Easy Homemade Vegan Meatballs

Cast iron skillet filled with marinara sauce and vegan meatballs.

5 from 85 votes

Easy Homemade Vegan Meatballs

The only Vegan Meatball Recipe you'll ever need! A delicious plant based alternative to traditional meatballs, these meatless balls are easy to make and will taste great with your favorite pasta sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 147kcal

Author: Debra Klein

Equipment

Ingredients

1 can chick peas 15.5-oz
1 can pinto beans 15.5-oz
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup ground flax
½ cup oat flour grind old fashioned rolled oats
2 Tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
4 cloves garlic finely grated, minced or pressed
1 shallot minced
½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425. Line large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Rinse and drain beans. Place all 3 cups into a large mixing bowl and use a potato masher or fork to roughly mash. Some chunks are ok, but not whole beans. The goal is slightly chunky, definitely not a smooth paste.
To the bowl, add tomato paste, olive oil, ground flax, oat flour, shallot, parsley, nutritional yeast, spices, pepper and salt. Finely grate the garlic cloves over the bowl. Mix until everything is well distributed.
Use a medium sized cookie scoop or 2 Tablespoons to scoop out 18 golf ball sized portions onto the prepared pan. Wet your hands and roll each portion into a ball.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Roll onto another side and then bake for another 15 minutes, until edges are crisp and center is tender.

Notes

Meatless Meatball Batter: Use a large bowl so there's plenty of space to mix. If a fork or large wooden spoon isn't doing a thorough job, wet your hands and then use them instead.

Meal Prep and Storage

Make ahead: Absolutely! Stop after making "dough" and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking. You can also freeze the batter before or after baking.
To store: Store in airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freezer for 3 months.
To reheat: Already baked meatless meatballs can be reheated in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes until heated through. If your leftovers have tomato sauce on them, it's best to reheat in a large saucepan over low heat.
To freeze: Here's the best part...you can freeze these meatless balls raw or fully baked to be used for different recipes at another time! To freeze meatball "dough" roll into balls and flash freeze, then transfer to zip top freezer safe bags.

Nutrition