These Greek-inspired balls are made with mashed chickpeas (no blender needed!), grated courgettes and carrots, green herbs and optional feta. They are crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and packed with flavour.
These protein-packed balls are suitable for a diabetic diet or a heart-healthy diet, as they are high in fiber low in saturated fats and added sugars. No flour is required to make this recipe, so they can easily be made gluten-free if needed by using gluten-free oats.
Serve with a Greek salad and some Tzatziki, or use them to build a Greek-inspired bowl meal (as in the photo). Grilled veggies (e.g. aubergine, peppers, courgettes) fresh herbs, a high-fiber grain (e.g. buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice), and some plain Greek yoghurt is all it takes to make a lovely bowl.
Give them a go, and let me know what you think! P.S. if you love this recipe, you may enjoy my spiced chickpea sweet potato patties too.
Greek chickpea & zucchini balls
Ingredients
- 1 400g can chickpeas drained and mashed with a fork (NB do not blend, it will become too sloppy)
- 200 g grated courgettes or baby marrows (1 large courgette) as much of the moisture squeezed out as possible (use your hands or a clean tea towel)
- 100 g grated carrots (1 medium carrot)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
- OPTIONAL 1 round of feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C (180 C with fan on)
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Start with the chickpeas, mashing them with fork in the mixing bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure that you squeeze the water out of the courgettes, else your end product will be a bit flimsy.
- Form the batter into balls using a small ice-cream scoop or your hands, place on a prepared baking tray, then bake for approximately 30 minutes (until golden brown).
- Serve! They work very well as part of a bowl meal with grilled veggies, fresh herbs or leaves, a whole-grain carb, and tzatziki or plain Greek yoghurt.