Get ready for the most delicious, most satisfying, meatiest vegan meatballs ever! These meatballs are easy to make, full of flavor, and a must-have for pasta night!
I recently set out on a mission: create the best vegan meatballs ever.
See, I have a little bit of a thing for meatless meatballs, and there are lots of ways to make them. But I wanted these meatballs to be the absolute best, most convincing meatballs...you know, the kind that even meat-eaters would love.
I took some inspiration from these meaty vegan burgers I created a few years ago. The combination of oats, black beans, and walnuts gave those burgers a really hearty texture. Would that mix of ingredients be just as convincing in vegan meatballs? I had to give it a try!
It turned out that yes, these beanballs had just the texture I was going for. I added in some of my favorite Italian seasonings — pretty much the same seasonings you'd use in a batch of conventional meatballs. And it worked! These things were amazing. They'll be a pasta-night staple in my house from now on!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Rolled oats. Quick oats will probably work, but the texture of your meatballs might not be as great, so I recommend going with rolled if possible.
- Chopped walnuts. Pecans, hazelnuts, or sunflower seeds should work as substitutes.
- Black beans. We're using canned black beans. You can substitute dried black beans, but you'll need to soak and cook them before getting started. Try this method.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Tomato paste.
- Spices. We're using oregano, thyme, fennel and red pepper flakes. If you normally buy Italian seasoning blend, feel free to substitute it for the oregano and thyme.
- Salt & pepper.
- Olive oil. You can leave this out if you prefer to cook oil-free.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Place your rolled oats in a food processor and blend them to a coarse powder.
- Add the walnuts to the food processor and blend again, until the nuts are very finely chopped.
- Add the beans, chopped onion, minced garlic, soy sauce, tomato paste, and spices to the food processor.
- Pulse the machine until everything is well-mixed and finely chopped. Make sure you don't overblend the mixture or your vegan meatballs will turn out mushy.
- Taste-test the mixture and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
- Roll the mixture into 1 ½ inch balls and arrange them on a baking surface. I'm using a cast iron skillet, but a parchment paper-lined baking sheet will also work.
- Give the balls a light brush or spritz with olive oil.
- Bake the beanballs until they're lightly browned and crispy on their outsides. Make sure to turn them once or twice so they bake evenly.
- Smother your vegan meatballs with sauce and serve them how you like! I like to enjoy mine over spaghetti with some homemade marinara sauce, fresh parsley and vegan Parmesan cheese.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan meatballs will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
You can also refrigerate or freeze the bean mixture straight from the food processor before baking. I like to divide mine into single serving-sized portions before doing this, then when I'm ready I can thaw (if frozen), roll and bake the meatballs according to the recipe.
If you've stored your veggie balls in sauce, the microwave is the best way to reheat them. If you stored them dry you have the option of using the microwave or popping them back into the oven until they're hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are if you use gluten-free tamari and certified gluten-free rolled oats.
They're great over pasta with tomato sauce. You can also stuff them in a sandwich — they make awesome vegan meatball subs. They even work as appetizers on a platter with cute little toothpicks!
You can! Black beans give these balls the meatiest appearance, but the recipe will work just fine with chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, or black-eyed peas, among others.
I don't recommend it. They hold up fine if you serve or even store them in sauce, but I'd be afraid they'd fall apart in simmering sauce.
More Vegan Italian Recipes
- Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Margherita Pizza
- Pasta with Mushroom Bolognese
- Vegan Ravioli
- Vegan Garlic Bread
- Vegan Stuffed Shells
Meaty Vegan Meatballs
Get ready for the most delicious, most satisfying, meatiest vegan meatballs ever! These meatballs are easy to make, full of flavor, and a must-have for pasta night!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup chopped onion (about 1 small onion)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Olive oil, for spraying or brushing
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F and either line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil an oven safe skillet.
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Place the oats into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend to a powder.
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Add the walnuts and blend again until they're finely chopped.
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Add the beans, onion, garlic, soy sauce, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, fennel and red pepper flakes. Pulse the machine until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Taste-test the mixture and season with salt and pepper if needed. Pulse again.
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Roll the mixture into 1 ½ inch balls. You should get about 18 to 20 of them.
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Arrange the balls on the baking sheet or in the skillet and lightly brush or spray them with olive oil.
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Bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes, turning them once or twice to achieve even browning.
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Serve with tomato sauce, or sauce of choice.
Looks terrific and will be trying soon. However, I have a recipe that my family loves for Sweet and Sour Meatballs that I'd love to make vegan. What spices can I substitute for the Italian spices you use in this recipe?
I'd leave out the oregano, thyme and fennel and include some ginger instead. I'm thinking a tablespoon of fresh or a teaspoon of dried, but you can always add a bit at a time and taste-test. A little bit of liquid smoke might be a nice addition as well, if you're a fan of the stuff.
Are they freezable ?
They are!
Any suggestions of what I could substitute for the tomato paste?? My son does not like tomatoes or the taste of them in his food. A lot of lentil recipes call for tomato paste as well. I assume it's not only for flavor but to help hold the recipe together. Any ideas??
They should be fine without it. It adds flavor and moisture, but it's not at all necessary for binding. If you find the mixture to be a little too dry after blending you could add a tablespoon or so of water or non-dairy milk, but I don't think it will be necessary. Enjoy!!
Any ideas for a walnut substitute. My daughter is allergic to all nuts:(
I think sunflower seeds would work! I haven't tested them in this recipe, but I've used them to make veggie burgers with similar ingredients and they worked well.
I really love the flavor of these. I accidentally added 1 tsp sea salt before seeing the soy sauce. So I just reduced the soy sauce by 1/2 T. Next time I'll measure correctly and add the salt after like the instructions mentioned. It was a little salty but made it taste soooo good. I'm going to try to add half cup of mushrooms for a little chewy texture.
I usually ground meat and add to my sauce instead of meatballs. Can I "ground" this in a skillet instead of making meatballs?
What brand is your food processor? I am having a hard time finding a good one in Japan.
Everything I've tried does nothing. All the ingredients stay at the bottom and the blades are not cutting/crushing anything.
It's a Cuisinart Elemental, and it's great! I've also used a cheaper Hamilton Beech model, which I was pretty happy with.
Hi there!
Thank You for your great recipes. Would it be ok to fry these in a frying pan? I don't have a working oven right now.
Hmmm...I haven't tried, but I think it could work! I'd keep the burner on the low side and cover the pan so the heat gets trapped inside. Turn them frequently and test them for doneness by cutting one in half and tasting it to make sure the raw onion flavor has mellowed. The challenge will be to avoid the outsides getting too browned before the inside cooks all the way, but I think it can be done if you cook them slowly.
If I was to use my own black beans do I still use 400g or 280g which is the weight after they’ve been drained form a can?
Can I use steel cut oats
Should work! Just make sure they're ground up really finely in step 2.
Great taste! I love the consistency too (not too dry and not too mushy).
Very flavorful but mine were a little dry. I didn't add any salt, because the tomato paste and soy sauce had enough. I will try mixing in a little olive oil to the meatball mixture before shaping into balls. Thanks for sharing the recipe!