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Vegan Mushroom Meatballs homemade with a simple mix of mushrooms, processed oats, and brown rice or quinoa make a very ‘meaty’ and also fiber-packed bite. The meatballs as-is are already great with gravy or a dipping sauce of your choice but I opted to cook these down in a tasty tomato sauce with a kick of umami from some white miso paste

These meatballs in tomato sauce make for a great appetiser or main enjoyed as-is or with some cooked spaghetti or other pasta.

THESE MUSHROOM MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE ARE

• Made with a few simple ingredients
• Perfect for sharing
• Great for parties and potlucks. Especially in the holiday season!
• Gluten-free
• Air-fried, baked, or pan-fried!
• Versatile – you can enjoy the meatballs cooked in any sauce of your choice
• Packed with lots of fibre from mushrooms, oats, and quinoa or brown rice

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE MEATBALLS

• fresh mushrooms of choice, I used shiitake mushrooms 
• cooked brown rice or quinoa
• green onion or small red onion
• minced garlic
• fresh basil leaves
• quick cook oats or whole rolled oats processed (can sub for panko or Japanese bread crumbs)
• corn starch or potato starch
• salt or to taste
• fresh ground pepper

You can also find the full printable recipe in the recipe card below!

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE

NOTE: You can double this recipe if you want extra saucy meatballs perfect for pasta!

• extra virgin olive oil
• minced garlic
• crushed or diced tomatoes
• white miso paste for extra umami flavour, optional
• sugar to counter acidity
• salt to taste
• dried bay leaf
• tomato paste
• fresh basil, thinly sliced or roughly chopped

HOW TO MAKE THE MUSHROOM MEATBALLS

PREPARE THE MIXTURE

• OATS: If using quick cook oats, no need to process this. If using whole role outs, quickly process or pulse until into small panko breadcrumb-like texture. Don’t overprices the oats or it’ll turn into a flour consistency. I prefer to keep the oats in a panic bread crumb-like texture for the texture.
• MUSHROOMS: Process or chop the mushrooms until minced. You can leave some larger chunks for extra texture.
• MEATBALL MIXTURE: Mix the mushrooms, quinoa/brown rice, green onion, garlic, oats, corn starch, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix everything well until the mushroom-quinoa mixture comes together.
• Test out the mixture and then shape into small balls to see if it holds up well. If the mixture is a little wet and sticky, you can add 1-2 tbsp more of processed oat or regular flour. The oats/flour will help absorb some of the moisture.
• Afterwards, roll the mixture into balls.

COOKING THE MEATBALLS

• To pan-fry: Heat a medium or large non-stick pan over medium. 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.
• To air-fry: If air-frying or baking, heat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C. On a lined air-fryer basket or baking tray, place the balls. 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. For baking, this will take longer, around 35-40 minutes.
• Personally I prefer the pan-fried meatballs because they turn out a lot juicier. The air-fried ones are a bit dry but once cooked down or mixed into the sauce, the differences are barely noticeable.

ADD THE MEATBALLS IN THE TOMATO SAUCE

• You can double the tomato sauce recipe you plan to enjoy the meatballs with some spaghetti or other pasta.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add in the olive oil. Once hot, sauté the garlic for 1 minute or until aromatic.
• Pour in the canned tomatoes and miso paste (if using). Mix to dilute the miso paste. Season with salt and sugar, to taste.
• Add the dried bay leaf into the tomato sauce and then leave to a gentle simmer for 8-10 minutes.
• Mix in the tomato paste (if using) and season with more salt and sugar, to taste, if needed.
• Add the fresh basil leaves into the sauce before mixing in the cooked mushroom meatballs.
• Allow everything to come together and make sure the meatballs are well coated in the sauce.

HOW TO ENJOY THESE MEATBALLS

• To enjoy, you can serve the meatballs as a hearty main or side. Another option is to mix in some cooked spaghetti or pasta of choice to absorb the sauce.

MORE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:

• Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
• Cheesy Baked Mac
• Vegan Chili Sin Carne
• Tofu ‘McNuggets’
• Bola-Bola (Filipino Meatballs)
• Scalloped Potatoes in Creamy Lemon Dill Sauce
• Chinese-Style Bolognese

Mushroom Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Vegan)

5 from 2 votes

Vegan Mushroom Meatballs homemade with a simple mix of mushrooms, processed oats, and brown rice or quinoa make a very ‘meaty’ and also fiber-packed bite. The meatballs as-is are already great with gravy or a dipping sauce of your choice but I opted to cook these down in a tasty tomato sauce with a kick of umami from some white miso paste

These meatballs in tomato sauce make for a great appetiser or main enjoyed as-is or with some cooked spaghetti or other pasta.

Print Recipe Pin this Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Sauces, Side Dish, Sides, Starters

Cuisine Fusion, Italian, Western

Servings 20 meatballs

Calories 53 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Mushroom Meatballs

• 14 oz fresh mushrooms of choice , I used shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
• 1 green onion or small red onion, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 3-4 leaves fresh basil leaves , finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried basil)
• 1 cup quick cook oats or whole rolled oats processed (can sub for panko or Japanese bread crumbs)
• 3-4 tbsp corn starch or potato starch, see notes
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• Fresh ground pepper

Tomato Sauce – double this recipe if you want extra saucy meatballs perfect for pasta!

• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 14 oz crushed or diced tomatoes (1 can)
• 1/2 tbsp white miso paste for extra umami flavour, optional
• 2 tsp sugar to counter acidity (adjust to taste)
• Salt to taste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tbsp tomato paste , optional to thicken
• 3-4 leaves fresh basil , thinly sliced or roughly chopped

Instructions

 

Meatballs

• OATS: If using quick cook oats, no need to process this. If using whole role outs, quickly process or pulse until into small panko breadcrumb-like texture. Don't overprices the oats or it'll turn into a flour consistency. I prefer to keep the oats in a panic bread crumb-like texture for the texture.
• MUSHROOMS: Process or chop the mushrooms until minced. You can leave some larger chunks for extra texture.
• MEATBALL MIXTURE: Mix the mushrooms, quinoa/brown rice, green onion, garlic, oats, corn starch, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix everything well until the mushroom-quinoa mixture comes together.
• Test out the mixture and then shape into small balls to see if it holds up well. If the mixture is a little wet and sticky, you can add 1-2 tbsp more of processed oat or regular flour. The oats/flour will help absorb some of the moisture.
• Afterwards, roll the mixture into balls.

Cooking the Meatballs

• To pan-fry: Heat a medium or large non-stick pan over medium. 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.
• To air-fry: If air-frying or baking, heat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C. On a lined air-fryer basket or baking tray, place the balls. 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. For baking, this will take longer, around 35-40 minutes.
• Personally I prefer the pan-fried meatballs because they turn out a lot juicier. The air-fried ones are a bit dry but once cooked down or mixed into the sauce, the differences are barely noticeable.

Tomato Sauce

• You can double the tomato sauce recipe you plan to enjoy the meatballs with some spaghetti or other pasta.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add in the olive oil. Once hot, sauté the garlic for 1 minute or until aromatic.
• Pour in the canned tomatoes and miso paste (if using). Mix to dilute the miso paste. Season with salt and sugar, to taste.
• Add the dried bay leaf into the tomato sauce and then leave to a gentle simmer for 8-10 minutes.
• Mix in the tomato paste (if using) and season with more salt and sugar, to taste, if needed.
• Add the fresh basil leaves into the sauce before mixing in the cooked mushroom meatballs.
• Allow everything to come together and make sure the meatballs are well coated in the sauce. Do not over mix. Turn off the heat.

To Enjoy

• To enjoy, you can serve the meatballs as a hearty main or side. Another option is to mix in some cooked spaghetti or pasta of choice to absorb the sauce.

Notes

CORN STARCH OR POTATO STARCH

• You can increase the amount of starch to 4 tbsp when you’re planning to cook down these balls in the tomato sauce so that they hold up better.
• Do note that some mushrooms can release more moisture as it sits, so it’s best to test out the mixture to see if it holds up very well before frying. If not, you can alway add more starch to the mixture.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1meatball with tomato sauce | Calories: 53kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 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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