Tvp Meatballs High Protein Vegan Meatballs

I love making vegan versions of classic pasta dishes, like my Vegan Cajun Pasta, Vegan Creamy Mushroom Pasta, or Vegan Bolognese. But sometimes, it’s not all about the pasta, and you want to have something on top that brings protein. So I decided to do vegan meatballs. There are many ways you can make convincing vegan meatballs, but none of them reach the same texture as well as when you use Texture Vegetable Protein or TVP. Textured Vegetable Protein, or TVP, are one the cheapest, healthiest sources of protein for vegans. If you have never bought textured soy protein, it’s made from soy with nothing else added. As a result, it’s a clean protein source for vegetarians with many other significant advantages. Textured Vegetable Protein is also:

Fast to cook – All you have to do is pour hot boiled water or boiled stock, stir, and simmer for a few minutes. Cheap – It’s even more affordable than other soy proteins, like edamame or tofu. It tastes like real ground meat – Many vegans are trying to emulate the texture of ground meat. TVP is the best and cleanest option to do so.

You might have tried my TVP taco meat, but you can also use TVP to shape juicy, meat-free, high-protein meatballs. So let me share with you how to make protein-loaded vegan meatballs.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The ingredients you need to make these vegan meatballs are very simple.

TVP, also called Textured Vegetable Proteins or textured soy protein. Vegetable Broth – I used a low-sodium broth. Feel free to increase the salt in the recipe. Onion Powder and Garlic Powder – You can also use fresh onion and garlic. All-Purpose Flour or chickpea flour if gluten-free. Tamari Sauce or soy sauce – This adds the Unami flavor. Nutritional Yeast – This is optional. You can also use vegan Parmesan. Dried Oregano – Or dried basil. Ground Flaxseeds – This helps the meatballs keep their shape. Parsley or cilantro

Optional Flavors

You can play with spices and add some dry herbs or spices like:

Smoked Paprika Cumin Turmeric Garam Masala for Indian-style meatballs

How To Make TVP Meatballs

This is the easiest vegan meatball recipe, ready in barely 20 minutes for a quick and healthy vegan dinner.

Cooking Plant-Based Meatballs

You can fry, air fry, or bake these meatballs. Keep in mind that these meatballs are better cooked without sauce. When in contact with sauce, they hold their shape, but get softer. Therefore, cooking the meatballs with oil for a crispy edge and soft, chewy, juicy center is better. Then, serve them on top of tomato pasta or bread for a vegan meatball sandwich.

Frying

My favorite and fastest option is to fry the TVP meatballs with avocado oil. Avocado oil has a high smoke point and is the healthiest option for frying food at high temperatures.

Air Fryer

Baking Vegan Meatballs

Serving

These meatballs are delicious appetizers to dip into cold dip and sauce like:

Hummus Tomato sauce

You can also serve the meatballs on top of tomato pasta like our red lentil pasta recipe or on vegan spaghetti Bolognese. Alternatively, you can use the meatballs in a baguette or hot dog buns to make a vegan sub-style sandwich.

Allergy Swaps

If you have food allergies, try some of the substitution options below.

Gluten-Free – To make the meatballs gluten-free, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free blend for the best results. You can also try chickpea flour or certified gluten-free oat flour. Both options provide different textures. For example, oat flour makes the meatballs fragile, and chickpea flour adds a slightly bitter aftertaste. Low-FODMAP – Skip the onion and garlic powder. Flax-Free – You can use corn flour or ground chia seeds instead of ground flaxseeds.

Storage Instructions

Store leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to 1 month. You can rewarm the frozen meat-free balls without thawing in advance. Find below my answers to your most common questions about this recipe.