Easy Vegan Mushroom Meatballs (Gluten Free)

Learn how to make Easy Vegan Mushroom Meatballs right in your own kitchen! Tender, hearty and packed with flavour, these gluten free meatless meatballs are perfect for pastas, sandwiches, casseroles and more!

I can’t believe this is the first vegan meatless meatball recipe on the blog considering how many different kinds of vegan meatballs I used to make back when I was in university! They’re perfect for meal prep and was a great way to switch up proteins in my pasta meals. I especially enjoyed them in the winter time when I was craving some serious comfort food.

I’ve made chickpea meatballs, tofu meatballs, lentil meatballs and these mushroom meatballs- and I was juggling which one I wanted to share first but my heart just said mushroom meatballs pleaseeeeee. They’re tender, juicy, moist and packed with so much flavour. Ah, I’m craving these as I’m typing right now!

Ingredients in Meatless Meatballs

The base of these Vegan Meatballs are made with mushrooms which is one of my favourite ingredients to replace meat with in terms of texture and flavour. Typically, meatballs use breadcrumbs but I opted to use a combination of gluten free oats and walnuts which helps absorb the liquids and create texture.

These vegan meatballs are packed with flavour thanks to the onions, garlic, vegan Worcester sauce (or soy sauce/tamari), nutritional yeast, parsley, oregano, thyme, red pepper fakes, salt and pepper. Because there are a lot of flavours going on here, if you don’t have one or two of the ingredients it’s not a huge deal and you can still make this recipe.

And don’t worry about these meatballs crumbling apart because we have the trusty flax egg holding everything together.

How to Make Vegan Mushroom Meatballs

If you’ve ever made meatballs with actual meat before, it’s a little bit more tricky. You run into the problems of them coming out dry or even being under cooked *danger!!*. Thankfully these vegan meatballs are easy to make and even if they’re a little undercooked, they’re still tasty and edible. Let me give you a run down:

1. Fry the garlic, onion and mushrooms until softened over medium heat.
2. Add in the vegan Worcester sauce, dry herbs, salt and pepper, and cook the mushrooms down until the pan is as dry as possible without burning. You basically want most of the moisture cooked off.
3. Add the oats and walnuts into a food processor and pulse blend to make a course meal (kind of like bread crumb consistency). And then transfer that into a bowl.
4. Blend the mushroom mixture until just combined but NOT into a paste! You should still be able to see bits of mushrooms and onions.
5. Add the mushroom mixture, nutritional yeast and flax egg into the same bowl with the oats and walnuts. Mix well until combined. The mixture will be wet but rollable. If it’s TOO wet, add in some more ground oats, 1 tbsp at a time.
6. Divide the mixture into 10-12 portions (around 38-42g each), roll them into balls and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the tray half way. 

You can also pan fry or air fry these mushroom meatballs! Check out the notes in the recipe card.

How to Serve Meatless Mushroom Meatballs

Heat marinara sauce (or sauce of choice) in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Place the mushroom meatballs in the sauce and stir them around to cover it with the sauce. Let it gently simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Go traditional and serve it with pasta! Or get fancy and make vegan baked ziti, vegan meatballs subs, put them into bagels (my fav is avocado + marinara + vegan cheese + mushroom meatballs *YUM*), add them to soups and more!

Tips & Tricks to Making Vegan Mushroom Meatballs

• Cook off the Mushroom Until Dry: Mushrooms release a lot of moisture, so be sure to cook them until the pan goes dry.
• Mixture too Wet: Depending on how much you cook off the moisture, you may need to add more oats. I like to grind up some extra oats just incase but you can also use oat four or whole oats. The mixture should be moist, but still rollable.
• Finish Cooking Meatballs in Sauce: This step adds more flavour and helps finish cooking the mushroom meatballs.

How to Store Meatless Mushroom Meatballs

• In the Refrigerator: Keep separate from the sauce. Once fully cooled after baking, place in an air tight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• In the Freezer: After baked and fully cooled, place them into air tight reusable container/bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To re-heat, place them into simmering sauce until cooked through.

Helpful Equipment to Make This Recipe

• Food Processor: for the oats, walnuts and mushroom mixture.
• Baking Tray: to bake the mushroom meatballs.

If you’re craving some serious comfort food, this is for you- I hope you try and love them as much as I do! They’re seriously so tasty and are the perfect meatless meatballs for any dish that calls for meatballs!

Craving More Pasta? Try these recipes!

• Vegan Pesto Ricotta Stuffed Shells
• 3 Week Night Pasta Meals (in Under 15 Minutes)
• Mushroom Pasta with Soy Butter Garlic Sauce

If you recreate this Vegan Mushroom Meatballs recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Hungry for more? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest for more deliciousness!

Print

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

Okonomi Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase something through my amazon affiliate links, I earn a small commission that helps me produce consistent content at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my plant based kitchen!