These easy Vegan Mushroom Meatballs is hearty and rich meatless recipe that is both healthy and delicious. Packed with comforting flavors and ready in under 1 hour, these gluten-free meatballs are perfect for meal prep or cozy family dinner.
Meatballs made without meat, egg and dairy...is it even possible?
Absolutely!
These savory Vegan Mushroom Meatballs are a proof that you don't always need meat for a complete and satisfying meal.
This vegan meatballs recipe is long overdue. Since I started on a plant-based diet, mushrooms took on the best "meat" substitute for me.
I've been replacing all kinds of traditional meat recipes with mushrooms. Mushroom Bolognese or Chanterelle Stroganoff are among my favorites.
So finally the time has come to incorporate mushrooms in vegan balls, specifically rice - Portobello mushroom meatballs.
This vegan meatballs recipe is absolutely delicious, flavorful and cozy. You'll love the thick tomato sauce that coats each meatball and you won't want to waste a single drop of it.
📋 Ingredients
These best gluten-free meatballs are made with simple ingredients. In fact, you might already have them in your pantry. Here's a brief overview of the ingredients.
For the exact quantities, please look at the recipe card below.
- mushrooms. I made these meatballs with the Portobello mushrooms, however Button or Crimini mushrooms will work here as well
- rice - I recommend white Basmati rice
- onion - for the meatballs
- sauce ingredients - onion, carrot, garlic, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, Maple syrup and smoked paprika
- salt, pepper
🔪 Instructions
1. Cook rice
Start off with preparing the rice. Rinse it one time with a filtered water, add to a medium pot along with water and salt and bring to a boil.
Give it a stir, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until rice absorbs all water is cooked, about 15 minutes.
After that, transfer rice to a medium or large bowl to cool.
2. Cook the onion and carrot
Heat olive in a large pan and over medium heat. Add half of the minced onion, carrot and saute stirring from time to time for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
3. Cook the mushrooms
Add finely chopped mushrooms and cook on a high heat for about 5 minutes or until mushroom slightly brown. Transfer the veggies to a plate and wipe down the pan with a paper towel.
4. Prepare the sauce
Heat olive oil in a large pan and over medium heat. Add the remaining onion, salt, and sauté stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine corn starch and water. Whisk in tomato sauce, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, Maple syrup, salt and pepper.
Add the sauce to the sauteed onion and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Using an immersion or stand blender, blend the sauce until fewer veggie chunks remain.
5. Combine rice and sauteed vegetables
In a large bowl add cooked rice and sauteed onion, carrot and mushrooms. Mix for a few minutes until the mixture is slightly "sticky". That way you'll be able to easily shape it into the balls.
Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
6. Shape the meatballs
Take about 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture and using your hands shape into the meatballs. I recommend placing a bowl with clean water nearby so that you can dip you hands into the water after each meatball. I had about 29 meatballs.
Place meatballs into the tomato sauce, simmer for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
7. Serve
Sprinkle these easy vegan meatballs with some parsley and serve as they are or over some pasta.
💭 Top tip
To speed up the process, I used two separate pans for sautéing the veggies and making the sauce. You can totally make everything in one pan.
After you the sauteed onion and mushrooms, I recommend transferring the vegetables to a separate plate, wipe the pan clean and continue on making the sauce.
♨️ Storing and Reheating
These vegetarian meatballs can easily be stored in a refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply microwave the meatballs for about 40 seconds or simmer in a little bit of sauce just until warm.
🍄 Similar Recipes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Mushroom Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 c white Basmati rice
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 medium onions very finely chopped
- 1 large carrot grated on a large box grater
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 oz Portobello mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 ½ c tomato sauce
- 4 c water divided
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 ½ tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp Maple syrup
- 1 ¼ tsp salt divided
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
Cook rice
- Start off with preparing the rice. Rinse it one time with a filtered water, add to a medium pot along with 2 ½ c water and ½ tsp salt and bring to a boil. Give it a stir, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until rice absorbs all water and is soft, about 15 minutes. Transfer rice to a medium or large bowl to cool.
Cook the onion and carrot
- Heat olive 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and over medium heat. Add half of the minced onion, carrot and saute stirring from time to time for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
Cook the mushrooms
- Add finely chopped mushrooms and cook on a high heat for about 5 minutes or until mushroom slightly brown. Transfer the veggies to a plate and wipe down the pan with a paper towel.
Prepare the sauce
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in the same pan and over medium heat. Add the remaining minced onion, ½ tsp of salt, and sauté stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine corn starch and 1 ½ c water. Whisk in tomato sauce, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, Maple syrup, ¼ tsp salt and pepper.
- Add this mixture to the sauteed onion and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Using an immersion or stand blender, blend the sauce until fewer veggie chunks remain.
Combine rice and sauteed vegetables
- In a large bowl add cooked rice and sauteed onion, carrot and mushrooms. Mix for a few minutes until the mixture is slightly “sticky”. That way you’ll be able to easily shape it into the balls. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Shape the meatballs
- Take about 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture and using your hands shape into the meatballs. I recommend placing a bowl with clean water nearby so that you can dip you hands into the water after each meatball. I had about 29 meatballs. Place meatballs into the tomato sauce, simmer for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
- Serve
- Sprinkle the meatballs with some chopped parsley and serve as they are or over some pasta.
Nutrition
Denise says
Can I use brown rice?
Iryna says
Hi Denise! In this recipe I used white rice because it's slightly more "stciky" and "gluey" when cooked, that's why I didn't have to use any vegan egg replacement. If you decide to use brown rice, I would suggest adding 1 vegan egg replacement, like tapioca/corn starch or flax egg.
Use 1 tablespoon of tapioca/corn starch, blended with 3 teaspoons of water, to replace one egg. Or in case of flax egg: 1 egg = 1 tbsp of ground flax seeds + 2 1/2 tbsp water. Hope this helps!