These Easy Vegan Meatballs and Spaghetti are infused with amazing Italian dried herbs and flavor. These are baked, not fried, oil-free, dairy-free and made with chickpeas and couscous for amazing texture.
These Easy Vegan Meatballs are LOADED with flavor, Italian spices and wonderful texture. They are made with whole foods and plant-based protein from chickpeas and couscous. They are moist and delicious, and totally oil-free. They are baked and not fried, for a healthier version.
I can’t even count how many times I have been asked about turning my popular Spicy BBQ Lentil Loaf into “meatballs”. Unfortunately, that mixture is way too wet to form into balls, but it has been on my list to create some veggie “meat” balls for a long time. One of my ALL-TIME favorite meals to eat pre-vegan was the classic, Spaghetti and Meatballs. Simple, comforting and delicious. My husband would always take me to eat at Carrabba’s Italian grill and 9 times out of 10, that is what I would get.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Chickpeas
- Onion
- Couscous
- Italian seasoning: I use my homemade Italian seasoning because it’s the best!
- Salsa or my homemade pizza sauce: This gives SO much flavor to these balls. I’ve found too many recipes don’t have enough flavor and these deliver in a big way. You could also try a thick marinara sauce if you like.
- Brown rice flour: Instead of using eggs like in traditional meatballs, the brown rice flour helps to hold these easy vegan meatballs together.
- Chili powder
- Liquid smoke
- Salt & pepper
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN MEATBALLS
Step 1: Cook the couscous.
Step 2: Process the onion and chickpeas in a food processor until chunky.
Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients (except the brown rice flour and couscous) and process, being careful not to over process.
Step 4: Add the mixture to a bowl and stir in the cooked couscous and brown rice flour until thick and holding together well.
Step 5: Form into balls and bake at 375°F until firm and browned on each side.
HOW TO OBTAIN A MEATY TEXTURE WITHOUT MEAT
So, for the meaty texture, what did I use?? Couscous. Yes, couscous, it has a really chewy, hearty texture that worked freaking amazing in these balls! I tried several different things and I’m here to tell you, none of them were that great, but the couscous was the final win! I tried cornmeal, like I did in my lentil loaf and it didn’t work at all because the balls are so much smaller and cook much faster than the lentil loaf does.
These easy vegan meatballs hold together perfectly and don’t fall apart when you stick your fork into them, just like traditional meat. That was the biggest challenge I found when trialing these.
And oh boy will you be stuffed off this meal, just like a classic spaghetti and meatball dish. I mean, stuffed. Best part about this, besides the yum factor, it is so healthy and cholesterol-free, unlike the meat version.
I hope you all really love these vegan spaghetti and meatballs!
MORE VEGAN DINNER RECIPES
- Vegan Barbecue Lentil Loaf
- Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Pumpkin Chipotle Chili
- Vegan Stuffed Ricotta Shells
- Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake
- Chickpea Tomato Ragu
Easy Vegan Meatballs (Baked, Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup couscous + 1/4 cup water I used this Rice Select brand
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed & patted dry
- 1/2 cup (75g) chopped onion
- 6-8 Tbsp medium-heat salsa OR my homemade pizza sauce (see directions)
- 3 tablespoons ketchup or more pizza sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (one without salt or red pepper flakes) I use MINE
- 1-2 teaspoons regular chili powder (I used 2 and it has a kick of heat, use 1 for less spicy)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon more (if needed) fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (80g) brown rice flour
OPTIONAL FOR SERVING
Instructions
- First, make your couscous. Add the water to a small pot and bring to a boil, AS SOON as it starts bubbling, stir in the couscous quickly and remove from the heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
- I created this recipe using salsa for a wonderful depth of flavor, but some readers have subbed that with my pizza sauce, so that is an option too, for a more Italian flavor. If doing my pizza sauce, then reduce the Italian seasoning listed above from 2 tablespoons to only 1 (but following the exact recipe of my pizza sauce).
- In a food processor, add your chickpeas and onion and pulse to break up the mixture for a few seconds. Add all of the remaining ingredients, starting with just 6 tablespoons of the salsa or pizza sauce (you'll likely need 8 for the pizza sauce since it's thicker), except the couscous and brown rice flour.
- Pulse for just a few seconds, no more, just until the mixture resembles a wet rough chunky texture similar to a salsa. You don't want to over-blend and puree it too much or the balls will be too wet/mushy (refer to video for visual). You just want to make sure the chickpeas are no longer whole.
- Add the mixture to a large bowl and add the cooked couscous and brown rice flour. Stir for a few minutes until it all comes together in a sticky batter. Press the mixture repeatedly with the back of your spoon to make it come together. If the mixture is not sticking together, add a bit of the remaining salsa only if necessary. Once it is well mixed, place to chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes. This will make it easier to roll into balls.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll about 14 golf-sized balls with your hands, making sure they are tight and compact and place on the pan. Bake for 15 minutes on the first side, they should easily turn over. I just used my hand to flip them over. Bake another 15 minutes until firm and getting a nice golden brown crust. If you want them super crispy, go another 5 minutes. These balls are very moist inside so they can withstand the crispy exterior.
- While they are baking, heat up your pasta and marinara sauce of choice, or I highly recommend my 5 minute pizza sauce which works amazing as a spaghetti sauce! When the balls are done, coat them well with lots of sauce and pasta and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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I did make a “traditional” vegan lasagna using this as the filling. OMG. Delish! Next I’m going to try it using your ricotta recipe with this. Thank you for your hard work creating these recipes. My life is better because you’re so brilliant!
This is so wonderful to hear Gina, thank you so much for sharing!!
I’ve made this before, it was amazing. Today, I’m going to make lasagna for the family and make this as a vegan lasagne roll up. I think it would be so wonderful as a filling. I also have used this recipe to make a “meat sauce” with the left overs. Thanks for all your hard work. Vegan and gluten free is easier because of you.
Oh cool – Mexi-balls! These are good! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great (I used 6 Tbsp of salsa). I haven’t tried them with spaghetti and sauce yet (although I can vouch for your 5-minute sauce as a great one), but they are great with ketchup. And I just thought I need to try them with your ranch dressing because that’s good on anything.
Hi Brandi.
I’m very interested in in how you changed your husband’s diet to help with his gout. Could you be specific and share how and what you did?
Hi Ruth! I wrote a very detailed post here about that. Also, basically anything on my blog, I feed him and eating this way is what healed him. But I do not give him some foods like asparagus, cauliflower, lentils, broccoli, spinach or beans more than 3 times a week. Those are exceptions from my recipes.
https://thevegan8.com/2014/09/08/how-my-life-has-changed-since-going-vegan/
Hi Brandy! Would white rice flour work? Also Where did you find the GF couscous? whole food maybee? did you order it online?
thank you!
Hi Catherine! White rice flour should definitely work but it is stickier than brown rice flour so they may be a tad more moist. The GF couscous I found online, not in a store. There are a few varieties on Amazon!
I appreciate the ideas of others about a GF substitute for the couscous. Although I haven’t made these yet, I have substituted buckwheat for couscous in another recipe and it worked well. It’s nice you gave the cooked amount of couscous so it will be easier for everyone who needs to use quinoa, millet or whatever else to try. Pasta is just about the only processed food item I buy and for some reason unti tonight I didn’t think to look for a meatball recipe to go with. I’m so glad you had a recipe because yours is my favorite food blog site!
I wound up using 1/2 cup cooked mung beans (some were peeled, others were split). I used 1/2 cup rather than 3/4 cup quinoa because quinoa is lighter. Brandi’s recipes are so good I prefer not to make any changes unless there is an ingredient I cannot eat (or sometimes if just wanting to try one of her recipes without waiting to procure every single item not already in the pantry.). I still think buckwheat would work as a couscous substitute, but the cooked mung beans did just fine. As I expected the meatballs were wonderful! Thank you, Brandi.
Hi, these look amazing! Do you think I could use chickpea flour? Instead of the brown rice flour? Thanks! 🙂
My son has an aversion to all things tomato based — he can taste it a mile away no matter how well hidden. Do you have a suggestion of how to bind the meatballs without ketchup or salsa? I’ve been racking my brain, but haven’t found a good solution yet.
Thanks in advance for your help!
That is a tough one Kristi because it is the base of the flavor. Perhaps bbq sauce?
We think alike! BBQ sauce just occurred to me too. Thanks so much Brandi — excited to try it.
Hopefully it works and doesn’t ruin the flavor of the balls!
Hi Brandi,
Have you tried freezing these? Did it work well? I’m looking for some recipes I can freeze to use as vegan fast food, and was really happy to find you had a vegan “meat-less” ball recipe here. I’m really looking forward to trying this!
Hi Gina! No, I typically never freeze anything savory because we always eat everything within a couple of days and once I write a new recipe I post it, so I’ve not typically ever have time to test freezing methods. I would guess they’d freeze just fine just like commercial brands, but I am not sure, sorry!
Thanks, Brandi. When I try freezing them, I will report back.
Hi Brandy, thanks for the great recipe! I was wondering why did you go for chickpeas instead of sticking to the lentils (that have worked so well in the meatloaf)? I would like to make this tonight and don’t have chickpeas at home, although I do have lentils, do you think it would work? Thanks!
Hi Paula! I use chickpeas because they are much drier and hold really well for balls, lentils not so much. The chickpeas are necessary for the texture of these balls and it’s a completely different recipe than the lentil loaf…where that batter is much more wet and loose. So, I would hold off on these until you get chickpeas, the lentils will not work the same.
Hello! Aussie over here – I have never cooked anything Vegan before and i wanted to cook dinner for a friend and these look amazing! only problem is i have no idea what the conversion for:
1 15 oz can chickpeas
how many grams would that be? sorry I don’t really get how ounces work.
Also do you think ketchup the same as our tomato sauce?
Haha! thanks 🙂
Hi Melissa! That would be 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas for 1 15 oz can 🙂 Hmm, as far as ketchup I’m not sure. Over here in America, ketchup is tomato sauce with vinegar and a little sugar added and some spices.
As a 16 year old trying to go vegan and having little to no experience cooking, let me just say the detailed instructions and videos are such a big help! I’m glad I found this site soon, it makes trying to cook vegan meals a lot more simple (and delicious) than what I was struggling to do before! Planning to make these tonight with the 5 minute pizza sauce! Thank you so much!
Aww, thank you so much Ashley for such a kind comment! So glad to hear the recipes are helpful. I hope you had success with the meatballs, let me know!
Hi Brandi!
Very tasty and held together really well. I used a medium cookie scoop, because quite frankly I stink at making anything remotely round and uniform looking, and that yielded about 16 meatballs.
The salsa flavor was noticeable and I wasn’t sure how well it would pair with the homemade marinara sauce I had made the other day but after one bite any doubts quickly faded.
Thank you for another terrific recipe.
Wonderful Laura, so very happy to hear these were such a hit! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi, I’m extremely new to eating vegan (only 8 days in) but I was wondering if Quinoa could be used in place of the couscous?
Hi! I have not tested that personally so I cannot vouch for the results, but if you see some reviews above, some have subbed with quinoa with success and others have tried bulgar and millet too. I just can only vouch for the couscous since that’s the only way I’ve made it. Couscous will give a meatier texture than quinoa though, I will say that. It’s heartier and chewier.
I wonder if I could use homemade salsa in these, we don’t have salsa here. They look amazing, btw!
Hi, sure I think so!
What can I use instead of salsa. Thx.
I use jarred marinara sauce. It gives them more of an Italian flavor, I think.
These are so good! I made a few changes just to my taste (used chopped canned tomatoes instead of salsa, did not use chili powder or liquid smoke and I added a handful of fresh parsley). I may eat them all before I make the sauce
Wonderful Sue! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these so much, thank you for the feedback!
I made the “meatballs” using BULGAR I already had cooked, left over from another recipe (awesome chili – meaty texture gave me the idea for subbing since I had no couscous on hand), and the dough came together perfectly! I didn’t have to chill, it was just right for forming nice firm balls a little smaller than golfballs. Also made the “Pizza Sauce”, it’s so easy – great spaghetti sauce sub! This was altogether a flavor party, for sure!!
Thank you so much for your dedication and kitchen lab work – I’ve never made one of your recipes I didn’t like!!
Thank you so much Candice, that is wonderful to hear!
I made one batch using couscous and one batch using cooked millet (cooked 1/4 cup millet in 1/2 cup water, brought to boil and simmered for 15 minutes) for a gluten-free version for my husband. When I was combining the millet, processed chickpeas, and brown rice flour in a bowl, I also added 1 tsp tapioca flour to see if that might help it stick together better. The results look identical, so millet works great as a gluten-free option. I don’t know how critical my adding the tapioca flour was. FYI, I made both batches by forming smaller balls, about half the size of yours (because that’s my personal preference when I eat spaghetti), baked each batch for a total of 25 minutes, without turning them over halfway during baking, so the smaller size may also help the millet version stay stuck together really well. Just wanted to share my experiment with you and your readers! 🙂
These are the tastiest meatballs. My husband and I love them. I will be making them again tonight. I have tried a variety of veggie burgers and none had the good taste that these have. Thank you.
Aww, so happy to hear that Kathleen! Thank you so much for the wonderful review!
I made them tonight since I was making meatball subs for my omni family. I loved them! So good! They were a little more moist in the middle than I’m used to and might try upping the couscous next time, or maybe the rice flour. I’m so excited to have meatballs again, as I haven’t had them for two years now. Thank you very much for sharing your recipe.
So glad you loved these Mandy, thank you! Yes, be careful not to overmix so they don’t get too pureed, or of course, I’m sure the mixture can handle extra couscous if you like as well!
Oh I bet that’s what I did! I totally overmixed it and now I know why not to do that! (I doubled the recipe for my big family and I have a medium-sized food processor). I’ll try adding more couscous with salvage the mixture I have left. Very flavorful! I will totally make this again without over processing 🙂
These are wonderful! Do you have the nutritional info for these, especially the carbs? (I am diabetic on insulin)
Hi Stephanie! I’m so glad to hear you loved these! I do not have the nutritional info on this at this time. Sometimes I have time to include them, but it’s hard at times too, due to my schedule. But if you input the ingredients in the nutrition calculator at caloriecount.com or myfitnesspal, it will give you a good estimate!
https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I just made these for the first time tonight to have with spaghetti. They’re fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly, except I only used about half the amount of liquid smoke. The ingredients mixed together beautifully and I was able to form balls with no trouble (and with a lot less mess than actual ground meat, I might add). I baked them at 350° for 30 minutes in my convection oven. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, both the taste and texture blended very well with spaghetti sauce. My husband and I are about 3 months into a plant-based diet transition, and I’m constantly on the lookout for vegan recipes that don’t use oil. This one is a winner… I’ll be back to this website!
That is so wonderful to hear Donna, thank you so much for making them and taking the time to share such wonderful feedback! So happy you and your husband enjoyed them!
Thank you! they are so perfect – my omnivore boyfriend officially declared these balls are in his top5 of vegan things he had tried (I only cook vegan at home and I cook a lot, so he has some stuff to compare to)
And thanks so much for the warning about oat flour: I’ve already ruined quite a number of meals with oat flour, because I’m like “oh, it’s so healthy, why not add it instead of xxxxxxx” – and I never learn, so I’m sure I would have tried it in these balls at some point 😀
Oh, this is so wonderful Linda! Thank you so much for the fantastic review!
Doe these freeze well for use at a later date?
Made this for the first time today … DEE-LISH!! Plus they were super easy to make & made the house smell great while they were cooking. The mister really enjoyed them too. Served them over spaghetti squash – yum! Thanks for the great recipe.
So happy to hear that Diana! Glad the hubby loved them too! Spaghetti squash sounds amazing! Will have to try that. Thank you so much for the feedback!