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Vegan meatballs with a hearty gravy!
I have made these meatless meatballs a couple of times now, always with some variations. Finally, I created a recipe which totally convinced me. And not only I love these vegan meatballs, my boyfriend is a big fan as well. They are spicy, hearty and satisfying. And the gravy is seriously the best gravy I have ever made! Both recipes are plant-based, gluten-free, nut-free, and easy to make. You most likely already have all the ingredients at home or can buy them in the next store!
Perfect for dinner or meal prep
These vegan meatballs are perfect for dinner but they are also great as a meal prep for lunch at work, uni or school.
Great variety
What I love about these vegan meatballs, is, that they can be served with (mashed) potatoes, rice, and pasta. I prefer mashed potatoes since I love mashed potatoes a lot. But every combo tastes very delicious. You can get creative and eat them a couple of times per week but serve them differently every time which means that meals never get boring.
Vegan meatballs + gravy = perfect match
This hearty gravy is a perfect match for these vegan meatballs. They taste so good together and therefore I am sharing both recipes for you! You can store gravy leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
These vegan meatballs are:
- Gluten-free
- Plant-based
- Nut-free
- Rich in protein
- Spicy
- Hearty
- Flavorful
- Satisfying
- Easy to make
Texture of these vegan meatballs
I love how the texture turned out. They do not fall apart but they aren’t gummy either. You have to give them a try, I am sure you will love them as well.
Should you recreate my recipe, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.
These vegan meatballs with a spicy gravy will make your mouth water. This gluten-free comfort meal is hearty, satisfying, and easy to make. Perfect for dinner and meal prep as well!
- One 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (250 g)
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (35 g)
- 1/2 cup instant oats (GF if needed) (45 g)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (60 g)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp ground chia seeds or flax seeds
- Spice mix: 1/2 tbsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground oregano, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water (360 ml)
- 1/3 cup plant-based cream or canned coconut milk (80 ml)
- 3 1/2 tbsp tomato paste (100 g)
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
- Ground spice mix: 3 tsp curry powder, 1 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar), sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp cornstarch (to thicken)
- Fresh parsley to garnish
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Prepare mashed potatoes as described in this recipe or make your favorite pasta or rice (whatever you want to serve with your vegan meatballs).
- Put all ingredients (except oil) to a food processor or blender and pulse a couple of times. Scrape down the sides and pulse again. Repeat for about one minute or until the mixture sticks together.
- Roll the mixture with your hands into balls. I used 1 tbsp per ball (the recipe makes 15 balls).
- Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a pan/skillet and fry balls for about 6-8 minutes over medium heat. Shake the pan from time to time to fry the balls evenly from all sides.
- Transfer the balls to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
- To make the gravy, simply add the tomato paste to a pan (use the same pan which you used for the vegan meatballs), pour in the plant-based cream and stir with a whisk to smooth out the tomato paste. Then slowly add the vegetable broth while stirring.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, add all other ingredients (except cornstarch and fresh parsley) and let simmer over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes (the longer you simmer the gravy, the more flavorful it will be).
- In a small bowl mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp water and add it to the pan. The gravy will get a little bit thicker. Keep simmering for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the gravy over the vegan meatballs and serve with either mashed potatoes, pasta or rice! Store leftovers of the gravy in a container in the fridge (can be kept in the fridge for about 3-4 days).
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Hello and welcome! My name is Ela and I am happy to share my vegan & gluten-free recipes with you. 
Wow Ela, I’ve never had gravy before but looking at your pictures makes me crave it! Your vegan meatballs look very good as well, I love that your recipes are always very healthy 🙂
Have a nice weekend!
Thank you very much, Nolwenn! I hope you will give this recipe a try. Happy Sunday! 🙂
Ela, these ingredients are wonderful! Black beans, sunflower seeds, oats – they add such flavor and texture, well done!! Thanks so much for sharing your creative recipe❤️ Dee xx
Thank you for your sweet comment, Dee! Much love, Ela ❤️
Hallo Ela,
leider wird das Rezept nicht ins deutsche übersetzt. Könntest du mir bitte die deutsche Version zusenden? Danke Yvonne
Hallo Yvonne, das Rezept wird bis morgen auch auf Deutsch verfügbar sein. Ich muss den Blogpost noch in Deutsch verfassen, was sehr viel Zeit in Anspruch nimmt und leider nicht automatisch geht. LG, Ela 🙂
Hallo, danke für die schnelle Rückmeldung.. Uhi..deine Rezepte sind super.. schmeckt auch den Nichtveganern der Familie.. 😃🙋🏼Herzlichst Yvonne
This recipe definitely makes my mouth water!😍
It looks so delicious! Will definitely give it a try.
So excited how it will taste.
Much love,
Bianca ❤️
Thank you, Bianca! I really hope you will like it as much as I do.
Sending love back, Ela ❤️
This meatballs are wonderful. DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
ELA , THESE MEAT BALLS WERE SIMPLY FANTASTIC!! Non-vegan family members were surprised and delighted. Thank you for your hard work
Yay, that’s awesome! So happy you liked them. Thanks for your great feedback! 💛
Your meatballs were delicious! A mini muffin pan bakes meatballs beautifully all round, no need to shake the pan or turn over . (Just thought l would share how l cook mine. ) And to thank you for sharing such wonderfully delicious recipes.
Thanks for sharing, Karen! That’s amazing. 🙂
Ela, These meatballs and gravy look and sound amazing. I’m definitely going to give them a try! xo Debra
Thank you very much, Debra! 🙂
I’m gonna try these today – wondering how strong the ginger flavour is in the gravy though? 🙂 Not sure my fam would like that – safe to just leave it out, Ela? 🙂
Hello Alina, yes, you can simply leave it out or use just a tiny bit. 🙂
Hi Ela can I use normal oats if I dont have instant oats?
Of course! That’s no problem at all. 🙂
HI Ela, how many cups of beans if I am soaking them and not using canned? Also, thanks so much for all of these beautiful recipes!
Peace,
Melissa
Hey Melissa, I am not sure, since I always cook a huge amount of dry beans to have some leftovers but I just asked Google and here is the reply:
One cup of dry beans = 3 cups cooked beans, drained
One 15-oz. can of beans = 1.75 cups cooked beans, drained
So I would suggest cooking a heaped 1/2 cup of dry beans for this recipe OR 1 1/4 cups dry beans to double the recipe.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Am busy with this recipe at the moment and can’t wait to eat. There’s too much for me though. Can I freeze the meatballs? At what point can I freeze them? Before or after frying/baking?
I never tried freezing them but I guess it would be better to freeze them after frying/baking. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
This looks delicious! Did you use plant based cream or coconut milk? I know that would make a big difference in taste.
Hi Claudy, I used coconut milk. 🙂