Vegan Puerto Rican Albóndigas Guisadas

Vegan Albóndigas, prepared with simple ingredients and a delicious homemade sauce. Serve for dinner with a side of rice or as an appetizer at a gathering.

Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

This is a recipe that’s full of memories and special moments for me. Growing up, Puerto Rican Albóndigas were always present at a party or gathering. I was lucky enough to have grown up in my grandmother’s kitchen and saw her making two types of meatballs from scratch: marinara meatballs, and Puerto Rican albóndigas.

But of course, those weren’t vegan. So today, we’re veganizing another classic! As with all of the Puerto Rican recipes, this one is prepared with love and incredibly simple ingredients that you probably already have. 

We already have one other vegan meatball recipe, that came out back in 2019, but that one is meant for pasta. The one we have today is more tailored to be paired with rice, plantains, or even to be eaten on their own. So how do we veganize it?

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Veganizing it:

I chose to keep this recipe as plant-based as possible, meaning that there are very few processed ingredients here. However, if you keep reading (and don’t mind processed foods) I’ll tell you how to make another version of this. 

This is a very basic dish that you can adapt to your taste by changing the sauce, adding other vegetables, spices or herbs. They can be prepared in a pan with a little oil or in the oven if you don’t want to use oil, you choose. Either way they’re insanely good.

This recipe for Vegan Puerto Rican Albóndigas, has white rice, kidney beans, portobellos, walnuts, pecans, gluten-free panko, and chickpea flour. Paired perfectly with a rich sofrito sauce that has a sautéed mixture of onions, garlic, bell peppers, and tomatoes; along with a few herbs, spices, and a splash of cabernet sauvignon. Just remember to make sofrito ahead of time.

Quick note: It’s important to mention that the beans and rice help bind the mixture together, and are key ingredients for this recipe. In addition, the panko helps improve consistency by removing excess moisture.

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Notes

• Not gluten-free? You can use regular all-purpose flour and regular vegan panko.
• This recipe uses kidney beans for the color, however, you can substitute for cooked lentils or pinto beans.
• Looking for a quicker variation? Skip the homemade meatballs, and get any soy-based ones instead. Prepare the sauce following the instructions below and cook the soy meatballs in it.
• Double the recipe and make a big batch of meatballs that you can freeze and use later. 
• Leftovers? This recipe can last up to a week in the fridge when stored in an air-tight container.
• Alternatively to baking the meatballs, you can lightly pan-fry them in a non-stick pan with a bit of oil until they’re golden brown.
• Remember to check if your wine is vegan!

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Vegan Puerto Rican Albóndigas Guisadas

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 60 Minutes 60 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• ½ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup pecans
• ½ cup cooked white rice
• ¾ cup canned kidney beans
• 4 baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup gluten-free and vegan panko
• 1 small shallot, diced 
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder
• ¾ cup chickpea flour, plus more if needed

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tbsps sofrito
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 6 Campari tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ½ cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock (plus more if needed)
• ½ tsp of dry oregano
• Optional: recao leaves
• Optional: ¼ cup olives, sliced
• Optional: 2 tbsp capers 
• Optional: ¼ cup cabernet sauvignon
• Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Procedure

For the meatballs:

1. If you haven't prepared your rice, do so now. Drain canned beans as well.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
3. To a food processor, add walnuts and pecans. Process until they become very fine.
4. Then add the rest of the ingredients, except the chickpea flour, to the food processor, and process until well combined. This can take up to 5 minutes (depending on the food processor). Be careful to not over mix, as it can become a paste and it will be more difficult to handle.
5. After everything is well combined, start scooping out the mixture, flour your hands & form the balls. This recipe yields about 15-20 meatballs, depending on the size that you make them.
6. Place them in your parchment paper-lined baking tray, and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
7. When done, remove from the oven and add to the sauce. 

For the Sauce:

1. While the meatballs are cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan with a lid. Add the yellow onion, garlic, bell pepper, recao leaves, and sofrito, and sauté until soft for about 5-7 minutes. 
2. If desired, add the wine and cook for another minute. Then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, veggie stock, olives, capers, oregano, and seasonings. 
3. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. After, taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.
4. When ready, add the meatballs to the sauce, lightly stir until well combined. Cover sauce and cook on low for another 15 minutes.
5. Serve over some rice, with tostones, or as an appetizer, and ENJOY!

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