These Swedish Vegetarian Meatballs are a healthy combination of quinoa and cauliflower, smothered in simple cream sauce and served atop fluffy mashed cauliflower!
It was only a matter of time, right? Before I started taking inspiration from the innumerable trips to IKEA we’ve made in the process of renovating our new house. Because a trip to IKEA is not complete until you’ve eaten something of vaguely Swedish origin.
But after our most recent trip, the tulip-man proclaimed that he would not be coming back ever (which I take to mean, we won’t be back this month). So to fill the void that was my weekly Swedish meal, I’ve created my take on Swedish meatballs with a vegetarian version that is *the real deal*.
Ingredients in this Vegetarian Meatballs Recipe
These vegetarian meatballs have a simple ingredients list that doesn’t involve any mystery meat alternatives. They’re just: quinoa. cauliflower, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings. They would honestly be delicious with any sauce you throw on them. Today, that sauce is an easy, fool-proof sauce that’s rich and creamy (without any cream!)
I go true IKEA-style, serving these over a heap of fluffy mashed potatoes cauliflower (recipe for the fluffiest mashed cauliflower here!) Add a dollop of sour berry jam and you’re good to go.
For an Italian style meatball, be sure to try these delicious Seitan Meatballs!
Ingredients
Vegetarian Meatballs
- 2/3 cups dry quinoa 150 g, + 1 1/3 cup water
- 2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower about 1/2 head
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 50 g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp each salt and smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil 60 mL
Cream Sauce
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 56 g
- 4 Tbsp all purpose flour 40 g
- 2 cups vegetable broth 473 mL
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream 60 g
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make Meatballs: Combine quinoa and water in a pot and simmer for 10 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, add cauliflower to a large pot of water and simmer until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Strain both and add to a food processor. Blitz a few times until mostly broken down. Add breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, and seasonings, stirring to combine. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls.
- Cook Meatballs: Heat a dash of oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Fill the skillet with a batch of meatballs and cook, flipping them often to evenly brown all sides (about 5 minutes per batch). Continue heating new oil and cooking batches until meatballs are all cooked. Place on a paper towel when finished.
- Make Sauce: Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until tan, 3-5 minutes. Whisk in 1.5 cups broth (it should thicken quickly!) Add more broth until you reach a thickness to your liking. Allow sauce to cool slightly, then add yogurt or sour cream and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve: Serve meatballs warm with cream sauce on top of mashed cauliflower!
Beverly Andrea says
Sarah,
I canāt wait to try these, perfect for mom!!!!
Thanks so much for all of your great work, love youšššBeverly
Sarah says
Oh so happy they will work for her! You can use any of her favorite sauces on them, doesn’t have to be the cream sauce š xoxox
Kaelie says
I tried to make these tonight and I had horrible luck with the meatballs staying together. I followed all the directions except I donāt have a food processor so I used a potato masher to combine the cauliflower and quinoa. When I fried them, they just fell apart and weāre impossible to turn. How do you make them stay together? The end product was tasty even though it wasnāt the right shape š
Sarah says
Ahh, I’m so sorry to hear that Kaelie! the only thing I can think might be the egg, which can differ in size a bit. If you try it again, add more egg as needed until the mixture is sturdy enough to hold together. Glad you liked the taste, despite their stubbornness!