Easy Plant Based Meatballs (TVP Meatballs)
These plant based meatballs are healthy comfort food at it's best. Served over spaghetti and tomato sauce, in subs or straight up as finger food, they will satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike.
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Servings: small meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein/ Soy Mince) *see notes
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 onion ,finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves ,finely diced
- 11 oz mushrooms (white button, oyster, shiitake...) ,finely chopped
- ½ cup roasted or unroasted cashews (optional) ,finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or Worcestershire sauce)
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs (gf for gluten-free meatballs)
- salt & pepper to taste
You can find detailed step-by step-photos above the recipe card.
Instructions
- Start by soaking the textured vegetable protein (soy granulates) in veggie broth and set aside.
- Next add (roasted) cashews to a food processor (or blender) and blitz until you end up with a crumble like texture. Don't blend too long- we still want some smaller chunks left. Skip this step if you prefer a nut-free meatball recipe.
- Put mushrooms to the same food processor and pulse a couple of times until they resemble minced meat.
- Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Add onion and garlic and cook until softened and translucent
- Add minced mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes until slightly browned and all of the water has evaporated.
- Once all the water from the mushrooms is gone, drain TVP, then add it to the mushroom mix.
- Add nutritional yeast + paprika powder and cook for a couple of minutes more.
- Once all the veggie broth is gone from the TVP and you end up with a slightly browned and sticky mass, add cashews and breadcrumbs. Let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes.
- Scoop out about 1 ½ to 2 tablespoon of the mass using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop.
- With slightly damp hands, gently press so that the mixture will stick together and form small balls.
- Heat a non stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add some oil fry meatballs for a couple of minutes.
- Turn with a spoon and fry the other side until slightly crusty and brown.
- Alternatively, youcould brush the balls with some olive oil and bake them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure to also turn them halfway through. They will taste slightly different than fried in the pan but also turn out great.
- Serve over some spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce, in a sub or as finger food.
Video
Notes
- TVP (Soya Mince): We highly recommend using slightly bigger chunks of textured vegetable protein (not the finely minced once), because it helps achieving a chewier texture.
- Storage & Freezing: They can be stored cooked (4 days) or uncooked (3 days) in an airtight container in the fridge. They can also be frozen either cooked or uncooked. Freeze in a freezer friendly container for up to 3 months. You might want to put a baking sheet or similar in between to prevent them from sticking together.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 meatball | Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 99IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates.
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