Easy Vegan Meatballs

Updated: June 12, 2025 / By: Cassie Johnston / This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy

White plate filled with spaghetti, vegan meatballs, and marinara sauce on a blue background.

Jump to Recipe

featured review

Five yellow stars in a row
Save & Summarize
Customize Recipe
Create Meal Plan

"This is an amazing recipe. It will now be my go to recipe for spaghetti & meatballs. Very moist and flavorful!" 

- CHRIS -

Whenever someone is hesitant to try eating more meatless meals, one of my favorite things to do is show them just how comforting and hearty plant-based eating can be. A plant-based diet is so much more than a bunch of salads. Plant-centered meals can be just as hearty and stick-to-your-ribs-y as meals with animal products. And this big ole plate of spaghetti and vegan meatballs is a perfect example of that. Let's make meat-free meatballs!

In this post:

White plate filled with spaghetti, vegan meatballs, and marinara sauce on a blue background. A white-handled fork rests on the edge of the plate.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Cassie Johnston (a light skinned brunette woman with glasses and a red streak in her hair) smiles toward the camera with a wall of photo frames behind her

Move over traditional meatballs! These vegan meatballs are here to steal the show.

I worked for years to perfect a meatless meatball recipe that kept the ingredient list as short as possible, only used pantry staples, and was still hearty, meaty, and delicious. This is it, my friends! I know you're going to love it. Let me show you how easy vegan meatballs can be!

Here's why you'll love this recipe:

  • No specialty ingredients. These vegan meatballs are made using only ingredients that are regularly kept in my pantry. I'll bet you have most of them on hand, too!
  • Gluten-free adaptable. As long as the oats you use are gluten-free, it only takes one simple swap of tamari in place of the soy sauce to make this recipe completely gluten-free.
  • It's quick and easy. You can have these meat-free meatballs on the table in under 30 minutes!

One of my favorite ways to serve these is with spaghetti sauce or arrabbiata sauce and garlic bread! Add a side salad with Italian dressing and you've got yourself a fancy-feeling yet weeknight-friendly meal.

Step-by-Step how to make Vegan Meatballs

1

Pulse.

Put chickpeas, onion, walnuts, oats, and garlic in the food processor and pulse everything together until it looks like the texture of ground beef. It should still be coarse and chunky. You don't want to overmix it!

2

Mix.

Dump that meaty mixture into a large bowl and add the rice, ketchup, soy sauce, and seasoning. Then stir it up until it's well mixed.

If you want a smoother texture...

...add half the vegan meatball mixture back into the food processor, and pulse until very smooth. Add the pasty smooth mix back into the bowl with the coarse half and stir well to combine.

3

Cook.

Heat a few tablespoons of avocado oil (or another oil with a high smoke point) in a large skillet over medium heat. Then roll the meatball mixture into 1-inch balls and pan-fry them in the skillet until golden brown all over. Serve!

Light blue bowl filled with meatless meatballs, on a darker blue background

Vegan Meatballs protips

  • Pan-fry your vegan meatballs in two or three batches. You don't want to overcrowd the pan!
  • If you want to skip the pan-frying and bake these plant-based beauties, you can put the formed meatballs directly on a baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.
  • Cook your brown rice in broth for an extra flavor boost!
  • Get adventurous with your seasonings! We love adding Italian seasoning and nutritional yeast when serving these with spaghetti sauce, and Montreal steak seasoning when making cocktail meatballs as an appetizer.

featured review

Five yellow stars in a row

"These were AMAZING! Kids ate them too with no complaining!" 

- ERIN -

WATCH Me make vegan meatballs

Hand holding a white-handled fork with a vegan meatball skewered on it.

📖 Recipe

White plate filled with spaghetti, vegan meatballs, and marinara sauce on a blue background.

Vegan Meatballs

At last, meatless meatballs that don't call for any specialty ingredients! These Easy Vegan Meatballs are relatively simple and perfectly meaty, and you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen.
4.50 from 78 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 36 1-inch meatballs
Calories: 44kcal
Author: Cassie Johnston

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • ½ large onion roughly chopped (about ⅓ cup)
  • ½ cup walnuts toasted is great, but not necessary
  • ½ cup old-fashioned oats gluten-free, if necessary
  • 1 clove garlic peeled
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice wild rice is great, too
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce use coconut aminos or tamari if gluten-free
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • Additional spices if desired (see notes)
  • Avocado oil or other high heat oil, for pan-frying

Instructions

  • In the basin of a food processor, pulse together 14 ounces chickpeas, ½ large onion, ½ cup walnuts, ½ cup old-fashioned oats, and 1 clove garlic until it forms a coarse meal about the texture of ground beef. Don't overmix. You should still see a few small chunks.
  • Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl, and add in 1 cup cooked brown rice, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and any Additional spices you're using. Stir until well-mixed.
  • If you like a meatball with smoother texture, transfer half of the mixture back into the food processor, and pulse until very smooth and pasty-add back to the other half of mixture and stir well to combine.
  • Heat a couple of tablespoons of Avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Form the meatball mixture into 1" balls and fry in skillet until golden brown on all sides-about 10 minutes total. Don't overcrowd the pan-you'll probably want to work in 2-3 batches.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • This is great base recipe, but you can doctor these up with spices however you see fit-add two tablespoons of Italian seasoning plus two tablespoons of nutritional yeast for serving over pasta with tomato sauce. Add Montreal Steak Seasoning for great cocktail meatballs to serve as appetizers. The possibilities are endless!
  • We use avocado oil instead of something like olive oil because the avocado oil has a higher smoke point and won't get smoky and burnt during pan-frying. You can also use grapeseed oil, safflower oil, or another high-heat oil.
  • If your meatballs aren't holding together, feel free to add either an egg (if you're not vegan) or a flax egg (mix one tablespoon ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons warm water and let thicken for five minutes) to the meatball mixture. I didn't find this necessary for my meatballs to stay together well.
  • For an extra boost of flavor, cook your brown rice in veggie broth or even not-beef broth.
  • If you want to skip pan-frying, you can just put the formed meatballs directly on the baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.
  • Add these meatballs to your saucepan right before serving. The longer they swim around in the sauce, the more tender they become.

Nutrition

Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 113mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g
Loved this recipe?Please consider leaving a review!

Frequently Asked Questions about Vegan Meatballs

I've done a lot of testing on this recipe using eggs, egg substitutes, and even no egg at all, and I've found little difference. But if you're having trouble getting the recipe to hold together, feel free to add an egg (if you're not vegan) or a flax egg (mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of warm water and let thicken for five minutes) to the mixture to make it stickier. I don't find it necessary when I make 'em, but your mileage may vary!

There's no flour or breadcrumbs to help these meatballs hold their shape, so you're already halfway there! Just make sure to grab gluten-free old-fashioned oats and use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and this recipe is ready for all of your gluten-free friends and family! This is the best GF spaghetti we've found, by the way. And you can make some vegan Parmesan cheese to go with them, too!

You sure can! After pan-frying, I like to freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Then once frozen solid, I transfer to a zip-top freezer bag and keep them stashed in the freezer for up to six months. When it's time to cook those bad boys, I just drop them into a pot of sauce straight from frozen and cook until warmed through-about 10 minutes. 

Want to save this recipe?

I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

Cassie Johnston

Cassie is a holistic nutritionist, cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks (Cooking with Greek Yogurt and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

Many links on this site are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from your qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

4.50 from 78 votes (74 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating