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How do I make my no meat meatballs stick together. When simmering them in sauce they soften and turn mushy.

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Recorded

This event was on September 6, 2022

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Nolan is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Charisse Lindsey

How do I make my no meat meatballs stick together. When simmering them in sauce they soften and turn mushy.?

Answer

So there's a couple of tricks. One is I like to use a flax egg. That's my favorite and make sure that when you make the flax egg and you incorporate it into your mixture that it has been Incorporated really really well. You're going to use your hands to make sure that it gets in there and then I like to cover it. And put it in the refrigerator for about a half an hour 45 minutes. And then when it comes out, I use a scooper like a two ounce ice cream scoop. And then before you put them in let them set again and I guarantee you that you will make beautiful delicious meatballs that do not fall apart. However, you can also do this. You can also bake them first. So you put them on a sheet pan bake them for about I'm gonna say between 23 to 25 minutes. If you like them crispy and then once they've cooled then put them in the sauce. So being of Italian Heritage when my grandmother would make her meatball. She always put hers right in the sauce. So that's how I make my bean balls, but then I have a lot of other friends who like to bake them first. So you do have that alternative but flaxseed meal is the ticket. Hope that helps

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

Char Nolan is a serious crusader for plant-based education, armed with a degree in public health from Philadelphia’s Temple University. She teaches nutrition and plant-based cooking throughout Philadelphia, and in many underserved communities. Char holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from eCornell and completed Rouxbe’s Plant-Based Professional Certification course in 2015. In 2019, Char completed post-graduate course work in social media marketing at the University of the Arts. When she is not cooking or teaching, she manages social media accounts for several plant-based influencers. Char prides herself on learning everything she knows about cooking from growing up in her grandparents’ Italian restaurant. Her favorite vegetables are Brussels sprouts and kale, of course. Char originally hails from Queens, NY, but has lived in Philadelphia most of her adult life. She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer.