Butternut Squash Orzo & Bean Meatballs

Fall flavors have found a new home with this Butternut Squash Orzo & Bean Meatballs recipe! The orzo is tossed in a creamy butternut squash sauce. The “meatballs” are a mix of kidney beans, brown rice & panko breadcrumbs that are baked until crispy. The whole dish is finished off with crispy sage and brown butter. This recipe is comfort in a bowl!

Step One: Roast the Butternut Squash

Please don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list. It is a little long, but I promise, there isn’t anything crazy on it – just lots of herbs and spices!

To make the butternut squash, add the cubed squash, onion, garlic, olive oil and dry seasonings to a baking sheet. Toss until everything is coated and spread it out on the baking sheet. Add a couple sprigs of fresh thyme and roast in the oven for 30 minutes – flipping after 20. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Step Two: Prep the “Meatballs”

These meatballs are the BEST! They are protein-packed and use simple ingredients. Here is what you’ll need:

• kidney beans 
• yellow onion 
• garlic 
• cooked brown rice
• dried thyme
• dried parsley
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• pepper
• olive oil
• panko breadcrumbs

Add all of the meatball ingredients (through the oil) to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl with the panko and stir until combined.

To form the meatballs, I like to use a cookie scoop so that they are all uniform. Add a little oil to your hands and form the mixture into meatballs – I was able to make 18 meatballs. Place them on a baking sheet, spray with oil and bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.

Step Three: Make the Orzo

Transfer the squash to a food processor with vegan cream cheese and blend until smooth – scraping down the sides as needed. Set this aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.

Place the empty pot back on the stove over low heat. Add the cooked orzo, squash puree, vegan parmesan and some non-dairy milk. Stir until heated through and combined, adding more milk and/or pasta water until your desired consistency is reached. Taste and add salt as needed.

Step Four: Brown Butter & Sage

The last step isn’t totally necessary, but it is totally tasty! And that is whipping up some vegan brown butter and crispy sage. This is easiest to do in a light-colored skillet, so you can see when the butter turns brown.

Melt the vegan butter in a small skillet over medium heat. The butter will foam and then settle. Once it settles and starts to have some brown bits in the bottom of the pan, add the sage leaves and cook for about 30 seconds. The sage should be crispy and the butter should have a brown color. Remove from the heat.

Step Five: Assemble

And now, it is time to eat. To each bowl and a healthy amount of butternut squash orzo. Top it off with a few of the kidney bean “meatballs”. And finish it off with a drizzle of brown butter, a couple crispy sage leaves and some fresh thyme.

This recipe has everything you could want – fall flavors, fresh herbs, veggies, creaminess, crunchiness. It is a savory fall vegan dinner that you are going to want on repeat!