrape into the mixing bowl and fold into the vegetable–oat mixture.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the ground flaxseed with the water and let stand about 5 minutes to thicken. Stir this into the mixture until evenly combined.
6. Season the mixture with olive oil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, adjusting to taste.
7. Pack the mixture firmly into golf-ball-sized portions and arrange on the parchment-lined sheet.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, carefully flip, and bake 15–20 minutes more until golden and set. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes to firm up.
9. Serve warm with marinara spooned over the top.