Name: Vegan Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Cauliflower
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: ⅔ cup Dried Lentils (130g, = 1⅔ cup cooked); 2 cups Water; 1 tsp Olive Oil; ½ cup Chopped Onion (80g); 1½ Tbsp Minced Garlic (or about 4-5 cloves); 1½ cup Mushrooms (Sliced, 105g); 2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos or Low Sodium Soy Sauce; 1 Tbsp Dried Parsley; ½ tsp Cardamom; ¼ tsp Nutmeg; ¼ tsp Salt; ¼ tsp Black Pepper; ⅔ cup Instant or Rolled Oats (60g); 1 cup Vegetable Broth; 1 cup Light Coconut Milk; 2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (or Low Sodium Soy Sauce); 1 tsp Brown Mustard; 1 tsp Garlic Powder; 1 tsp Onion Powder; ½ tsp Pepper; 1 Tbsp Tapioca Starch (or Corn Starch); 2 Tbsp Water

Flavor-packed Vegan Swedish Meatballs made with lentils and mushrooms, and topped with a coconut milk sauce. Served with mashed cauliflower, it’s an easy, healthy and delicious recipe perfect for Meatless Monday or even a meal prep lunch.

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Okay not gonna lie, I didn’t even know what Swedish meatballs were until I looked up “popular meatball recipes”.

I just knew I wanted to make lentil and mushroom meatballs, but the classic marinara was a big no. I cannot do tomatoes.

These things ended up being SO GOOD and SO EASY, I’ve actually meal prepped them twice for the last 2 weeks!

Ingredients for Vegan Swedish Meatballs:

These simple and healthy vegan meatballs are made with lentils, and seasoned with nutmeg, cardamom and parsley for the authentic Swedish meatball flavor.

Dried Lentils – I used yellow, but green, or brown should be fine too. If you have cooked ones, it’s even easier.
Mushrooms for the meat texture and taste while still having meatless meatballs!
Onion
Garlic – Minced or whole cloves work. Or even the ones from a jar!
Coconut Aminos or even Soy Sauce. I would recommend the low sodium versions so these meatballs are healthy
Dried Parsley or half the amount of fresh parsley
Ground Cardamom
Ground Nutmeg
Salt & Pepper
Instant, Quick or Rolled Oats – This is what helps bind the meatballs together, and also keeps them gluten free.

How to make Vegan Mushroom Lentil Meatballs:

Other than being delicious, these baked lentil meatballs are also really easy to make!

All you need to do is cook the lentils, then the mushrooms, process them with the oats and then shape and bake!

Cook the lentils: Boil water, add the lentils, bring it down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Let them cool completely.
Don’t forget to completely rinse them first. You could also use a pressure cooker for this step if you’d like.

Cook the Mushrooms: Sauteé the onion and garlic in a pan over medium heat with oil, let them get fragrant, then add the chopped mushrooms and let them cook.

Season the mushrooms: Turn off the heat, add the coconut aminos or soy sauce, dried parsley, cardamom, nutmeg, salt and pepper and let cook for about 30 seconds.

Let the mix cool completely.

These simple and healthy vegan meatballs are made with lentils, and seasoned with nutmeg, cardamom and parsley for the authentic Swedish meatball flavor.

Make “rough” oat flour by processing the oatmeal in a food processor till it shreds to a flour-like consistency, but still has some larger chunks.

Pulse oat flour, lentils and mushroom mix in the food processor till it’s soft, but still has some texture. You might need to scrape down the sides every now and then.

Let the mix rest for 10 minutes or leave it in the fridge overnight – in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.

Preheat your oven to 350°F when it’s time to cook and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop out about 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and roll into meatballs.

Place them on the baking sheet, spray with cooking oil spray, flip, and spray again.

Bake for about 25 minutes until they’re golden brown.

OR can also get crispy “baked” lentil meatballs by cooking them in an air fryer at 325°F for about 20 minutes.

Vegan Swedish Meatball Sauce with Coconut Milk

To make these meatballs sauce healthy and low calorie, but still creamy, I used light coconut milk.

Before you think of skipping on this part, the sauce takes less than 5 minutes to make, and you can do this while the meatballs are baking in the oven.

Combine the ingredients (light coconut milk, vegetable broth, coconut aminos or soy sauce, mustard, garlic and onion powder, and pepper) in a small pot over medium heat.

Let the mix start to boil.

Make a slurry of the tapioca (or corn) starch and water in a small bowl, and whisk it into the pot.

Let it simmer and thicken to something like a curry.

How to serve Lentil Swedish Meatballs?

The classic way to serve Swedish meatballs is with egg noodle or some mashed or roasted potatoes, topped with lingonberry jam.

But I didn’t have any of those on hand, so I improvised.

For a low carb option, I made easy mashed cauliflower and topped it with the meat free meatballs and Swedish meatball sauce. And then for a bit of contrast, added on some dried cranberries and garnished with parsley.

Can you store Plant based meatballs?

Yes! You can store these vegetarian meatballs raw or cooked; They’re freezer friendly too and make a great meal prep option.

Keep the uncooked meatball mix in the fridge for about a day or two in an airtight container or bowl covered with plastic wrap.

To freeze raw meatballs, place them on a baking sheet and let them freeze individually. Then transfer them to freezer-safe zipper bags. They should keep for 2-3 months. Let them thaw before cooking.

Cooked meatballs will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days in an airtight container. Be sure the keep the sauce in a separate container.

More easy and healthy vegan lunch recipes you’ll love: