An easy recipe for flavor-packed vegetarian Swedish meatballs. Top with vegetarian gravy and serve with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce for a delicious dinner!
IKEA is the only place I’ve ever had Swedish meatballs. My favorite IKEA experience was in Nanjing, China when I was living there. It was out in the suburbs, as most IKEA’s are, and required a long trek on the subway, but the time to get there was totally worth it. It felt like a taste of home to have minimalist furniture styles that I love along with a Western-style cafeteria complete with Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and gravy.
Now that I live in Nashville I’m no longer near an IKEA (I keep hoping they’ll open one up here!) but I still crave Swedish meatballs, so I came up with a vegetarian version that I can make at home whenever I want. I love to serve these with vegetarian gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
How to Make Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs
These vegetarian Swedish meatballs are pretty simple. I use lentils for protein, mushroom for texture, ricotta to make them creamy, and oats and eggs to hold them together. Add in some great spices and flavorings and you’re set!
Start by cooking the lentils. Add some water to the lentils in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce the heat. Simmer till the lentils are tender and drain any excess water.
While the lentils are cooking, chop up some onion, mushrooms, and parsley. Add it all to a big bowl along with minced garlic, garlic and onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, oats, eggs, ricotta, soy sauce, and mustard. Add the lentils when they’re done and mix it all together.
Portion out the meatball mixture into heaping tablespoons and roll into balls. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees F for 16 to 20 minutes until firm to the touch.
Looking for more vegetarian dinner recipes? Try this Peanut Sauce Tofu, Vegetarian White Bean Chili, or Instant Pot Enchilada Rice. If you try this recipe for Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs, leave a comment and review below and let me know how it worked out for you!
Vegetarian Swedish meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry lentils (3 cups cooked)
- 3 cups water
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 1 large onion
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup quick oats
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 recipe
vegetarian mushroom gravy (for serving) - mashed potatoes (for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Cook the lentils on the stove by bringing 3 cups of water and 1 cup of dry lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan, cover, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the lentils are tender. This typically takes 15-20 minutes. Drain any excess water.
- While the lentils are cooking, finely chop the mushrooms, onions, and parsley and place all in a large bowl. Mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients, including the lentils when they're done cooking, to the bowl. Mix well with a fork.
- Cover two baking sheets (or bake in two batches) with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Portion out the meatball mixture in heaping tablespoons and shape into a ball. Place on the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between each.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes until firm to the touch. Serve with
vegetarian mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes.
I used the lentils I had since you didn’t specify, so I used French lentils. I added half a box of panko and a few tablespoons of flour because I could almost squeeze the water out of them. Maybe a large onion is too much? Still happy with the result with that bit of improv. Also the accompanying gravy recipe is ON POINT!!!
What temperature do I bake these. Also they turned out watery…had to add bread crumbs. Hope they still turn out
Bake at 425. I’ll make sure that’s added in! They often feel pretty moist to me, so hopefully they will work out for you after baking.
I’m so glad I found this! I used to love Swedish meatballs, but have never attempted a vegetarian version. Yours looks fabulous. Pinning to make them!!!
Thanks, Susan! Hope you enjoy! These Swedish meatballs are one of my comfort food favorites.
Love swedish meatballs, this is such a great flavorful vegetarian alternative!
Being a non-veg by birth, I’ve always been struggling to find the best vegetarian recipe for my veg friends, this surely seems to solve my issue!
I’d take these over regular meatballs any day! Such a tasty combination of flavors!
yummy, vegetable meatballs recipe looks so mouthwatering, I have not yet tried making meatballs. I am in love with this swedish meatball recipe. Thanks for sharing
I made these plant based Swedish meatballs last night, had left overs today and could happily lick the plate. My meat eating husband loved them too! Thanks for making this comfort food recipe!
I’m going to have a try this. I’m trying to eat healthy but it is so hard when no one else in the house will. And I’m the only cook
I’ve heard amazing things about IKEA’s swedish meatball but now I can have them at home. This is a great alternative for those who don’t have an IKEA and are vegetarian. Thanks for sharing!
I am adding these meatballs to my must make list! I can’t wait to try them!
Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s a great way to lighten up an old favorite.