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If you love spaghetti and meatballs but you’re trying to cut down on meat, you need to try our vegan meatballs recipe, which swaps traditional ground beef, other meats (such as pork and lamb) and eggs for a plant-based blend of hearty chickpeas and quinoa. While we’ve skipped the meat, we’re not skimping on any of those Italian flavors that you look for in a classic meatball. In addition to being free of meat and dairy, our vegan meatballs also nix the breadcrumbs that are used as a binder in many meatball recipes, so they’re also gluten-free. Serve them over your favorite pasta or swap in vegetable noodles for a lower-carb meal and an extra serving of veggies.

Tips for Making Vegan Meatballs

1. Make the Plant-Based Meatball Mixture

To make these meatballs, start by pulsing cauliflower, mushrooms, onion and garlic in a food processor—which is much faster and easier than chopping the ingredients by hand. The veggies are sautéed with Italian seasonings, just like regular meatballs. Next, pureed chickpeas are added—they add protein and also help bind the mixture in place of the traditional egg. Cooked quinoa adds additional protein and heartiness to our meatball mixture. Together, all of these ingredients create a vegan meatball with a satisfying texture and plenty of flavor.

2. Add Some Umami

The secret to the meatlike flavor of our vegan meatballs is umami. Called the fifth taste (the other four are sweet, sour, salty and bitter), umami is essentially a savory flavor that comes from the amino acid glutamate. Meat and Parmesan cheese, which are used in traditional meatballs, have a lot of naturally occurring glutamates. To get umami in our vegan meatballs, we use vegan ingredients that have glutamates, including tomato paste, tamari (which is gluten-free soy sauce) and mushrooms. When you combine all of these ingredients, you end up with an amazing vegan meatball that would make even the biggest carnivores’ mouths water. Try using these umami-rich ingredients to give a meaty flavor to other vegan dishes, such as soups and stews.

Read: Why Switching to a Vegan Diet Is Good for the Planet (and You!)

3. Shape and Bake the Meatballs

Once you’ve stirred together the meatball mixture, use your hands to form it into balls. (You can also shape the mixture into a loaf, for a vegan meatloaf.) Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and bake until heated through and firm.

4. Serve with a Simple Sauce

While the meatballs are baking, whip up a simple sauce: Simply sauté canned tomatoes, crushed red pepper and Italian seasonings, then simmer for a few minutes for an easy tomato sauce that’s way tastier than jarred.

Check Your Wallet: Traditional Meatballs vs. Vegan Meatballs

For a price comparison on vegan versus traditional meatballs, we turned to vegan celebrity chef Chloe Coscarelli (aka Chef Chloe on Instagram and YouTube). Coscarelli notes that the vegan version costs $9.26 to make the recipe, compared to a traditional meatball made with beef, lamb, veal and eggs, which clocks in at $13.88 per recipe. That’s a savings of almost $5 for the recipe, or almost $1 per serving.

Environmental Impact: Traditional Meatballs vs. Vegan Meatballs

In terms of environmental impact, using chickpeas and quinoa instead of beef helps make these “meatballs” better for the environment. Beef creates an estimated 34 times more climate pollution than beans and lentils, pound for pound, according to research from the NRDC.

Nutritional Comparison: Traditional Meatballs vs. Vegan Meatballs

When it comes to nutritional differences, you’ll save 341 calories by choosing our vegan meatballs over traditional meatballs. They also provide 6 more grams of fiber and they’re 11 grams lower in saturated fat than typical meatballs. This recipe also saves more than 1,200 mg sodium by bumping up those umami flavors so less salt is needed.

Serve your vegan meatballs simply with sauce or add some regular or veggie noodles. They’re also great over grain bowls or salads. And they freeze well, so make a big batch to have on hand for easy meals.

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Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups small cauliflower florets

• 8 ounces white mushrooms, halved

• ½ small onion, coarsely chopped

• 2 large cloves garlic, divided

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided

• ½ teaspoon salt, divided

• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 cup canned chickpeas

• 2 cups cooked quinoa

• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce

• 1 (28 ounce) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Pulse cauliflower, mushrooms, onion and 1 garlic clove in a food processor until finely chopped, about 15 pulses. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower mixture, 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool, stirring a few times, for 5 minutes.

3. Add chickpeas to the food processor; puree until smooth. Add the chickpea mixture to the large bowl along with quinoa and tamari (or soy sauce); stir to combine. Form the mixture into 24 balls (about 2 1/2 tablespoons each) and place on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake the meatballs until heated through and firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining garlic clove. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, tomatoes, crushed red pepper and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer. Cook until the flavors have melded, about 5 minutes. Serve the meatballs with the sauce, sprinkled with basil.

Tips

To make ahead: The sauce can be made 3 days ahead and the meatballs can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate separately.

Learn more about how to make these vegan meatballs.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

394	Calories
17g	Fat
46g	Carbs
13g	Protein

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Step 1

   In a microwave-safe bowl, spoon in the vegan butter and melt in an 850W microwave for 30 seconds.

   Step 2

   Stir in the brown sugar, vanilla extract, pecan nuts, and plain flour into the melted vegan butter to form a dough, then stir through the chocolate chips.

   Step 3

   Spoon the mixture as a single cookie onto a microwave-safe plate, then microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds until cooked.

Tip

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Directions

Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, February 2021

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy.