Zesty Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Description

Vegetarian 'meat' balls use ground pecans and cornflake crumbs in place of meat. They have a savory taste that complements the yummy apricot sweet and sour sauce that goes with them.

Ingredients

cooking spray
1 cup ground pecans
5 eggs, or more if needed
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon minced onion, or to taste
Italian seasoning, or to taste
1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup grated onion
1 (12 ounce) jar apricot jam
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.
2 Mix the ground pecans, eggs, Colby-Jack cheese, minced onion, Italian seasoning, cornflake crumbs, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Add another egg if mixture isn't holding together. Shape the mixture into balls, and place into the prepared baking dish.
3 Bake in the preheated oven until browned and set, about 45 minutes.
4 Mix together the vegetable oil, vinegar, ketchup, grated onion, apricot jam, and oregano together in a bowl until smooth; pour the sauce over the baked pecan balls, and return to oven until the sauce is bubbling, 5 to 10 more minutes.