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These vegan meatballs will earn a spot in the list of your favorite dishes if you are all about a plant-based diet. They are hearty, and juicy, and pair well with all kinds of sauces.
Being vegan doesn’t mean you can’t crave meatballs. And if you do, then these Beyond Beef meatballs in a juicy veggie sauce are
the recipe to go for.
Why this recipe works
- Meaty and juicy. These meatballs are made with Beyond Beef which has the perfect meaty texture. They turn out so juicy and flavorful that you don’t need to be vegan to like them.
- Nutritious. Vegan meatballs are quite healthy. They contain all the essential nutrients without being high in fat.
- Freezer-friendly. These meatballs make an amazing freezer meal. Just bring them out of the freezer and put them right into the tomato sauce to heat them up and enjoy them with pasta or rice.
- No legumes or nuts. Most vegan meatball recipes call for lentils or another legume, and tons also use cashews. These don’t use either and taste the most like real meatballs.
What I love about this recipe is how easy they are to customize. They are great tossed through marinara sauce or even glazed with some sweet and sour sauce for the ultimate flavor explosion! We also love to use them in meatballs subs.
What are vegan meatballs made of?
As this recipe is made with Beyond Beef, you don’t need a lot of ingredients to make them. Here’s everything you will need to make these vegan meatballs in sauce.
- Beyond beef. This is a plant-based ground beef substitute made of pea, rice, and beans.
- Garlic. Minced,
- Ginger. Minced.
- Olive oil. To fry the meatballs.
- Salt. To taste.
For the sweet and spicy sauce:
- Bell pepper. Red and yellow bell peppers, chopped.
- Onion. Quartered.
- Ketchup. To provide a rich tomato-flavored base for the sauce.
- Sweet chili sauce. To make the flavor of the sauce richer and deeper.
- Hot chili sauce. To add some heat to the sauce.
- Soy sauce. To provide saltiness and add a rich umami flavor to the sauce.
- Cornstarch. To thicken the sauce and give it a glossy finish.
- Water. To cook the sauce longer and develop a deeper flavor.
How to make vegetarian meatballs
The process of making vegan meatballs in the sauce is pretty much the same as making meatballs using real meat. Here is how them:
Step 1- Shape and fry the meatballs
Add all meatball ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
Shape the mixture into small meatballs using your hands.
Add oil to a large non-stick pan. When the oil gets hot, add the meatballs and fry until they are fully browned. Remove the meatballs from the pan and place them on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
Step 2- Cook the sauce
Clean the pan and add more oil. Saute the onion and bell peppers for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, including water. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes.
Step 3- Combine the meatballs with sauce and serve
When the sauce thickens, bring back the meatballs and coat them in the sauce. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Use an ice cream scoop to shape the meatballs. This will help you make perfectly round meatballs of the same size.
- Use tomatoes. If you don’t have ketchup, use canned or fresh tomatoes for the sauce. As tomatoes are quite juicy, you will not need to add extra water to the sauce.
- Add nutritional yeast. If you are afraid your vegan meatballs are going to crumble and fall apart, add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Aside from being a healthy additive, nutritional yeast is also a good binder.
- Swap water for vegetable stock. Using vegetable stock for the sauce helps create a richer flavor.
- Omit the sauce. These meatballs can work with any sauce of choice: marinara, cream, etc. Simply prep the meatballs as instructed then toss them through your favorite sauce.
Storage instructions
To store: Place leftover meatballs in sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze. You can freeze vegan meatballs in sauce for up to 2 months. However, it is best to freeze the meatballs without the sauce, cooked or uncooked.
To reheat. Reheat meatballs on the stove over medium heat. Add a small amount of water to the sauce if needed. You can also reheat the vegan meatballs in the microwave.
More vegetarian recipes to try
Frequently asked questions
IKEA offers a few types of meatballs, including ones that are vegan. IKEA plant-based meatballs are as juicy as regular meatballs. They are made of pea protein, potatoes, onion, and apples.
Vegan meatballs are good for you as they contain protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. While vegan meatballs may be lower in protein than real meatballs, they contain less saturated fat.
Commercially manufactured vegan meatballs may be high in sodium and contain artificial additives. Thus, always read the ingredient list before buying them.
Vegan meatballs are quite popular now and you can find them in nearly all grocery stores. You can also get vegan meatballs online.
Best Vegan Meatballs (No legumes or nuts!)
Ingredients
Sweet and spicy sauce
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced
- 1 small onion quartered
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1/4 cup hot chili sauce or more sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the meatball ingredients. Using your hands, shape them into small meatballs.
- Add oil to a large non-stick pan and fry the meatballs until fully cooked on the outside. Remove them from the heat and place them on a paper towel to mop up excess oil.
- Clean the pan and add extra oil. Sautee the onion and bell peppers for 1-2 minutes, then, add all the sauce ingredients. Let it simmer until it has thickened, before adding the meatballs back in and coating them in the sauce.
- Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.
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 🙂
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!!!
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. 🙂
Did I see raisins?! Very good idea, friend 🙂 happy Monday!
You bet! Try it out! 🙂
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! 🙂
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 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!
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!
Wow, I would have never guessed that these had no meat in!
right? You should try it with ground beef, it’s delicious!
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 😉
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! 😉
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 😉
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
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!
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!
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 🙂
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!
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 love that the meatballs are meatless!!
Thanks so much, Cathi!
Love what you did with these–they should sell these!
Naw, thanks buddy!
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! 😀
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!
Meatballs are a vice of mine. Really anything in sphere form is a go to for me. These look delicious!!
Thanks so much, Jenn! 🙂
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!!!!
meatless meatballs…interesting!
So good! 🙂
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!
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!
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 😉
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!
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’m not gluten free but I want to try these because they look so delicious. Great idea and beautiful photography 🙂
Thanks so much, Debbie! 🙂
The spicier, the better!
That’s my motto!
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 🙂
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.
i love meatballs but never make them myself. i need to change that!
Try out a meaty version first 😉
Yum! These look crazy good.
Thank you, Allie! 🙂
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! 🙂