This recipe is supported by Tideford Organics
So where do we begin with these mighty vegan meatballs? Well for a start we’re really, really excited about sharing this recipe with you guys!
We kept testing and testing (and testing!) this recipe until we were absolutely certain we’d found the perfect blend of flavours and textures.
The meatballs are lovely and crisp on the outside but moist on the inside, and we’ve packed them with tons of herbs and seasoning so every bite is as satisfying as the last!
For the sauce, we decided to use red wine (ideally dry) to give the sauce lots of depth, which balances really well with the delicious Tideford Organics Tomato & Basil Sauce.
For serving, we recommend preparing a lovely, smooth mashed potato and garnishing with chopped basil. Oh, and what’s more is this recipe is entirely gluten-free!
You can find out where to buy the Tideford Organics range here.
Enjoy!
Roxy & Ben
Mighty ‘Meatballs’
Ingredients
For the ‘meatballs’
- 1 x 400 g (14.1 oz) tinned red kidney beans, drained + rinsed
- 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 35 g (1.2 oz) oats
- 30 g (1 oz) walnuts
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- small handful of fresh basil
For the sauce
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 120 ml ( 4 fl.oz) vegan red wine
- 120 ml ( 4 fl.oz) vegetable stock
- 300 g (10.6 oz) Tideford Organics Tomato & Basil Sauce
- oil, for frying
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 425°F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper unless you’re using a non stick tray.
- Add the meatball ingredients to a food processor and process the ingredients together until the mixture reaches a rough consistency, ensuring some larger pieces remain. It’s really important you avoid processing the ingredients for too long, otherwise the meatballs will turn into a mush!
- Take roughly a tbsp of the mixture in your hand and roll it into a ball, then place it on the baking tray. Repeat until all the mixture has been used up and you’re left with 12 balls.
- Transfer the baking tray to the oven and bake the balls for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by first adding a little oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the red onion and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the carrot and fry for a further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Next, add the wine to the pan and simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes.
- Then add the vegetable stock, Tideford Organics Tomato & Basil Sauce, and finally add the meatballs to the pan. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the sauce has started to thicken. Avoid stirring the sauce, otherwise the balls might lose their shape.
- Remove the pan from the hob and serve. We recommend serving with mashed potato and a sprinkle of basil. Enjoy!
73 Comments
Oh, I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing. One suggestion. Seeing as recipes are shared world-wide, do you think you can include both measurements: US and Metric amounts? I do have a cheat sheet, but still have to now look up what the exact amount for 35g 30g and 300g is. Again, a big thank you!
Ooo, this is a good idea. We’ll look into this! Thanks, Roxy (So Vegan)
I asked you over six months ago to include both measurements, for everyone’s benefit. You said it was a ‘good idea’, but, I guess it wasn’t a priority for you.
Hey Donna. Sorry for the inconvenience. We run So Vegan in our spare time, which as I’m sure you can imagine leaves us with very little time on top of our day jobs. We have a very long list of things we want to add to the site and we’ll work through them as fast as we can. Thanks for understanding! Ben.
I feel you, Donna. My first thought when I read the recipe.
Get a kitchen scale that can do grams or pound and oz. It really is very easy and for baked goods, measuring in grams is much or accurate.
Seriously, do a conversion. The interwebs help.
I have searched google for the conversions =) its easy, thank you SO VEGAN =) for such wonderful recipes … love it =)
Hey Anna, thank you! We have been including the conversions on all our latest recipes. Hope this helps. Best, Roxy
You can just look it up yourself
hey Donna….google it! I do this all the time…..there are all kinds of conversion sheets on the internet…..THANK YOU SO MUCH “SO VEGAN” for all the wonderful recipes and all your hard work ……VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!! 🙂
Yes! Thank you so much So Vegan!
Aw thank you so much! It really means a lot 🙂 XX
35 grams is 1/3 of a cup
merci 🙂
You should have a way to adjust the serving size, that would be really helpful.
Hey Robert, for two serving you can just half the amount of ingredients. Hope this helps. Thanks, Roxy (So Vegan)
Hi! What would you suggest as a substitute for the walnuts? Thanks!
Hey Laura! You can try substituting for another nut, such as pecans or hazelnuts. Alternatively you can try using seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Thanks!
I have an overabundance of Oregano growing all over. Do you have any recipes for Oregano Pesto? Or any other ways I can utilize it?
Hi Luann. Oregano pesto sounds like a delicious idea. We don’t have a recipe for it specifically but you could adapt this recipe https://www.wearesovegan.com/homemade-pesto/ by using the oregano instead of the basil. Good luck! Thanks 🙂 Roxy
Any luck yet with the conversion table?
Sorry Gloria not yet! I’ve added it to the top of our list! Trying to get this done asap. Appreciate your patience. Best, Roxy
how about get your own
Love these recipes
Aw thanks Lucy! Means a lot 🙂 Best, Roxy
How do I get a printable copy? I copied and pasted it but the photo doesn’t show up just an empty box. I don’t have patience to sit down and copy it. Other places furnish printable copies.. thanks.
Hey Jolene. Apologies, we’ve been trying to work out a way of adding this feature but it seems to be broken. Have you tried printing the web page?
Jolene, if you right click on the recipe a print options pops up and you can print it
We don’t drink, so I wouldn’t know a ‘dry’ wine from a wet one. Can you help me out? Can I use ‘cooking’ wine? Is there a substitute for using wine?
Hey Judy! Wine is usually split into ‘dry’ or ‘sweet’. You want to avoid sweet wines because it’ll unbalance the dish, but cooking wine tends to be dry so you should be fine! Hope that helps.
Cooking wine is full of salt. Buy wine someone would drink.
Could yours hummus to replace the basil sauce since I can’t find it in US ?
Hey Bev. We’re not sure hummus would work, but you can try using a good quality tomato pasta sauce and adding fresh basil?
This looks delicious! I wonder if you think black beans could be substituted for the kidney beans, with no other changes required?
Sorry to read the ‘gripes’ about you not posting conversion amounts. GRATEFUL you share your incredible recipes, while Google can provide conversions to those who need them.
Happy creating!!
Hey Nanette! Yes black beans would definitely work (we love them and they’re very versatile!). Just be careful because the consistency might change, and you might want to add some more oats if it’s too wet, or a splash of water if it’s too dry. Yes, we’ve been meaning to add conversions to our recipes so it’s something we’ll definitely be looking into! Thanks so much for your support!
I am wondering how well these hold up as leftovers? Do they retain their shape or turn to a veggie mush?
I do it and was delicious.I aggregated mushroom
Does anyone knows if the meatballs keep shape in the sauce. I have tried many different recipes and usually the end result falls apart 🙁
Does anyone know if the meatballs keep shape in the sauce. I have tried many different recipes and usually the end result falls apart 🙁
I’ve made these several times and they always turn out wonderful! For the conversions, I use a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven, 1/3 cup of walnuts, and 1/3 cup plus a little more for the oats (and if I accidentally overmix I have found that adding more oats is a quick fix). As for the beans, most cans of beans I’ve found are 15.5 oz, which is around 440g, and I use the whole can with no problem. Hopefully this helps with those inquiring about conversions. These are a huge hit with my meat eating friends, they are absolutely delicious.
Thanks Caitlin! Appreciate you providing all the US conversions!
Caitlin, THANKS SO MUCH for the conversions. Very helpful! And I don’t have any wine or access to that tomato basil sauce, so will need to do some improvising, but hopefully it will all turn out tasty. I shared this as part of my current post at Self-help Health, which also includes what sounds like an easy and tasty recipe for seeded oatcakes. 🙂
Caitlin, you are awesome! Some people were kinda rude towards people who asked for a conversion. Many rope care for handicapped, elderly etc and don’t have the time or energy to “Google it”. You are so kind and helpful!
Help care not rope care.
Can we freeze the balls ?
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Love your recipe. So sorry about people griping! There are so many of us who really appreciate your time and effort in creating this recipe and sharing it!!
Aw thank you so much! It really means a lot 🙂 XX
Looks delightful! I think I am going to try it with black beans. I once made the best black bean burger and they said to get all of the moisture out of the beans, you cook them on a low temp and wow it really works. I will report back, thank you for a fantastic recipe (and being from the US I will be happy to look up conversions, as you do with our recipes I imagine! 🙂
Hi Christine, that sounds delicious! Let us know how it goes. All the best, Roxy
Looking forward to trying your recipes.
Amazing! Thank you so much 🙂
I will try it for me and my husband. That sounds good
Awesome! Let us know how it goes 🙂
Is the yeast very important? I don’t have any, and am not sure it is available in my country. Thanks!
Hi Lisa, the yeast adds a ‘cheesy’ flavour but it’s not vital and you could leave it out. All the best, Roxy
Trying to eat vegan
Hi Frances, that’s great! Hopefully our recipes will help! All the best, Roxy
What can be used to replace the red wine please?
Hi Will, you could try a little balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead. Thanks, Roxy
What is the substitution for the Tidegord Organic Tomato Basil Sauce? I can’t get that where I live.
Hi Marilyn you could make your own tomato sauce by combining garlic, basil, tomatoes or tomato sauce, salt and pepper in a small pan. Hope this helps. Best, Roxy
Going to try this recipe today! Thanks for sharing! Looks delicious! Going to make them a bit smaller for appetizers and add. Honey garlic sauce!
Hi Jen, thanks for getting in touch. Let us know how the recipe goes! All the best, Roxy
Made the meatballs last night and they were amazing. I have tried several different recipes and none of them came close to this one! Yes, you have to take a few minutes to convert a few of the measurements but it is so worth it. Wonderful flavor w/o any oil and they did not fall apart in the sauce. Love your recipes!!
Amazing! Thanks Mary, so chuffed you enjoyed the recipe!
Do the conversion it is very annoying to look it up! Just a considerate thing to do! Won’t try your recipes since there are so many others on the internet that do not require me to look up conversions. You have many request for this so don’t understand your problem!
Hi Roxy and Ben…..do you know if they can be frozen once cooked? Thank you!
I just made these wonderful little tasty morsels! The sauce was delicious….I had to use a jarred sauce, which was fine. I googled the conversion….very easy to do. They are so easy to make and taste great! Thank youRoxy and Ben! I will be making these often!
Hello Roxy, Ben.
I came upon this recipe and I’m going to try it tomorrow. If we want to make 24 balls, shall i double all the ingredients?
Thanks
bring veganism “to the masses”?
I mean, that sounds awfully condescending to me
[Thank Heaven you two are here or we would never be able to eat veggies without you..]
perhaps you could change it.
In the meantime, I am off as your wording put me off
Hi! Thanks for all your recipes. Would it be ok to use a high speed blender instead of a food processor? Thanks