Savory mushroom balls are drenched in luscious dairy-free sauce to make these flavor-packed vegan Swedish meatballs. Serve them over pasta for a delicious and cozy dinner.
I never told you guys this, but a couple of years ago I spoke with a publisher about writing a cookbook exclusively dedicated to vegan meatballs. I mean, the meatball theme was their idea. I just wanted to write a cookbook. In fact, I really wanted to write a cookbook (it’s an exciting prospect), so much that I almost took them up on the offer.
But in the end I just couldn’t. All that rolling. And would you guys even be into a book just about vegan meatballs? And could I even come up with that many meatball recipes?
Well, in hindsight, I think the answer to at least that last question is a resounding “yes.”
I’m not sure if I just had more meatball recipes in me than I thought, or if my discussions with those guys infected me with the meatball bug, but I’ve been rolling them out ever since. (<– Yup. Pun intended.)
You all actually seem to respond really well to any recipe involving meatballs I post on this site, so I’ve got no plans of letting up.
It’s time for some more vegan meatballs, Ikea style.
I’ve never actually had those Swedish meatballs they serve at Ikea. I’m pretty sure I went vegetarian before any Ikeas were built in my vicinity. But I get what they’re all about and I think I hit it with this recipe. And even if I didn’t, they’re really, really tasty!
I mentioned recently that I’m trying to switch up the dairy substitutes and rely less on cashews, because I know I’ve got a bunch of readers out there with allergies. Coconut milk has quickly become my favorite alternative. It sounds weird, but it’s absolutely delicious in the cream sauce for this one. If you hate coconut and would rather go with something cashew-based, try the sauce I used for my stroganoff.
The main ingredient in the meatballs themselves is mushrooms. They’re great for adding savory flavor and meaty texture. I’m also trying to give my mushroom haters alternatives, so if you’re one of those folk, try using the chickpea based meatball portion of my Salisbury steak meatball recipe.
Served over pasta, these vegan Swedish meatballs are pure comfort food.
FAQ & Tips for Making Awesome Vegan Swedish Meatballs
- To save time on the day of serving, you can blend up the meatball mixture up to a day in advance, then just roll and bake when you’re ready to serve.
- You could probably get away with making the sauce ahead of time too — if it thickens up too much during storage, just thin it with some water.
- Does the sauce taste like coconut? Not to my tastebuds.
- But is there a substitute for the coconut milk? You could probably use another type of unflavored and unsweetened milk, like soy or almond, but the sauce won’t be as rich and creamy.
- Doesn’t Worcestershire sauce contain anchovies? Most brands do, but there are vegan ones. Look for Annie’s or Edward & Sons. (See my Amazon link in the recipe!) Also check the ingredients of store brands — you might luck out and find a vegan one!
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Vegan Swedish Meatballs & Noodles
Savory mushroom balls are drenched in luscious dairy-free sauce to make these flavor-packed vegan Swedish meatballs. Serve them over pasta for a delicious and cozy dinner.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Olive oil, for brushing
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
For the Noodles
- 8 ounces dried pasta of choice (I used shells)
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
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Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly oil a baking sheet or large oven-safe skillet.
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Place the mushrooms, breadcrumbs, beans, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, pepper and nutmeg into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed.
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Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (about 24 of them) and arrange them on the baking sheet or in the skillet. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until lightly browned.
Make the Sauce
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While the meatballs bake, coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with olive oil and place it over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture darkens a bit and begins to smell nutty, about 5 minutes.
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Whisk in the broth, coconut milk, and Worcestershire sauce. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens a bit. Remove from heat and allow the mixture so sit for at least 5 minutes — it will continue to thicken up. Season with salt to taste.
Make the Noodles
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While the meatballs bake and the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain into a colander and toss with a bit of olive oil.
To Serve
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Divide the pasta among 4 plates or bowls. If the meatballs are in a skillet, pour the sauce over them, or if they're on a baking sheet, add them to the pot with the sauce. Divide the meatballs and sauce over the pasta. Serve.
I’d love to make this dish, but I don’t eat anything coconut. What do you think about making the sauce with a plant-based milk instead and adding some cashew cream to make it creamy?
Thanks for your lovely recipes and inspiration!
-gloria
I think that’s a great idea! I’d love to hear how it works out if you try it. :)
made them and loved them. I added more nutmeg to the sauce. These were as good as the ones I remember as child that mom made. I plan on making an Italian version as well. Thanks for bringing back a great dish now that I am a vegan
That is so awesome to hear!! Thank you so much Audrey!
This reminds me of my childhood. :) My mom would cook meatballs with Campbell’s cream of chicken (ugh hahaha) in the slow cooker and we’d eat it over pasta or potatoes. Can’t wait to make this!
Oh man! I grew up on SO MANY cream of chicken soup based recipes too! I hope you enjoy this!
Don’t get panko breadcrumbs here in South Africa so I am assuming that as long as my breadcrumbs are quite stale and dry that would work?
I think that would be fine! I just use panko because it’s the only vegan store-bought breadcrumbs I can find where I live (and I’m too lazy to make them myself). :) But I think just about any type of breadcrumbs would work.
Made this for dinner last night. Once again you ha e a winner recipe and it will definitely be a regular in our home. Alissa I don’t know of any other website with such consistently delicious family friendly recipes. Many thanks.
Thank you so much Kay! That’s so nice of you to say, and I’m so glad you enjoyed this!!
That sounds good. Can I use oats instead bread crumbs?
I think so! You might just want to cut down on the amount by a few tablespoons.
Turned out really tasty. Exceeded all my expectations honestly.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Zoey!
Easy and delicious comfort food! Love the cashew chickpea options as well. 🙂
Thanks Ashley!
Made them and they were great. Awesome comfort food. Thanks for sharing
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Audrey!!
these look so comforting (and delicious)!
I made these last night. Hubby is not vegan and didn’t care for them. Mine didn’t look as nice as these in the picture but overall I liked them. My daughter and I both thought they needed more cooking as ours turned out mushy and moist inside. I was thinking maybe use less beans next time. Also. I thought it would be extra tasty to saute the onions and mushrooms (in water or broth) first, just to give that additional depth of flavor. It may make the finished meatball less moist, too. My sauce did not thicken like the picture but it still tasted good. If you don’t like coconut you won’t like it though. I agree with another commentor on adding a little more nutmeg next time.
This sounds delicious, but does anyone have any suggestions as to how to cut down on the calories?
You could try replacing some of the coconut milk another non-dairy milk like almond or soy.
Thank you for this recipe I added more nutmeg to the mixture.
my meatballs were mushy in the middle not sure if they needed more bread crumbs or to
cook longer. All in all I liked them my meat eating husband ate them he liked them as well
I’m glad you both enjoyed them! Usually if they come out mushy it means you blended the mixture a bit too much – try holding back a bit next time and make sure the mixture still has some texture to it. :)
Hi! I hate mushrooms but really want to make these. Are they very mushroom-y tasting? :) Love the site! Thanks!
I didn’t find them too mushroomy, but if you’d like you could try using one of my other meatball recipes with the sauce from this one. These would work well: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-salisbury-steak-meatballs-with-garlic-mashed-potatoes-mushroom-gravy/
Do you think I could freeze these?
I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not!
Just last night my son and I were talking about needing a vegetarian Swedish meatball recipe, so I am thrilled to find this! Swedish meatballs have been a family tradition at Christmas for us, so I was planning to start experimenting. I’ve never had the meatballs at Ikea, but I am wondering about adding allspice to the recipe. My Swedish grandmother always put that in hers, and I would love to get a similar taste. Will probably try tonight. Fingers crossed!
I never thought to add allspice, but I bet it would be great! I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it. :) Enjoy!!
This sounds so delicious! Any idea how many calories a serving of meatballs would be without the noodles?
Thank you!! The noodles account for about 200 calories per serving, so with just the meatballs and sauce it would be around 440.
How necessary is the Worcestershire in the sauce? I can’t get it where I live. Can I substitute something?
It adds a lot of flavor, but you could leave it out if you need to. Or you could try making your own: https://www.marthastewart.com/258132/homemade-vegan-worcestershire-sauce
These vegan meatballs turned out just great ! The only thing I changed is I sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil beforehand and then I oven backed the balls for 20 minutes.
They were a bit crumbly when I first started rolling them so I added more beans (I used garbanzos that I cooked the day prior) and they ended up rolling nicely into balls, and I omit the nutmeg because I didn’t have any. The flavor was so wonderful and the sauce is too, thank you so much for the recipe!
Made these for dinner tonight, cooked the meatballs an additional 20 min due to being mushy inside (I over processed them), but on point for flavor. also for the gravy I subbed a cashew cream for the coconut milk came out delicious! Defiantly making this again soon!!
My meatballs came out super mushy, but if I had added more breadcrumbs that might have fixed them. I did cook them longer, but they were still so soft and wet inside. The flavor of the meatballs was good and the sauce was tasty. To eat the dish I just mashed the meatballs down so they blended into the sauce and that wasn’t too bad, but my husband couldn’t take the mushy texture even then. I probably could have broken them into crumbles and fried them in a pan to make them more easy to swallow.
Can you give alternative ingredients to substitute for mushrooms?
Thank you
You might be able to get away with simply omitting them. You could also try working from one of my other meatball recipes: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-meatballs/ Just adjust the seasonings to suit this recipe.