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Vegan Mushroom Meatballs Homemade with a simple mix of mushrooms, processed oats, and brown rice or quinoa makes for a very ‘meaty’ and fiber-packed bite. The meatballs are already great with gravy or a dipping sauce of your choice but I chose to cook them in a delicious tomato sauce with umami from some white miso paste.
These meatballs in tomato sauce make a great appetizer or can be enjoyed with some cooked spaghetti or other pasta.
These are mushroom meatballs in tomato sauce
- Made of a few simple ingredients
- Perfect for sharing
- Great for parties and potlucks. Especially during the holiday season!
- gluten free
- Air-fried, baked or pan-fried!
- Versatile – You can enjoy meatballs cooked in any sauce you like
- Packed with lots of fiber from mushrooms, oats and quinoa or brown rice
Here are the ingredients you will need to make these meatballs
- Fresh mushrooms are preferred, I used shiitake mushrooms
- Cooked brown rice or quinoa
- Green onion or small red onion
- Minced garlic
- Fresh basil leaves
- Processed quick-cooking oats or whole rolled oats (can sub for panko or Japanese bread crumbs)
- Corn starch or potato starch
- Salt or flavor
- fresh chilies
You can also find the full printable recipe on the recipe card below!
For the tomato sauce
Note: You can double this recipe if you want extra saucy meatballs perfect for pasta!
How to Make Mushroom Meatballs
Prepare the mixture
- Oats: If using quick cooking oats, it does not need to be processed. If using the whole roll out, process quickly or pulse until the small panko has a breadcrumb-like texture. Don’t increase the price of oats too much or it will turn into flour consistency. I like to keep the oats in a panic bread crumb-like texture for texture.
- Mushrooms: Process or chop the mushrooms until minced. You can leave some large pieces for extra texture.
- Meatball Mixture: In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, quinoa/brown rice, green onion, garlic, oats, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Mix everything well until the mushroom-quinoa mixture comes together.
- Check the mixture and then shape it into small balls to see if it holds well. If the mixture is a little wet and sticky, you can add another 1-2 tbsp of processed oats or regular flour. The oats/flour will help absorb some of the moisture.
- After that, roll the mixture into balls.
Cook the meatballs
- Pan-Fry: Heat a medium or large non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add some neutral oil to submerge at least half of the mushroom balls. Add the balls and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Air Fry: If air-frying or baking, preheat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C. Place the balls in a lined air-fryer basket or baking tray. Spray or brush a generous amount of oil on both sides. Leave to air-fry for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until golden brown on both sides. To bake, it will take more time, about 35-40 minutes.
- Personally I prefer pan-fried meatballs because they are so juicy. Air fries are a bit drier but once cooked or mixed into a sauce, the differences are barely noticeable.
Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce
- You can double the tomato sauce recipe if you plan to enjoy the meatballs with some spaghetti or other pasta.
- Heat a pan over medium heat.
- Add olive oil. Once hot, sauté the garlic for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes and miso paste (if using). Mix to thin the miso paste. Season with salt and sugar to taste.
- Add dry bay leaves to the tomato sauce and then simmer gently for 8-10 minutes.
- Mix in the tomato paste (if using) and season with salt and sugar to taste if needed.
- Add fresh basil leaves to the sauce before adding to the cooked mushroom meatballs.
- Let everything come together and make sure the meatballs are well coated in the sauce.
How to enjoy these meatballs
- To enjoy, you can serve meatballs as a hearty main or side. Another option is to mix in some cooked spaghetti or pasta of choice to soak up the sauce.
More recipes you might like:
Mushroom Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Vegan)
material
Mushroom meatballs
- 14 oz Fresh mushrooms of choice I used shiitake mushrooms
- 1 the cup Cooked brown rice or quinoa
- 1 green onion or small red onion, chopped
- 1/2 spoon Minced garlic
- 3-4 leaf Fresh basil leaves finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
- 1 the cup Quick-cooked oats or whole rolled oats Processed (can sub for panko or Japanese bread crumbs)
- 3-4 spoon corn starch or potato starch, see note
- 1 teaspoon salt or taste
- fresh chilies
Tomato Sauce – Double this recipe if you want extra saucy meatballs perfect for pasta!
- 2-3 spoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced meat
- 14 oz Crush or dice tomatoes (1 can)
- 1/2 spoon White miso paste For extra umami flavor, optional
- 2 teaspoon sugar To prevent acidity (taste adjustment)
- salt to test
- 1 Dry bay leaves
- 1 spoon Tomato paste Optional for thickening
- 3-4 leaf fresh mint Thinly sliced or roughly chopped
instructions
meatballs
-
Oats: If using quick cooking oats, it does not need to be processed. If using the whole roll out, process quickly or pulse until the small panko has a breadcrumb-like texture. Don’t increase the price of oats too much or it will turn into flour consistency. I like to keep the oats in a panic bread crumb-like texture for texture.
-
Mushrooms: Process or chop the mushrooms until minced. You can leave some large pieces for extra texture.
-
Meatball Mixture: In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, quinoa/brown rice, green onion, garlic, oats, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Mix everything well until the mushroom-quinoa mixture comes together.
-
Check the mixture and then shape it into small balls to see if it holds well. If the mixture is a little wet and sticky, you can add another 1-2 tbsp of processed oats or regular flour. The oats/flour will help absorb some of the moisture.
-
Then roll the mixture into a ball.
Cook the meatballs
-
Pan-Fry: Heat a medium or large non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add some neutral oil to submerge at least half of the mushroom balls. Add the balls and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
-
Air Fry: If air-frying or baking, preheat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C. Place the balls in a lined air-fryer basket or baking tray. Spray or brush a generous amount of oil on both sides. Leave to air-fry for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until golden brown on both sides. To bake, it will take more time, about 35-40 minutes.
-
Personally I prefer pan-fried meatballs because they are so juicy. Air fries are a bit drier but once cooked or mixed into a sauce, the differences are barely noticeable.
Tomato sauce
-
You can double the tomato sauce recipe if you plan to enjoy the meatballs with some spaghetti or other pasta.
-
Heat a pan over medium heat.
-
Add olive oil. Once hot, sauté the garlic for 1 minute or until fragrant.
-
Stir in the canned tomatoes and miso paste (if using). Mix to thin the miso paste. Season with salt and sugar to taste.
-
Add dry bay leaves to the tomato sauce and then simmer gently for 8-10 minutes.
-
Mix in the tomato paste (if using) and season with salt and sugar to taste if needed.
-
Add fresh basil leaves to the sauce before adding to the cooked mushroom meatballs.
-
Let everything come together and make sure the meatballs are well coated in the sauce. Do not over mix. Turn off the flame.
Comment
Corn starch or potato starch
- When you plan to cook these balls in tomato sauce you can increase the amount of starch to 4 tbsp so that they hold better.
- Note that some mushrooms may release more moisture as they sit, so it’s a good idea to check that the mixture holds very well before frying. If not, you can always add more starch to the mix.
Nutritional information
Worship: 1Meatball with tomato sauce | Calories: 53kcal | Sugars: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
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