Vegan Ikea Meatballs (GF)

These Vegan Ikea Meatballs are:

• rich and meaty
• seriously comforting
• covered in a creamy gravy!

Ikea Meatballs (otherwise known as Swedish Meatballs), are little meatballs cooked in a rich, creamy gravy and served with mashed potatoes and tart-sweet ligonberry sauce. It’s the best kind of comfort food: warming, hearty and satisfying. And what better if it was healthy, too?

These healthier, Vegan Ikea Meatballs are made using creamy white beans, meaty mushrooms and earthy walnuts. I like to blend up the white beans first until they’re completely smooth, and then add the mushrooms and walnuts at the very end so that they retain some texture.

I love how easy the mixture is to put together, as it doesn’t require any flours, or any egg replacements like flax eggs or chia eggs.

Then all you need to do is use your hands to roll the mixture into little meatballs, before baking them in the oven.

I’m so pleased with how these meatballs came out – they’re crispy and golden on the outside, and moist, tender and perfectly chewy on the inside. They’re hearty and satisfying, and packed full of umami flavour.

But what makes the meatballs extra special, is the creamy gravy! It was inspired by the sauce for my Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff, and it’s luxuriously velvety and seriously easy to make.

The base of the gravy is unsweetened almond milk thickened with cornflour, which creates a super creamy, neutral-tasting sauce. If you’re not into almond milk, you can substitute it with unsweetened cashew or oat milk.

I also decided to add a little mustard for piquancy, soy sauce (or tamari) for a salty, umami taste, nutritional yeast for a little cheesiness, and black pepper for a little kick.

A sprinkle of chopped parsley adds freshness and extra flavour.

I love to serve these Vegan Ikea Meatballs with my Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes, a side of steamed veg, and some cranberry sauce, which tastes very similar to ligonberry sauce but is much easier to make/get hold of!

For more white bean recipes, check out my:

• White Bean Queso
• White Bean “Tuna” Salad Sandwich
• Vegan Fish Pie
• White Bean Scramble
• White Bean Mac and Cheese
• Pumpkin Sage White Bean Hummus

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

5 from 1 vote

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Vegan Ikea Meatballs (GF)

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

These Vegan Ikea Meatballs are rich and meaty, seriously comforting and covered in a creamy gravy!

Course: Main Course

Servings: 2

Calories: 385 kcal

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 tablespoon oil (olive, vegetable, rapeseed or coconut)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 400 g (14oz) tin of white beans, drained and rinsed (cannellini, haricot or butter beans)
• 70 g (2.5oz) mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used chestnut/button mushrooms)
• 50 g (1/2 cup) walnuts
• Salt + pepper, to taste

For the gravy:

• 530 ml (2 1/4 cups) unsweetened almond milk (or sub unsweetened cashew or oat milk)
• 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1/2 teaspoon (Dijon) mustard
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari if gluten-free)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley, roughly chopped

To serve:

• Mashed potatoes*
• Cranberry sauce

Instructions

For the meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
2. Heat up the oil and add the onion and garlic once hot
3. Fry for around 10 minutes until softened
4. Meanwhile, place the white beans in a food processor or blender (or hand-held stick blender) and whizz until completely smooth

5. Now add the cooked onion and garlic, along with the mushrooms, walnuts and salt + pepper

6. Blend very briefly so that the mushrooms and walnuts are cut up into smaller pieces, but still retain a little texture

7. Lay out some greased baking paper on a large baking sheet
8. Wet your fingers (to stop the mixture sticking) and use them to mould the meatball mixture into small balls and lay them out on the baking sheet - you should be able to make around 18 meatballs
9. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until golden brown

For the gravy:

1. Measure out the milk in a measuring jug or container and add all the other ingredients
2. Mix very well, ensuring that the cornflour has completely dissolved

3. Heat the mixture in a pan on a low heat, stirring regularly to make sure the cornflour doesn’t clump

4. Slowly bring to the boil and simmer on a low heat for around 5 minutes until the gravy is thickened - add some extra milk or water to thin out if necessary

5. Add the cooked meatballs just before serving, and sprinkle over chopped parsley, if desired

6. Serve alongside mashed potatoes* and cranberry sauce, if desired

Recipe Notes

*Here's my favourite vegan mashed potato recipe