Vegan Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
These sweet and spicy ‘meatballs’ are a flavour explosion and they contain no meat! Perfect to whip up in a big batch, they are gluten free, vegan, dairy free and perfect for meatless Monday or a meat free meal!
When it comes to vegan sweet treats, it’s safe to say I’m quite comfortable.
Whether it be no bake cookies, cookie dough bites or even snack bars using peanut butter three times– I dig it, I enjoy it and yes- It’s vegan.
Before reading further, check out these creations here which are all completely vegan.
Done? Done.
Shocked?
That was me too. Chicken, meatballs and other products you’d never associate with the word ‘vegan’.
When Gardein reached out to collaborate together and try out two of their products, I was immediately drawn to their ultimate beefless grounds and their meatless meatballs. Back in Australia, I’d tried a similar vegan ground beef product and made the most amazing patties with them. Now that I was here and had these new products, I was keen to recreate.
So what exactly is Gardein? Garden is a plant based protein brand which offer quick and easy frozen foods. They are made from non GMO Soy and are all certified vegan. While Gardein do have products which are gluten free, unfortunately, their meatless meatballs are not. Solution? Recreate them using their ultimate beefless grounds which are! Winning!
So did they taste exactly like Gardein’s meatless meatballs?
No. Not even close.
I’ll leave those for Gardein and those whom are gluten free or want to try a sweet and spicy- I’ve got you covered!
These vegan sweet and spicy meatballs are a party in the mouth-Sweet, spicy AND salty. Although the prep is a little bit time consuming, it is so worth it. Although I’m not the biggest fan of dried fruits, they are a necessity in this recipe. They can be made in a huge batch and frozen and simply thawed for an easy weeknight meal or in a sub with salad!
Bonus? These can be made into full sized patties for burgers to throw between some burger buns like these. You know what? I’m kind of cringing that I didn’t whip these bad boys up and serve them to my mates when proving that vegan foods could be impressive.
Please read the instructions carefully when making these- Depending on the ingredients you end up using, you’ll need to play around with the flours/unsweetened milks. In terms of my flour recommendations, it is this one by Gluten Free Mama. Even back in Australia, I’d always need to play it by ear to adjust to form perfect meatballs which don’t crumble or aren’t too moist.
Make these Vegan Sweet and Spicy Meatballs and for those of you whom are full fledged meat eaters- Start adding a meatless meal to your plan each week…starting with these. Check out them raisins…..
- 1 cup Gardein meatless grounds (for non vegans/vegetarians, sub for ground meat of choice)
- 2 small sweet potatoes, mashed*
- 2 T chopped onions
- 2 T chopped carrots
- 1/4 cup gluten free oat flour (can sub for bread crumbs, oat bran, oatmeal, crushed up crackers)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup baby spinach, chopped finely
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 T mixed herbs
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 flax egg- 1 T flax + 3 T water (Can sub for 1 egg if not vegan)
- 1- 2 T coconut flour, sifted (can sub for any flour)**
- Dairy free milk***
- Extra flour for minor dusting
- Oil for frying
- Sweet chilli sauce, for dipping
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the meatless grounds, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, oat flour, raisins, spinach, curry powder, red pepper flakes, mixed herbs, salt and pepper and mix very well. Add the flax egg and stir into the mixture until fully incorporated.
- If mixture is still moist, add the flour 1 tablespoon at a time until a they can be formed comfortably into meatballs.
- If mixture is too crumbly, add dairy free milk 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture can be comfortably formed into meatballs.
- Heat a large frying pan very generously with oil and once hot, dust the meatballs very lightly in flour before pan frying for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked. Serve and cover with sweet chilli sauce, or condiment of choice.
- * Can be subbed for any mashed starch (potatoes, pumpkin, kabocha, etc)
- ** Please refer to directions for flour information
- *** Please refer to directions for milk instructions
- There are many outcomes for this recipe depending on what flour you use, whether you choose to add the egg or not.
- These can be baked in the oven but you'll need to ensure the meatballs remain intact by adding necessary flour.
Have you ever tried a Gardein product or something similar?
What is your spice tolerance? Mine is amazing. I need to go to a chilli festival.
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Mmm these look delicious- and meatballs aren’t the most picturesque of foods so that says a lot!!! Although I never thought I’d voluntarily stop eating meat, I’ve been following a plant-based diet for the most part over the past 2 months and I’m loving it! We get a similar product in London called Quorn- will have to nab a bag when I get there to make these!
Be warned that, while awesome and meat-free, Quorn products are not vegan.
Thank you, these are made with Gardein 🙂
YES! I based this off a quorn recipe I always made back home! 🙂
Yum! These look crazy good.
Thank you, Allie! 🙂
i love meatballs but never make them myself. i need to change that!
Try out a meaty version first 😉
Vegan meatballs?! WHAT THE WHAT?! I have been trying to do that “meatless monday” dance more often, so I need to check these out! Pinning!
LOL. Taytay I think the two of us are on the same wavelength..I went to a vegan buffet yesterday and not going to lie, I needed eggs.
Obviously you know how much I love meat, but these are seriously making me drool. I will have to sub meat in for the meatless meatballs, so wrong!
YES! They taste great with ground beef or chicken 🙂
The spicier, the better!
That’s my motto!
I’m not gluten free but I want to try these because they look so delicious. Great idea and beautiful photography 🙂
Thanks so much, Debbie! 🙂
Dude – I <3 these balls in a big huge way! I am a huge fan of "meatless" grounds and I am a big huge fan of sneaking in ALL the veggies! Fantastic job with these, Arman! I haven't tried Gardein yet – but, next time I come across it – I am grabbing me a pack for sure!
Do try it out, Shashi- I was so skeptical of it but the grounds are delicious!
I absolutely LOVE that you threw raisins and sweet potatoes in here…I love little pops of sweetness in savory recipes. You know I don’t eat beef so I’m always looking for beef replacements! I’ve never tried Gardein so I guess I’ll have to try…but if I hate it I’M COMING FOR YA!
I promise Gardein products are delicious- If only their meatballs were gluten free!
Love this! I try to eat mostly vegetarian but I love meat so something like this is perfect for me 🙂 I have pretty much zero spice tolerance, I sometimds wish I liked it though because of how people like you rave about it with your chilli festival fantasies 🙂
Ohhhh no! We need to work on your spice tolerance 😉
Those meatballs look awesome! And it’s funny, I had the opposite problem – I wanted to use the crumbles but could only find the meatballs at my store when I went, so I adapted my meatballs by slicing them up for a breakfast sandwich 🙂
Oh that sounds delicious- Yum, Laura!
I’m all about trying new foods, Arman, and I think you already know how smitten I am with sweet & spicy guys, umm, I mean meatballs, so these are a must make!
Please do, Becca- These are delicious!
meatless meatballs…interesting!
So good! 🙂
Okay it’s been too long since I have caught up with you. What the heck! I can’t beleive all the amazing foods I have been missing out on. While I definitley love my meat, these meatless pups look SO tasty! youre creativity never ceases to amaze me
Selena..Can I convince you to swing by NYC!!!!
Meatballs are a vice of mine. Really anything in sphere form is a go to for me. These look delicious!!
Thanks so much, Jenn! 🙂
We don’t have this brand in the UK, but we do have Quorn, so I am going to make something similar soon. The flavours sound yummy.
YES! I based this off the recipe I made and we have quorn back home!
love how you made your own meatless meatballs out the gardien products! Great idea! I used the meatballs for mine, love sweet and spicy together! Good job Buddy! 🙂
Ohhhhh nice! Checking it out NOW! 😀
Love what you did with these–they should sell these!
Naw, thanks buddy!
I love that the meatballs are meatless!!
Thanks so much, Cathi!
Wow, now those are some impressively juicy vegan meatballs! I love that you thought to recreate them to offer a gluten-free version. Brilliant!
Thanks so much, Sarah 🙂
I would really like these “meatballs”! I reviewed Gardein last year and definitely loved the meatless crumbles! I even had my son foo that it was real meat when I used it in a “meat” sauce.
Please do- I was shocked how similar to meat they were!
I am fairly sure you don’t get anything alike in Germany. But I am intrigued to try. Sounds really worth trying!
My spice tolerance is outstanding. None of my friends can keep up with me. Hot sauce and spices are my best friends in the kitchen 🙂
You will find it in London- It’s called Quorn 🙂
Bravo!!!! This healthy vegan is completely enamored. You can bet that I’ll be making these soon. Thanks Arman.
Thanks Linda! Thanks for constantly inspiring me!
Yum! I love Gardin! Have you tried Beyond Meat yet? It’s too much like meat for me sometimes. I need to remind myself it’s not a dead animal and nothing suffered for me to eat it. I highly recommend it to new vegans as a transitional food.
I’m definitely not going vegan but these were a great substitute- I love Gardein!
What the… your post didn’t show up in my BL until now. Fail whale. And I’m the biggest wimp when it comes to spicy foods. Sometimes even mild salsa is too much for me…
Fail. Bloody. Whale.
Don’t say that about salsa….:p
OBSESSED. These are totally my kind of meatballs and I can’t wait to try them out! I’m a 5 alarm spice kinda gal- I usually can’t get enough 🙂
Please do- And we need to totally have a spice off 😉
yep, I have some of these crumbles in the freezer right now (fighting for space with the oh, maybe SIX bags of their Fishless Filets… meatballs look so good – I love the sweet + spicy!
Oh Geebuz… a true fan hey! 😉
Arman, these sound fantastic! I love your recipe for meatless meatballs. I have never tried vegan meatballs before, but these look so good! All I need is a little side of pasta with this and I am good to go!
Right? that sounds delicious, Catherine- If I recall, you have one up your sleeve 😉
Wow, I would have never guessed that these had no meat in!
right? You should try it with ground beef, it’s delicious!
These look awesome, Arman! Can’t say I’ve tried anything from Gardein yet but it seems like I really should soon! 🙂
Please do, Cyrus- It’s delicious!
I didn’t even know they had any GF products. Now I can participate in the Gardein fad! WOOT! And spicy is the only way. YES kick that spice all the way up to volcano status! Too bad my dumb feather of a stomach can’t handle it so spice is on the “do not eat” list. Somehow Cholula always sneaks into my meals though. I guess I should get stronger locks for my door.
YES!!!!!!!!! What? Argh, Eva what CAN you eat? My poor Chicago bear.
This is all truth: hummus, potatoes, and chicken. Agh! Enjoy all of the delicious things in life for me, would ya?! And now that you’re in America: tell me if the Doritos Locos taco from Taco Bell really IS Jesus as a taco!
Yummy, it’s wonderful day for me now.Your Vegan Sweet and Spicy Meatballs recipe is so good. It looks delicious and nutritious. All I can say, this is totally perfect and for sure my family love this. I cannot wait to prepare this for eating . Feeling excited to serve this. Your other recipes are also great I love it.Thanks for sharing, nice post indeed, keep updating . I felt hungry… 🙂 Also can you please promote my site?
Hi Tarin! Sorry, I don’t do site promotions.
Cheers,
Arman
I love meatballs of all kinds, I don’t discriminate♡ So of course I love the meatless variety and these look delish!! Love that they are spicy and sweet! My favorite combination! Yum! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Cheyanne! 🙂
Did I see raisins?! Very good idea, friend 🙂 happy Monday!
You bet! Try it out! 🙂
Sweet potatoes, carrots, raisins, spinach…. I’ll tell you what I’m impressed with your ingredients. You manage to put some clever and creative combinations together and it all works. I’m sure these are wonderful too.
Also amen to reading the instructions. Sometimes you gotta tweak things to make sure it’s all on point.
Right? Thanks love muffin. 🙂
I made these last night and they were wonderful!! Everyone loved them even my skeptical husband. I made two changes. I used Quorn crumbles and regular potatoes because that is what I had. I followed the recipe exactly. It made about 18 two T size meatballs and I fried them in a little EVOO to brown on each side. These really reminded me of Samosa. So much so that I may make these again and leave out the crumbles and add frozen green peas. Thank you so much for this recipe. I can’t wait to make it again!
Diane! I’m so glad you tried it out with Quorn as that’s the original inspiration yum! and samosas…you’ve left me with a craving!!!
Hi Arman, your balls look great! I am cringing a tad though on those raisins in there. Any way I can get around them? Looking forward to trying these. Thanks bunches!~ 🙂
Hi Toni! 🙂 Definitely omit them- It’s perfectly fine! 🙂
Thank you for replying. Happy that I can omit the raisins 🙂 All the best to you Arman. I will be keeping tabs of your site now that I found you 🙂