The rise of meatless meatballs

These days, there’s something of a plant-based surge in awareness, and whether you’re doing it for dietary reasons, for ethical concerns, or simply for the good of the planet, we’re glad you’re here!

When it comes to meatballs, ‘vegetarian’ doesn’t immediately come to mind. We feel that finding new and imaginative ways to embrace classic ‘meat-focused’ recipes is a step in the right direction, and this recipe is a perfect example of how easy it is to find a vegetarian (or even vegan if you omit the egg yolk and using vegan-friendly breadcrumbs) recipe substitute without sacrificing the delicious flavors of the meal. 

This Spanish-style vegetarian meatball recipe is not only quick and easy to make, but it also tastes incredible, and in all honesty, this is now our go-to meatball recipe (over the meat version which we have a traditional albondigas recipe). The meat one is super tasty too but if you have someone in your house who doesn’t eat meat (like in our case), cooking one meal for all is just often easier. 

Why switch to meatless?

Switching to meatless is a great way for many to make sure that the moral compass is leading in the right direction while also looking after mother nature. But, even more good news, you’re also helping yourself to better health. 

This veggie meatball recipe uses store-bought plant-based minced meat that was easy to find in our local supermarket. We’ve tried this mince a few times before so we knew what to expect (see our update just below as we’ve since had to change!). 

As store-bought veggie mince is a processed food, some brands have quite a lot of salt and sugar added, which isn’t great but it’s fine as there’s no need to add any sugars or salt to the recipe when making the meatballs.

We’ve done a little research, and found that most branded plant-based meatless products have a quite varied amount of added salt and sugar so it’s best to check the label so you know what you’re working with and adjust the recipe accordingly. 

For this recipe, we added no extra salt or sugar to make the actual meatballs.

Update on 3 Jan 2024: Sadly, our favorite brand of mince is no longer stocked where we are. If this happens to you and you’ve already made this recipe — and you’re trying a packet with a much higher salt content — you might like to leave out seasoning the sofrito sauce with salt or adding less than you usually do. 

Plant-based Mince meat – Nutrition facts

Despite the processed nature of the store-bought plant-based mince, it has some pretty impressive nutritional facts, especially when compared to minced beef or pork. 

Here are a few nutrition facts for some leading plant-based vegan meat products compared with minced beef and pork. 

Do meatless meatballs taste better (or worse)?

The big question is how do meatless meatballs taste? And, more importantly, is there any noticeable sacrifice in flavor compared to beef or pork meatballs? 

In our opinion, we actually prefer meatless meatballs, and the sauce and spices are virtually the same as the meat version.

The taste test

Meatless veggie meatballs have less fat but still manage to hold onto the flavor when compared to the “regular” beef or pork meatballs. When we cook the veggie meatballs they are a little softer at first, but brown well once fried and usually all hold together perfectly (occasionally some stray decides to lose it for no reason). 

The veggie meatballs also hold up perfectly and stay intact once simmered in the sofrito sauce. They also manage to have a great texture that’s comparable to the meat varieties. So, whether you’re veggie or just trying different vegetarian recipes to eat less meat, we promise you’ll love these. 

Vegan meatballs

Veggie meatballs can be easily made vegan by omitting the egg yolk and using vegan-friendly breadcrumbs. The trick when making vegan meatballs is stopping them from crumbling while being cooked so it’s important to experiment with plant-based thickening agents such as mashed banana, ground flax seeds, or chia seeds.