Katherine Hepburn once said “If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.” I think that it’s safe to say that she did okay for herself.
Mac and I are of the ilk that likes to take chances in the kitchen. And although we’ve made a few so so meals, several duds and a couple of what-in-the-world-were-we-thinking? dishes, our track records is very solid when throwing back and letting our culinary whimsy take over the stove. When the great folks at Gardein wanted us to sample some of their most popular foods and come up with recipes, we were excited for the challenge and the fact that we love their products. Gardein’s already tasty is a company that’s been cooking up great meatless, vegan foods for sometime now.
In our opinion, Gardein’s Classic Meatless Meatballs are the best vegan meatballs on the market. They have the texture and flavor of actual meatballs, with a wonderful fennel flavor (although they don’t contain fennel) that reminds me of my grandmother’s Sunday crowd favorite. Although heating up Gardein’s amazing meatballs and simply putting them in a vegan calzone, slicing them thin and using them as a vegan pizza topping or plopping them over your favorite pasta is absolutely acceptable and encouraged, we decided to bend the rules a bit and came up with Meatless Meatball Kebabs! These bad boys are easy, yummy and look great and can be used in a variety of ways. We decided to simply eat them as is with a little sauce doused atop.Although we used a grill pan, they also taste amazing cooked on a barbecue grill or charcoal pit!
- 4-6 prepared bamboo skewers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Pearl onions or 1 large onion chopped into 1 inch cubes
- Mini peppers. Ends cut off and seeds removed
- 1 bag of Gardein Meatless Meatballs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Oregano
- Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
- Your favorite spaghetti sauce
- Soak skewers before use according to packaging
- Thread skewers with cherry tomatoes, mini peppers, onions and at least 2 Gardein Meatless Meatballs until you run out of room
- Brush the skewered kebabs with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with oregano and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat up a grill (or grill pan) to medium and brush it with extra virgin olive oil
- When it’s good and hot, place the skewers in the grill pan making sure not to have them touch
- Cook the kebabs for about 20 minutes or until nicely charred, turning every 5 minutes
- When the kebabs are finished you can either serve them with your favorite spaghetti sauce over spaghetti, in a sandwich or simply on a plate!
When it comes to Gardein’s The Ultimate Beefless Ground the possibilities are only limited to your imagination. Their ground has a very pleasing and hearty texture than can pass for meat any day of the week. You can also choose to use their gluten-free option which taste great as well. Their Beefless Ground are ideal for tacos, Sloppy Joe’s, Jamaican beefless patties, chili or for vegan Scotch eggs! We chose to make a very simple and very delicious Buffalo lettuce wraps which are proven crowd pleasers. Not only are they extremely easy and inexpensive to make, they’re good anytime of the year for any season. But they’re especially popular for Spring and Summer cookouts, so give ’em a try at your next Meetup or gathering.
- 2 T of vegan butter/margarine
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 ½ C of your favorite hot sauce
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 2 T white vinegar
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ of medium onion, chopped
- ¼ C defrosted peas
- 1 C Gardein Beefless Ground
- 5-6 romaine lettuce leaves
- Heat up a skillet to medium heat
- Add butter and swirl it in the pan while it melts
- Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant
- Add hot sauce, cumin, onion powder and white vinegar and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally
- Set aside
- Heat up skillet to medium heat, then add the olive oil
- Toss in chopped onion and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)
- Stir in the peas and cook for about 1 minute
- Add the Gardein Beefless Ground and cook until nicely browned (about 10 minutes)
- Stir the Buffalo sauce and cook for about 2 minutes
- Pour prepared Beefless Ground into 1-2 bowls and serve place in lettuce leaves
- Scoop into leaves, fold, eat and enjoy!
To help you get started on your foodie scientific journey, Gardein’s offering our readers a way to save! Get a $1.00 off coupon today! Take it to the store and explore all that Gardein has to offer in delicious non-GMO, vegan goodness!
Already a Gardein fan? Tell us which product you love the most in the comments below!
Awesome! I always love quick and easy V recipes…did you defrost the meatball before cooking? #veganfoodchat
The meatballs were slightly defrosted before grilling.