Tofu Meatballs

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Tofu Meatballs are a super easy recipe that you'll love in your pasta! With no-beef bouillon and lots of spices, these flavorful meatless meatballs are ready in just 20 minutes! With over 17 grams of protein in each serving, you'll leave dinner feeling satisfied with this vegan meatball recipe!

Hey Internet, are you ready for the best vegan tofu meatballs ever? We've been wanting to get to this recipe for a while. We have many amazing vegan pasta recipes on our site, like our Sun-dried Tomato Pasta or our Vegan Garlic Noodles, and even already have a recipe for Gluten-Free Vegan Meatballs, we wanted to try making a really juicy and delicious vegan meatball recipe reminiscent of ones we used to enjoy before going vegan. We also wanted to keep the recipe simple for an quick weeknight dinner for us, so using ingredients that were ready out of the package was a major goal for this recipe.

We chose extra firm tofu to make this recipe as easy as possible. Tofu is so soft that you can crumble it with your hands. That means you don't need a blender or food processor to make these vegan meatballs! You just mix the ingredients in a large bowl, roll the tofu balls and then cook them. Them just pair them with your favorite pasta and spaghetti sauce and you'll have a wonderful meal.

This recipe also makes for a great meal prep. We've stored leftover tofu meatballs in the fridge for several days and they are still have the right taste and texture. 

As you might have guessed, we *really* love tofu. We have a compilation of all our Tofu Recipes, and we even have a giant compilation of Vegan Meat Recipes! Some of our favorite meaty tofu recipes include Vegan Cordon Bleu, Vegan Sausage Crumbles, Panko Tofu, and Vegan Schnitzel (Tofu).

Anyway, let's dive into this recipe.

Why You'll Love Tofu Meatballs

• Quick Prep: Extra-firm tofu is great because you don't need to use a tofu press before hand to remove the excess liquid from it. Just put your ingredients into a mixing bowl and fold them together.
• Tons of Flavor: We've got a lot of spices in this recipe that will make it taste like a classic meatball
• Easy to Customize: If you want a chicken or sausage-like flavor to your tofu meatballs, is easy to make happen with the right bullion or herbs. More on that in the Substitutions section.
• Versatile: Use these tofu meatballs in a vegan pasta recipe or serve them as party finger food with Vegan Sweet and Sour Sauce, or with Vegan Mushroom Gravy, or, if you don't like mushrooms, our Quick Vegan Gravy is great too. Try them in my Vegan Swedish Meatballs recipe! You could even toss them onto a sub roll to make a vegan meatball sub (coming soon).

Ingredients

Pick up these simple ingredients the next time you're at a grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutritional information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

• 1 Block Extra Firm Tofu (16 Oz): Protein-packed tofu will serve as the "meat" of our recipe. It's soft yet has some body to it, making for a great replacement for ground beef.
• 1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs: A cup of breadcrumbs will help make the tofu mixture tacky enough to stick together and hold it's shape.
• 5.5 Tablespoons Unflavored Unsweetened Soy Milk: I like this because it's shelf stable until you open it and it's higher protein with a shorter ingredients list than any other non-dairy milk I've seen at the store (especially in the refrigerator section!).
• 1 Tablespoon Flax seeds + 3 Tablespoons of Water: This flax egg will serve as the binder for our Italian tofu meatballs. We find it best to grind the flaxseed in a spice grinder and then mix it into water. It's gelled in just a minute!
• 0.5 Teaspoons Better than Bouillon No Beef Base: We love this stuff. This will help get that beefy taste meatballs have without having to use animal beef! Plus it lasts forever in the fridge.
• 4 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano Leaf
• 0.5 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning
• 0.5 Teaspoon Salt (more or less to taste)
• Black Pepper, to taste

Substitutions

• Tofu: You can easily substitute chickpea tofu or another type of tofu for a soy free recipe. If you are just looking to use a soy tofu that has a different firmness level, like firm tofu, you're going to need to get rid of some of the excess moisture. Spill out any liquid in the tofu's packaging and then use a tofu press to remove more liquid from the tofu itself. Silken tofu will not work for this recipe. You may be able to use black beans or another type of beans, like in my gluten-free vegan meatballs recipe (that recipe uses kidney beans), but I thought this recipe was more like traditional meatballs.
• Soy Milk: You can easily use almond milk or oat milk for this recipe.
• No Beef Base: If you want to change up the flavors, there is vegan no-chicken bouillon and no-pork bouillon. A vegetable bouillon would also work for this recipe. Other options include a half teaspoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce or even a tablespoon of soy sauce. You could also use herbs or spices that are often paired with meats to get their flavor, like poultry seasoning for chicken or ground fennel for sausage.
• Spices: It's easy to use fresh herbs for this tofu meatball recipe! Fresh garlic and fresh parsley are great additions to this great recipe.

How to Make Tofu Meatballs.

1. Mix the Panko with Soy Milk: To a large mixing bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs and soy milk and whisk together. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the Other Ingredients: Add your tofu, flax egg, and spices to the bowl and mix by hand until everything is fully incorporated. You want the mixture to be tacky but not very wet. Add more dry ingredients, like nutritional yeast, or wet ingredients, like soy milk, to adjust the texture as needed. To test the "batter," simply pinch and roll a bit between your fingers. If it stays together, move on to the next step. If it's too mushy, add more dry ingredients. Too crumbly, add more wet ingredients.
3. Make the Tofu Balls: Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, make meatballs out of the mixture. Briefly roll each ball by hand to achieve smoothness and uniformity. 
4. Cook the Meatballs: To a lightly oiled large nonstick skillet (use olive oil or a neutral oil; cooking spray should work fine) to medium heat, add the tofu meatballs. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to cook in batches. Do not crowd the pan. Cook on each side for about 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. You can also bake these tofu meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking tray in a 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping the meatballs and rotating the tray halfway through.
5. Serve: Remove the tofu meatballs from the pan and place on a plate or tray lined with paper towels and add to your pasta with your favorite sauce.

Storage Instructions

Set aside your extra vegetarian meatballs to cool for storage. Once they have cooled, place them in an airtight container. Keep them in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Expert Tips

• Want your meatballs a little more juicy? Add a little olive oil and then a little more nutritional yeast to get that sizzle.
• Meatballs are more than just for pasta. They can make for great party food with the right dipping sauce! Try our Teriyaki Sauce, Vegan Sweet and Sour Sauce, or Vegan Bang Bang Sauce to dip these in.
• Using different sized scoops or your hands, you can make your meatballs bigger or smaller.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Tofu Recipes

• Vegan Cordon Bleu
• Tofu Adobo
• Vegan Schnitzel
• Hoisin Tofu
• Honey Garlic Tofu
• Vegan Sausage Crumbles

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