Easy Vegan Meatballs
These easy vegan meatballs are made with cremini mushrooms, cooked rice, and simple pantry staples - no eggs, no dairy, and no complicated techniques. Pan fry them for a crispy crust or bake them in the oven, either way they're hearty, flavorful, and ready in about 30 minutes. Perfect over spaghetti, stuffed into subs, or honestly just eaten straight from the skillet.
Servings: 20 meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small white onion chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced or roughly chopped (we'll be blending them later so size doesn't matter)
- 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups cooked rice I used basmati rice but brown rice or even another grain such as quinoa would work well*
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small white onion, 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the onion mixture to a food processor along with the rice, flour, bread crumbs, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Pulse until everything is combined and comes together.1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Form the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs and set aside.
To Pan Fry the meatballs
- In the same skillet pour in enough oil to fully cover the bottom of the skillet (I end up using about 1 1/2- 2 tablespoons of oil). Set over medium heat. Once hot, add in the meatballs so that they're not overcrowded. Cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Add more oil as needed so that skillet has a thin layer covering it.Oil for frying
To Bake the Meatballs
- Place the uncooked meatballs on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes, flip, and bake an additional 8-10 minutes.
- Serve with spaghetti or however you enjoy your meatballs :D
Video
Notes
- Fresh-cooked rice works much better than day-old - it's stickier and helps the meatballs hold together.
- Fennel seeds are an optional add-in that take the flavor to another level - highly recommend trying it!
- Gluten-free: swap the flour and breadcrumbs for GF versions.
- To freeze before cooking: form meatballs, freeze on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before cooking.
- To freeze after cooking: store in a freezer-safe container with sauce for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.3mg
