Vegan Swedish Meatballs are here for us!
And they are exactly what we need right now.
With their juicy, herb infused, veggie meatballs that are cooked until golden brown and tender with crave-able crispy edges. Tossed with a ridiculously smooth, salty, and lightly sweet dairy free cream sauce. Served over mashed potatoes, pasta ,or any other carb up for the task of soaking in all that rich sauce.
In review: juicy meatballs, cream sauce, on top of buttery carbs. Swedish meatballs, we love you!
Ingredients in Vegan Meatballs:
Hallelujah for another pantry-first meal! For the meatballs you'll need:
- Black beans & lentils
- Red onion
- Mushrooms
- Almond and cassava flour
- Vegan parm (you can buy this or make your own from everyday pantry ingredients!)
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire
- And herbs and spices!
The cream sauce:
- A few more mushrooms
- Coconut butter
- More cassava flour
- Vegetable broth
- Dairy-free milk
- Coconut cream (the thick layer on top of a can of coconut milk!)
- Dijon mustard
- Grape jelly - the secret ingredient to a great sauce!
- And some spices
How do you make Vegan Swedish Meatballs?
Start with the meatballs.
We want to get them into the oven baking while we are making the sauce!
Chop your mushrooms with a food processor until they are a nice fine dice. Add them to a bowl along with the lentils, black beans and red onion. Remove your rings and dive into the bowl, mashing up the lentils and black beans until it forms a dough.
Add in the remaining meatball ingredients and give it another stir. Spatulas are optional, but not required, on this step.
Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and use your hands to roll it into a ball. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment and repeat.
Bake for 40 minutes, turning after 30, until the meatballs are nice and crusty on the outside (this helps them soak up the sauce!) and tender, but not doughy on the inside.
While they are baking, let's make the sauce!
Start by sautéing the mushrooms in olive oil until they are golden. Quickly add in the coconut butter, cassava flour and veggie broth. Give it a stir. Coconut butter is a great thickener and adds richness to the sauce, but it can burn quickly! Quickly adding the remaining ingredients and stirring should prevent any burn.
Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients and let it simmer while the flavors develop and deepen.
Add the meatballs into the pan and toss them with the sauce.
Voila! Vegan Swedish meatballs are complete.
What do you serve with Swedish Meatballs?
These meatballs are a choose your own creamy carby adventure. They are great on mashed potatoes and great on pasta! They are also great all by themselves with a side of crusty bread and a zippy green salad.
PrintVegan Swedish Meatballs
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Swedish
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Vegan Swedish Meatballs - juicy, herb infused, veggie meatballs that are cooked until golden brown and tender with crave-able crispy edges. Tossed with a ridiculously smooth, salty, and lightly sweet dairy free cream sauce. Served over mashed potatoes, pasta ,or any other carb up for the task of soaking in all that rich sauce. Made gluten and dairy free!
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 5 ounces crimini mushrooms (also called baby bella)
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can cooked lentils OR 1 ½ cups home cooked lentils, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ cup flaxseed meal
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 oz sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- 3 tablespoons cassava flour
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream (the thick cream from the top of a can of coconut milk)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons grape jelly
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
Serve with your favorite mashed potatoes or pasta!
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the mushrooms to a food processor pulse until they are finely diced but not blended.
- Empty them into a large bowl along with black beans, lentils, and onion. With your hands, mash the lentils and black beans until they are no longer whole and form a dough.
- Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, parmesan, Italian seasoning, flaxseed meal, almond flour, cassava flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Using a spoon, stir to combine.
- Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the meatball mixture and gently roll between your hands to form a ball. Place onto your prepared baking sheet and repeat.
- Bake for 30 minutes, flip them and then bake an additional 10 minutes.
For the sauce:
- While the meatballs are in the oven, add the olive oil and mushrooms. Sauté until they are golden brown, for about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the coconut butter and quickly after whisk in the flour and vegetable broth.**NOTE: coconut butter browns very quickly so have your flour and broth pre-measured.
- Add in the plant milk, coconut cream, dijon, jelly, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Increase the heat to high, whisking frequently until it starts to bubble and thicken, then turn the heat down to low. Let the gravy simmer until your meatballs are ready.
Assemble:
Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the skillet with the sauce, gently toss to coat with the gravy. Serve the Swedish meatballs over mashed potatoes or noodles with extra gravy. Garnish with fresh microgreens and parsley if desired.
Diana says
Hi Laurel, these sound great! I have a few questions - how much milk? Is there a sub for the cassava flour? I don’t want to change your recipe but I don’t have any cassava flour! Thanks so much!
Laurel says
Hi Diana, thank you! Sorry for my typo - it should read 1 cup dairy free milk. I think you could substitute any grain based flour in the gravy and the meatballs for great results! Just steer clear of almond, hazelnut, or another nut or seed flour. They don't have the same thickening properties. Hope you enjoy the recipe!