Meatballs are delicious and satisfying. Vegans and meat eaters will enjoy these meatballs. Vegan meatballs are great in a variety of dishes: spaghetti with meatballs, meatball stroganoff, sweet and sour meatballs, and more.

This recipe was inspired by the “Seitan Meatballs” recipe from The Gentle Chef Cookbook. With some variations in ingredients, the following meatball recipe is a unique veggie meatball.

Soy mince gives these meatballs a ground meat texture that is similar to that of non-vegan meatballs. Ingredients include:

• 3/4 cup TVP
  
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth
  
• 1 tbsp vegan chicken soup mix (optional)

Dry ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup minced onion

Wet ingredients:

• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tsp soy sauce.

Form small meatballs and press them into shape with your hands. Make the meatballs smaller than their intended finished size. Veggie meatballs expand while cooking.

Cook the meatballs by steaming for 45 minutes. Do not boil these meatballs because they will fall apart if boiled. Steamed meatballs hold their texture perfectly to create a firm and chewy finished meatball.

After steaming, refrigerate for later use or use the meatballs in a recipe immediately. The preparation method is the same whether you use the meatballs now or later. Heat in a frying pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally to brown on all sides.

Once the meatballs are browned evenly, add sauce or other ingredients as desired, and serve the meatballs with your accompanying dish of choice. Pasta or rice are excellent choices.

The meatballs can be eaten plain after browning, as an appetizer, or can be served with sauce or in any recipe that calls for meatballs. If using these meatballs in a soup or stew, brown them first. This will create a nice, firm texture that will hold its shape.