Description
This classic easy Vegan Swedish Meatballs with Sauce recipe features lentils, walnuts, onions, flax seeds, oats, and parsley–served in a creamy mushroom sauce. It’s inspired by my own time spent in Scandinavia.
Ingredients
Scale
Swedish Meatballs:
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup lentils, uncooked
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup flax seeds, ground
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked
- 3-6 tablespoons bread crumbs
Swedish Meatballs Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup diced mushrooms
- 1 medium clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups plant-based milk, plain, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- Pinch salt (optional)
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
On the Side:
- 1 cup lingonberry preserves (optional)
Instructions
- To make Vegan Swedish Meatballs: Cook lentils in broth for 15 minutes, drain any extra liquid well using a colander.
- Place walnuts, onion, garlic, parsley, and flax seeds in a food processor and process until finely chopped but not liquified. Add cooked lentils, soy sauce, black pepper, and oats to the processor and process just until smooth and well combined.
- Transfer to a bowl and add breadcrumbs, one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the desired texture. You should create a smooth, soft mixture that is slightly sticky to the touch, yet still creates a small round shape when formed with your hands. Don’t use too much of the breadcrumbs, as meatballs will be too dry when cooked.
- If desired, you can chill the mixture for 30 minutes to make handling it easier.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Form the mixture into small balls (about 1 ½ inches in diameter) with your hands and place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake at 375 for about 25-30 min, until golden brown on surface and tender in center.
- While meatballs are baking, make sauce: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan.Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Whip together plant-based milk, flour, salt (optional), black pepper, and soy sauce with a whisk in a small bowl until mixture is smooth with no lumps.
- Pour mixture into saucepan and cook for about 8 minutes, until bubbly and thick.
- Serve meatballs with mushroom sauce and lingonberry preserves (if desired). Makes 8 servings (4 meatballs + 5 tablespoons sauce + 2 tablespoons lingonberry preserves per serving).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American, Swedish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 345 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 15 g