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    Home > Recipes > Main Dishes

    Vegan Meatballs

    Published: Sep 4, 2022 · Modified: Oct 9, 2022 by Iosune · This post may contain affiliate links · 44 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    A photo of a shallow dish of vegan meatballs with some chopped parsley on top
    Side picture of a shallow white dish with vegan meatballs garnished with some chopped parsley with a heading

    Vegan meatballs, made with 8 ingredients and a delicious homemade marinara sauce. They're gluten-free and so easy to make.

    Side picture of a shallow white dish with vegan meatballs garnished with some chopped parsley

    These vegan meatballs will blow your mind. They're SO good! Super flavorful and rich, this recipe sure is a keeper. Besides, they only require 8 ingredients and go so well with the marinara sauce.

    It is a pretty simple way of making meatballs and you can incorporate any veggies, spices, herbs, or ingredients you want. Hope you like them!

    Contents hide
    1. Ingredient tips
    2. Dietary variations
    3. Pro tips
    4. How to make vegan meatballs
    5. How to store vegan meatballs
    6. Are vegan meatballs healthy?
    7. Serving suggestions
    8. Looking for more vegan meat recipes?
    9. Did you make this vegan meatball recipe?
    10. 📖 Recipe
    11. Vegan Meatballs
    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan meatballs

    Ingredient tips

    • Oats: I used quick oats, but any kind will do.
    • Black beans: feel free to use canned black beans or cook them from scratch. Any other beans are also okay.
    • Nutritional yeast: if you can’t find it, you could also use brewer’s yeast. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice.
    • Flax egg: it’s an egg replacer made with flaxseeds and water. It’s so easy to make and ready in 5 minutes.
    • Vegetable stock or water: I prefer vegetable broth because it enhances the flavor of this dish. However, water is okay too. I do suggest you make your own vegetable stock at home, but store-bought will also work.

    Dietary variations

    • Make it gluten-free: use gluten-free oats.
    • Make it oil-free: feel free to sautée the meatballs with no oil if you use a non-stick skillet. You could also add a little bit of vegetable stock or water instead.

    Pro tips

    • Feel free to customize your vegan meatball recipe with your favorite spices or herbs, such as dried oregano, fresh basil, or thyme.
    • Marinara sauce goes really well with meatballs, but any other sauce will do.
    • You could also incorporate ingredients like onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, or even panko breadcrumbs.
    Step-by-step photos of how to make vegan meatballs

    How to make vegan meatballs

    • Add the oats to a regular blender and pulse until they are ground into a powder-like consistency. Set aside.
    • Add all the meatball ingredients to a food processor and blend until well combined. If you don’t have a food processor, add them to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher, a fork, or use an immersion blender.
    • Get the mixture and make balls with your hands (I made 30). Add to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
    • Heat a little bit of oil in a large skillet or frying pan and sautée the meatballs over medium-high heat until golden brown.
    • Incorporate the marinara sauce and the vegetable stock, stir, and bring to a boil.
    • Cook the meatballs in the sauce over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    • Serve your vegan meatballs immediately.

    How to store vegan meatballs

    • Fridge: store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
    • Freezer: keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
    • Reheat: reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 375ºF or 190ºC until warmed through.

    Are vegan meatballs healthy?

    As always, it depends on the ingredients used. This recipe, though, is healthy and nutritious!

    Serving suggestions

    Feel free to serve your vegan meatballs with pasta like spaghetti and top it with vegan Parmesan cheese.

    Looking for more vegan meat recipes?

    • Vegan Meatloaf
    • Vegan Chicken Nuggets
    • Soyrizo
    • Chipotle Sofritas
    • Lentil Loaf
    A close-up photo of the inside of a vegan meatball

    Did you make this vegan meatball recipe?

    Please leave a comment and rate it below. We’d love to hear from you!

    This post contains affiliate links so you can easily find some of the products that we used to make this recipe. If you buy any of them through the links provided (without any extra cost for you), we'll get a commission. We're so grateful for your support!

    📖 Recipe

    Square picture of a shallow white dish with vegan meatballs garnished with some chopped parsley

    Vegan Meatballs

    Vegan meatballs, made with 8 ingredients and a delicious homemade marinara sauce. They're gluten-free and so easy to make.
    4.50 from 12 votes
    PRINT PIN RATE
    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: Italian
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 30 meatballs
    Author: Iosune


    Ingredients 

    US Customary - Metric

    For the vegan meatballs:

    • 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 cup breadcrumbs, you can use gluten-free or oat flour instead
    • ½ cup nutritional yeast
    • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • â…› teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 flax egg

    For the sauce:

    • 2 batches (about 4 cups) of marinara sauce
    • 3 cups of vegetable stock or water
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add all the meatball ingredients to a food processor and blend until well combined. If you don’t have a food processor, add them to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher, or a fork, or use an immersion blender.
    • Make balls with your hands (I made 16). Add to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
    • Heat a little bit of oil (I used 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil) in a skillet or frying pan and sautée the meatballs over medium-high heat until golden brown. If you don’t consume oil, bake them at 350ºF or 180ºC until golden brown. Set aside.
    • Add the marinara sauce and the vegetable stock to the skillet or frying pan, stir and bring to a boil.
    • Cook the meatballs in the sauce over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    • Serve your vegan meatballs immediately (I added some chopped fresh parsley on top), and store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days, or in the freezer for 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge. 

    Notes

    • Add your favorite fresh or dried herbs and spices.
    • Marinara sauce goes really well with meatballs, but any other sauce will do.
    • You could only use the marinara sauce instead of a combination of vegetable stock and marinara sauce, but I prefer my sauce not to be too thick, so I’m in love with this combo.
    • Nutritional info has been calculated by using 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to cook the meatballs.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 5meatballs | Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.4g | Protein: 21.2g | Fat: 8.6g | Saturated Fat: 1.7g | Sodium: 1259mg | Fiber: 15.6g | Sugar: 6.4g
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Update Notes: This post was originally published in December of 2018, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in September of 2022.

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    1.4K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jaz Johnson says

      March 07, 2023 at 7:37 am

      5 stars
      Really REALLY yummy!
      I didn't have fresh parsley so used dried. This recipe doesn't disappoint! Also I subbed chickpeas for 4 bean mix and a tin of lentils and used a fake (cheapo version) of a Thermomix to process. Amazing!

      I'm using them in a veggie loaded spag bog 🙂

      Yummo! Thank you for the recipe 🤠

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 14, 2023 at 10:12 am

        Hi Jaz! So glad you liked it 🙂

        Reply
    2. Linda says

      September 05, 2022 at 1:12 am

      Hi! Do you think a can of fat free refried beans would work? Also, I have a flax/chia blend. Both get gummy! Do you think that would work to hold the m'eat balls together?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        September 05, 2022 at 11:27 am

        Hi Linda! Feel free to use a can of fat-free refried beans 🙂 Also, I think it is possible to use a flax/chia blend.

        Reply
    3. Amelia says

      December 29, 2021 at 5:42 pm

      Do you think the flavor profile of these veggie meatballs would go with bbq sauce as well as the marinara?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        January 04, 2022 at 11:19 am

        Hi Amelia! I think it could work 🙂

        Reply
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