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.
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 can’t wait to try these, perfect for mom!!!!
Thanks so much for all of your great work, love you💕💕💕Beverly
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 😀 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 don’t 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 we’re impossible to turn. How do you make them stay together? The end product was tasty even though it wasn’t the right shape 😂
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!