Vegan Tofu Meatballs Recipes

THE BEST VEGAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• If you haven't prepared your quinoa yet, do so now (make sure it's cooked and cooled completely before use). 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa will yield ~1 cup cooked. *Prep/cook time does not include preparing quinoa.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Add rinsed, dried black beans to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until beans appear cracked and feel dry to the touch (see beans in food processor photo). Remove beans from the oven and then increase oven heat to 375 degrees F (190C).
• Heat a large (oven-safe) skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add water (or oil), garlic, and shallot. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until slightly softened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat (and reserve pan for later use).
• Add black beans to a food processor along with garlic, shallot, sea salt, oregano, red pepper flake, and fennel (optional) and pulse into a loose meal (DON'T overmix). Then add cooked/cooled quinoa, vegan parmesan cheese, tomato paste, fresh basil or parsley, and Worcestershire (optional). Pulse to combine until a textured dough forms (you're not looking for a purée, but it should be semi-tacky).
• Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt for saltiness/depth of flavor, red pepper flake for heat, herbs for earthiness, or Worcestershire (optional) for more depth of flavor. If it's too tacky or wet, add more vegan parmesan cheese and pulse to combine (we added a bit more).
• Scoop out heaping 1 1/2 Tbsp amounts (using this scoop or a Tablespoon) and gently form into small balls using your hands. Add to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Heat an oven-safe metal or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a small amount of oil to prevent sticking, then add the meatballs. Sauté for a few minutes, gently turning the meatballs to get a slight crust on either side. Then transfer to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and slightly dry to the touch.
• These meatballs are delicious as is, or you can add some marinara to the pan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes (or until bubbling / hot) to infuse more flavor.
• Serve with marinara and additional vegan parmesan cheese (optional)! These are also delicious atop any pasta. Leftover meatballs keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or in a 375-degree F (190 C) oven until warmed through.

ITALIAN TOFU MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place tofu onto a plate and place another plate on top. Set a 3- to 5-pound weight on top. Press tofu for 15 minutes to drain excess water. Break tofu into small pieces and squeeze again to remove as much water as possible.
• Place tofu in a large bowl. Add onion, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, basil, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, hot sauce, and garlic; mix well with your hands until thoroughly combined.
• Drizzle some olive oil on the lined baking sheet. Form tablespoonfuls of tofu mixture into balls and arrange in rows on the baking sheet. Drizzle remaining olive oil over meatballs.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.

VEGAN SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix warm water and egg replacer together in a large bowl. Stir in vegan cheese, tofu, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder. Add onion, pecans, Italian seasoning, basil, and sage; mix until well combined. Stir in enough bread crumbs to reach a moist, crumbly texture.
• Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls and place in an 8-inch baking pan.
• Mix grape jelly, ketchup, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and oregano in a separate bowl. Pour over meatballs.
• Bake in the preheated oven until meatballs are firm, 35 to 40 minutes.

VEGAN TOFU MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheet or parchment lined baking sheet and set aside. Make breadcrumbs by blending 1-inch pieces of bread in a blender or food processor, scoop breadcrumbs into a large mixing bowl. Stir in walnut, sage, oregano, and basil.
• In a food processor or blender, place tofu, liquid amino's, nutritional yeast flakes, tapioca starch, onion powder, garlic, and sea salt and process.
• Pour blended mixture into the bowl with seasoned breadcrumbs and mix well. Form into balls and bake for 30 minutes turning meatballs after 15 minutes. Transfer tofu meatballs to a serving dish and spoon sweet and sour sauce over the tofu meatballs and serve.
• In a medium saucepan add pineapple juice, tomato sauce, sugar, tapioca starch, onion, garlic and sea salt, whisk.
• Heat sauce over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Whisking constantly, reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens.

TOFU WALNUT "MEATBALLS" (VEGAN)

Steps:

• Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
• Add seasonings and mix until combined.
• Drain tofu and crumble with hands into the meatball mixture, mix.
• Add soy sauce and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
• With clean hands, roll about a tablespoon's worth of mixture into a ball. If it is too dry to stick together, up to 1/2 cup water can be added. (I don't ever have to add water.).
• Continue to roll mixture into balls, and place onto a greased baking sheet, an inch or two apart. I use a cookie dough scoop to get mine a uniform size.
• Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (depending on size), until nicely browned.
• Cool and transfer to container or bag for freezing, or serve hot as desired.
• (These work well as appetizers, or as part of a main dish with barbecue sauce, brown gravy, vegan stroganoff sauce, or Asian sauces.).

SIMPLE VEGAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and prepare flax egg in a small dish by mixing flaxseed meal and water and let it rest for a few minutes.
• In a large, deep skillet, sauté onion and garlic in 1/2 Tbsp olive oil (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) over medium heat until soft and translucent - about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Add tempeh to food processor and pulse to break down. Then add sautéed garlic, onion, and remaining ingredients (except olive oil) and mix, scraping down sides as needed. You want it to form into a moldable "dough."
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. The tempeh will come across as a little bitter, but once coated, baked and served with marinara it's not nearly as apparent.
• NOTE: Depending on how salty your vegan parmesan cheese is, you may need to add a little salt and pepper at this point. However, I didn't find it necessary.
• Scoop out 1 Tbsp amounts of dough and roll into balls. At this time, heat the same skillet you used earlier to medium heat.
• Mix remaining bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together in a shallow dish. Add tempeh balls one or two at a time and roll to coat.
• Add enough olive oil to form a thin layer on the bottom of your hot skillet, then add your coated tempeh balls in two batches, as to not crowd the pan. Brown for about 5 minutes total, shaking the pan to roll them around to brown all sides.
• Add browned meatballs to a baking sheet and add to the oven to bake for about 15 minutes, or longer if desired for a crispier result.
• At this time, prep any pasta your want to serve with your meatballs, as well as your favorite marinara sauce (I love this pizza sauce).
• Once meatballs are deep golden brown and fairly firm to the touch, remove from oven.
• To serve, top cooked pasta with meatballs and pour over marinara sauce. Top with another sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a few days, though best when fresh.

WALNUT MEATBALLS (VEGAN)

Steps:

• In food processor, purée the water and onion until smooth. Pour into large mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients, mixing well until mixture holds together.
• Coat hands with nonstick cooking spray.
• Shape mixture into 1-inch balls.
• Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
• Remove from oven and place meatballs on a platter. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve hot with a variety of dipping sauces, such as Sweet and Sour, Marinara, or your favorite.

VEGAN GERMAN MEATBALLS & CABBAGE WITH CREAMY MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the oats and sunflower seeds into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade, then blend them to a powder.
• Break the tofu into a few large chunks and add it to the food processor, along with the onion, garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and marjoram.
• Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed. Do not overblend the mixture.
• Taste-test the mixture and season it with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
• Roll the tofu mixture into 1-inch balls (you should get about 20 of them) and arrange them on the baking sheet and brush them with olive oil.
• Bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. They are finished baking when they're lightly browned.
• While the meatballs bake, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion and cook it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's soft and just beginning to brown.
• Add the cabbage to the skillet. Continue cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes more, until the cabbage begins to soften up.
• Clear a spot near the center of the skillet and add the garlic. Cook it for about 1 minute, until very fragrant, then stir the garlic into the cabbage mixture.
• Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and stir to coat the cabbage with the flour. Continue cooking and stirring the cabbage for about 2 minutes.
• Add the coconut milk and broth, a bit at a time, stirring well between each addition. Then stir in the mustard.
• Bring the liquid up to a simmer and cook everything for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and the cabbage is tender. Stir the mixture occasionally as it simmers.
• Stir in the sauerkraut and remove the skillet from the heat.
• Tastes-test the cabbage and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the cabbage onto plates and top it with the meatballs. Sprinkle with chives and serve.