The Best Vegan Meatballs

I keep accidentally erasing my attempts at reviewing this recipe, so I’ll cut to the chase: These are just awful. Despite following the directions they disintegrated into an unappetizing mush. By the way, this exact recipe pops up all over the internet. I don’t know why people would want to present it as original. I hope I can do something with this mess but realistically I’ll probably just freeze it and throw it away when I clean out the freezer.

I followed the recipe very closely. I really was hoping this was the meatball recipe I’ve been searching for. The flavor was good but the texture was very mushy. I’m wondering if I can transform them into something else…

Wow, the recipe looked great, so, I gave it a go.

Oh my goodness, these are amazing. Even my cat wanted to try it and he ate 1/2 of one. I did not expect cat approved.

People on the fence, worth the effort.

Those with nut allergies, make the vegan Parmesan with sesame seeds.

I followed the recipe carefully. Turn out well until I put into a sauce. They then completely fell apart and turned to mush.

I made these and they were nice and crispy after baking in the oven. I added marinara sauce to the pan and I wouldn’t do that next time even though they were still delicious as the veggie balls went mushy. I don’t like vegan cheese so I substituted chopped almonds but I think they would be good with the homemade cashew cheese (I’m trying to cut back on cheese due to cholesterol.) I also added an egg white as I’m not vegan (and the beans were quite dry after baking in the oven) and they were easy to form into meatballs. I have made up my own veggie patties before with different versions but usually a base of black beans and rice, but these were really delicious. So I think they would make good patties too. Merci for the recipe even though I never follow them exactly (recipes are guidelines to me lol.)

I so much wanted this to work and it was so timeconsuming and so much work but I was committed seeing that the recipe was highly rated. It did stick to the pan so I couldn’t fry them for long despite using sufficient oil. And after more than 30 minutes in the oven they still crumbled and were dry when I bit into it. When I added the sauce hoping they would hold together they turned to mince texture. I have had no luck this time unfortunately but cannot attempt it again. Those black beans are more nutritious in another recipe. Too valiable to waste.

We made these for the 1st time this week and WOWZERS – they’re DELICIOUS!!! I was blown away by how good they were! This recipe has shot straight to the top of the list for regular rotation. THANK YOU for sharing this with the world. You’ve done humanity a grand service, my dear! Just for reference: the one ingredient we didn’t have was Worcestershire sauce, but – again (gush, gush, gush) this recipe was AMAZING even without it; and we served it with chickpea spaghetti and Rao’s Marinara sauce. Seriously, dude : YUM. Thanks again :)

The meatballs were good, BUT make them into patties and serve them as burgers.
I made the meatballs and I also added a touch of liquid smoke. We had meatballs with our pasta and then next day we had meatball subs with the leftovers. The remaining bit of mix I made into 4 burger patties and froze them. Tonight I pulled them out for supper, put them in a frying pan with a tad bit of oil and cooked them up. We added a slice of cheese to them and it was delicious. They had crispy edges to them and were so flavorful. One of the best burgers we have had!

This was delicious! Not mush like other recipes I’ve tried and has authentic Italian flavor. I’m going to attempt to use this recipe toske a meatloaf with mushroom gravy.

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am a vegan newbie and I’m always looking for a good nutritional vegan recipe that also my kids won’t complain. One of my kids is a meat lover and when she had the first bite of this meatball she said “wow it tastes like a real meatballs!”

What an outstanding recipe! I didn’t have shallots or fennel so I used star anise and a combo of onion and garlic. They were perfection! In fact, I liked them even more before cooking them in the pan and then baking in the oven. You are correct that they don’t need to be served on spaghetti to be enjoyed (but of course I served them on spaghetti :)

I’ll be making these healthy little nuggets often! TY

I have made this several times and it’s always a hit. I noticed that some reviewers say that their meatballs turned out mushy. I’m thinking people are skipping step 2 as I did that once and mine turned out mushy too. I’m wondering if you could add a line in the ingredient sections that will remind people to bake the black beans? I know it would help me as I’m always rushing through recipes. Thanks! Love everything Minimalist Baker!!

Yummmmm!!!!! Love the flavor. I kept popping them in my mouth like popcorn! I did bake longer to firm it up. Wish l could figure out how to make the outside crispy. So delicious. Definitely a repeater !!

first of all, I love this website!
I made the meatballs and halfway through cooking them in the oven they seemed very soft and I was racking my brain to see where I made a mistake as I actually followed the recipe for once. However after another 15 minutes in the oven and letting them rest a bit, they were absolutely gorgeous – tastier than the carnivore version I made for the rest of the family. They have a lovely texture to them! Will defo make again!

Made this for the second time this evening. Popular with teens and adults. I made double the quantity because everyone likes it so much. Warmly recommended.

Obsessed with these “meatballs” for a few years now! I make a few changes (really just shortcuts)(maybe being lazy??!!), but they turn out perfectly EVERY TIME. I put the onion and garlic into the food processor raw / I don’t refrigerate the balls before cooking / and then I just put on a baking tray and bake them. I add them to sauce after and OMG, the very best everrrr. Thanks for a great recipe!!

I just pulled the skillet out of the oven and I’m so disappointed. It’s almost like the meatballs “melted” in the oven. They are stuck to the bottom and very mushy. I followed the directions to a tee and made no modifications outside of doubling the recipe. They’re VERY tasty though!! Not inedible, thankfully, cuz I’d have cried if I had to toss them. But they’re likely to wind up on a roll like a meatball sub than over pasta with sauce. They’ll fall apart! Any idea what could have gone wrong??

I’ve tried many vegan meatball recipes and have not had luck until this recipe. These had so much flavor and were the perfect consistency. Minimalist baker never fails!!! Thank you!

I used black and cannellini beans, used tamari instead of Worcestershire and baked for an extra 5 minutes. Delicious!

These were amazing! The only adjustment I made was that I didn’t put the Worcestershire sauce in as I didn’t have any left. Otherwise followed to a T and baked them in my air fryer as per other reviewers’ suggestions. So so good. Thank you, Dana for the awesome recipe!

I made this with the intention of freezing some and it was so so so good it’s all gone! 😋 I made everything, the vegan parmesan, and marinara sauce! And had it with some spaghetti on my 3rd round hehe, gonna make more for meal prep this weekend! Thank you ❤️💗❤️💗

These are delicious. Definitely worth the fuss. I will try adding the garlic and shallots raw and then rolling the meatballs in oil and putting them straight into the oven next time so that it could be a weeknight meal as well. The flavor is so good that even if they don’t crisp up as well, I think they would still be fine.

I don’t have a food processor, so I just laid the beans and spices out on a sheet pan and used a hand held chopper and it worked great.

This was really delicious and so fun to make! I used chickpeas instead of black beans because I was pairing these meatballs with Minimalist Baker’s roasted red pepper pasta sauce, so I figured the chickpea would be a better choice with the lighter sauce. When I tried searing the meatballs, they stuck to the pan, so I made an impulsive decision to skip the sear and bake, and just throw them in the air fryer for 15 mins. SO GOOD AND CRISPY. Highly recommend this recipe! The depth of flavor was amazing.

These are so yummy! I made them in the air fryer and they turned out great. I skipped browning them in a pan and just put them in my air fryer at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. They were crispy and perfect!

Made this and loved it. Left out worcestershire sauce, used onion instead of shallot and used real cheese (am vegetarian, not vegan). Otherwise followed the recipe and they were amazing. My hyper-critical family loved them. Said they didn’t taste like meat but the texture was very close and they were delicious. They held together beautifully (put the sauce on them when serving and did not heat them in the sauce). I also froze one to see how that would turn out and it froze beautifully. A great recipe. Worth the work. THANKS

These are super delicious! I had leftover quinoa “taco meat” so I used that. I didn’t have vegan parmesan, so I used nutritional yeast. The flavours are so good… highly recommend!

The flavor was amazing. Really great. But I was disappointed with the texture, which was rather mushy. Suggestions for making them a bit more firm…breadcrumbs or chunks of torn bread, maybe?

Thanks!

There has to be a better way of ensuring the texture is firm enough. All this drying out of beans and frying-then-baking is too much hassle. Also many people don’t know how to cook quinoa so that it becomes dry. Sloppy quinoa would ruin this recipe. Lastly, do you really think your recipes are more popular because you scatter cliches throughout them? Let’s do this! etc. It puts me off. All said, however, the meatballs are excellent so thank you.

So, my son’s girlfriend (both 21) is vegan so I made these as a vegan option and they were delicious! I had to use some dried herbs because my Kroger was out of fresh but it still came out great!

I also made traditional meet and pork meatballs for the carnivores at dinner and I used the same herb and spice blend with egg and breadcrumbs (gluten-free, since I and another guest can’t have wheat/gluten). Adjusted a bit to account for the flavor meat adds. They tasted amazing, too.

Both served with a vegan marinara I made from scratch using, of course tomatoes, but also bell peppers and seasoned with tamari and Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) and a bunch of other things. Oh, and jalapenos, so it’s a spicy marinara!

Anyway, this is a great vegan recipe and the herbs and spices work well with meat, too!

Delicious!!!

I don’t like black beans, basil or quinoa, but I love every minimalist baker baker recipe, so I made these on faith!
These are AMAZING meatballs – easy to make and I followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t use the optional fennel, but did use the Worcestershire sauce. I tasted the raw mix to see if it needed more heat or salt; it was perfect. Searing first added great flavor. I checked at the oven at 24 minutes & they were perfect. I ate two right away, and they were delicious. I’ll be making your sauce & miso risotto this weekend. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.

Of all the bean based “meatballs” I have tried this one was definitely the best. They held together, flavor was good, and outside was crispy. I ended up just oiling my pan really well, rolling them in the oil, and then baking them vs pan toasting them first as that step just seemed unnecessary if you oil all sides. All that said I still would not make these as “meatballs” and in my recipe app I relabled as a veggie burger recipe because I definitely prefer these with mayo and mustard as a burger vs with tomato sauce as meatballs, and veggie bugers will also be less work to make.

I had to comment because we just had these for dinner and my daughter told me, “these are the best meatballs you’ve ever made!” I made them small, and her and my son ate a BUNCH. So thank you! Also I didn’t have time to make the park so I subbed 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 1/4 cup ground flax. And i used garlic and onion powder instead of sautéing garlic and shallot (which I’d love to try next time), and baked right away, and it still was delicious!

Superb! I did not pan fry them before baking and they held together beautifully.

I’ve made this several times now and it’s always a huge hit in my house! I put them on some hoagie rolls and do meatball sub sandwiches. By far, the best vegan meatball recipe out there. Thank you!