You're going to love these wholesome and flavor-packed vegan eggplant meatballs baked to perfection and served with homemade marinara and zucchini noodles. It's a delicious and low-carb vegan meal the whole family will love.
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Vegan meatballs, friends!
Growing up, my mom made a vegetarian meatball that I absolutely loved. In fact, it wasn’t until I was much older that I realized meatballs were, in fact, made with meat. Who could have guessed?
Probably everyone.
Once I learned where meatballs came from, I lost a taste for even my mom’s vegetarian meatballs. Only recently, since having kids, have I rediscovered them in all their vegan glory. My rediscovery started with Gardein’s meatless meatballs. And while I love these, I even more recently decided it was time to start making my own.
Let’s take a closer look.
Recipe Video
Ingredients & Substitutions
Inspired by that childhood recipe, I started testing out some of my own meatball recipes, and eventually, I came up with these Italian Eggplant Meatballs.
Here is everything you need.
- Eggplant - Eggplant is one of those amazingly underrated vegetables that can be the star of so many vegan entrées. I love it in curries, on pizza, and of course, vegan eggplant parmesan. And knowing how well the flavors of Italian cooking and eggplant go together, I decided they would make the perfect base for these vegan meatballs.
- Olive Oil
- Bread Crumbs - For a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free bread crumbs.
- Garlic
- Flat-Leaf Parsley
- Fresh Basil
- Vegan Parmesan - For this recipe, I recommend Violife parmesan. It is creamy, melty, and tastes exactly how I remember parmesan to taste. I find their cheeses at Whole Foods but you can also check out this map to find Violife near you. If you don’t have access to Violife, you can make your own parmesan.
- Italian Seasoning
- Flax or Chia Egg - Flax eggs have strong binding powers due to their protein and do not leave any unwanted taste or texture. If you don't have flax seeds, you can use a chia seed egg for a similar effect. To make a chia seed egg, combine 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let it sit until it becomes thick and gelatinous.
- Salt and Pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One: Sauté the Eggplant
Chop the eggplant into 1" pieces. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add eggplant along with ¼ cups water. Sauté for 10 minutes until eggplant is slightly brown and tender.
Step Two - Blend the Ingredients
Transfer the eggplant to a food processor along with all the other ingredients. Process until you have a uniform batter. Be careful not to overprocess or the meatballs will become gummy. Some texture is desirable.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Step Three - Roll and Bake
Roll the meatball mixture into balls 2 heaping tablespoons in size and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until meatballs are browned and crispy on the outside.
Serving and Storing
Serving - Serve them over pasta with a homemade marinara sauce for a classic spaghetti and meatballs dish, stuff them in a baguette for a delicious meatball sub, or serve them as an appetizer at your next holiday party. This article is no way is vegan but does offer some creative suggestions on how to serve meatballs.
Storing - Store leftover meatballs in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, these meatballs can be cooked in marinara sauce directly from the freezer.
Tips and Tricks
- Thoroughly sauté your eggplant to bring out the rich flavors.
- Do not over-mix your eggplant mixture or you’ll end up with a gummy paste.
- Adjust the spices/herbs as you desire. The flavors in this recipe are highly flexible.
Frequently Asked Questions
For sure! There are all kinds of things you can use to make vegan meatballs. I recommend trying tempeh, mushrooms, or chickpeas.
Yep! Let the meatballs cool completely before freezing them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen all they way through, the meatballs can be transferred to a large ziplock back. When ready to eat, these meatballs can be cooked in marinara sauce directly from the freezer.
In addition to serving this recipe over zucchini noodles, you can also serve meatballs over pasta, as an appetizer, in a meatball sub.
More Vegan Eggplant Recipes
- Moroccan Stuffed Eggplants
- Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
- Eggplant and Caramelized Onion Pizza
- Eggplant Chickpea Curry
- Kung Pao Tofu with Eggplant
Eggplant Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
Eggplant Meatballs
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cup bread crumbs
- 3 cloves garlic,
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan
- 1 ½ tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 flaxseed or chia egg
- ½ tsp salt
- pepper, to taste
Everything Else
- 12 oz Marinara Sauce
- 2 large zucchini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Chop the eggplant into 1" pieces. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add eggplant along with ¼ cups water. Sauté for 10 minutes until eggplant is slightly brown and tender.
- Transfer it to a food processor along with all the other ingredients for your eggplant meatballs. Process until you have a uniform batter. Be careful not to overprocess or the meatballs will become gummy. Some texture is desirable. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Roll the meatball mixture into balls 2 heaping tablespoons in size and place on the prepared parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until meatballs are browned and crispy on the outside.
- When the meatballs are done, add them to a saucepot with marinara sauce until the marinara sauce is heated all the way through. Toss with zucchini noodles and serve with fresh parsley and vegan parmesan.
Video
Notes
- Thoroughly sauté your eggplant to bring out the rich flavors.
- Do not over-mix your eggplant mixture or you’ll end up with a gummy paste.
- Adjust the spices/herbs as you desire. The flavors in this recipe are highly flexible.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Barb says
How many meatballs are considered a serving? I’m trying to figure out how to fit this amazing looking recipe into my WW plan. Thanks!
Beth says
What is roughly the total amount in cups needed for eggplant? I have several chinese eggplants which are much smaller, so wondering how many to use. Thanks!
Sarah McMinn says
You need about 4 cups
Karen Phaneuf says
Delicious! The only change I made was to use 1 Tbsp. of dried Oregano instead of Italian seasoning. I didn't have the mix on hand. Because the Basil was accounted for already I didn't find anything missing in flavor. I will definitely make this again and double the recipe to freeze a batch.
Christina says
I made this for my meat loving father, and he really loved it! I have never been a big fan of eggplant, but this dish is great for picky eaters like myself. The meatballs may come apart slightly as you serve them from the skillet with the sauce, but it’s absolutely worth the taste! It’s great to find recipes like this that are so delicious but also so healthy. Thank you Sarah!
Miftah Kanza says
inlove thiss!!! i’ve never love eggplang beforeeeee and thus us sooooo good!!!
Charlene says
The meatballs came out delicious! I am so happy there is a vegan version that tastes this good. I also used your Parmesan cheese recipe as the cheese for the meatballs. Thank you so much!
Sena says
As much as I love Eggplant Rollatini, I had enough of that go-to dish that I have probably made with my last 20 eggplants. After a quick search, this eggplant meatball recipe popped up. I'm so glad it did! It was so easy to follow and, as the adept vegan that I am, I had all of the necessary ingredients. Well, I didn't have vegan parm, but I did have the ingredients to make your homemade version.
Wow! Those meatballs were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside....and so much flavor! They were perfect! I can't wait to make a meatball sub. I must say that that Parmesan recipe is also a knockout, and it will be my go-to for Parm now. Thank you for these recipes!
Anita says
Thank you for making it simple.
Nicki Gabel says
We love these! And love over zucchini noodles. Great summer dinner!
isabella waldman says
love this recipe, so easy and so good! thank you!
Lisa says
So Yummy! I've been trying to find new recipes or ways to use my excess of eggplant and this hit the nail on the head! Thank you for your creativity! We made these into eggplant meatball sandwiches instead of spaghetti 🙂
This one will be on our rotation for sure!
Wendy says
I have been wanting to make these and I finally made them tonight and they were really good! I think I over processed them a little, but I will be a little more careful next time. Over all, GREAT recipe! I am not vegan, however I have been finding myself eating a lot of vegan recipes which makes me feel better and is great for the waistline! Thank you for a nice recipe 🙂
Alex Brown says
My meatballs fell apart when I mixed it with the sauce, which essentially turned it into a Bolognese, but it tastes great! The taste was just as expected. Thank you for this recipe!
Nick says
Bout to make this.
JOSIE says
These are SO good! They're delicious cold too. Could be good in a wrap with salad stuff. A definite do again recipe!
Justin from dailyveganmeal says
Eggplant meatballs! Wow, never imagined these before! So creative, and I bet it will taste amazing. I've got an eggplant in the fridge waiting to be made in this recipe. Can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing it 🙂