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Home » Recipes » Lunch & Dinner

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

Last updated - July 14, 2021; Published - April 16, 2018 By Rhian Williams 34 Comments

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Brown meatballs in a brown gravy topped with green herbs with a wooden spoon lifting up one meatball

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

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

Swedish Meatballs (otherwise known as Ikea 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 Swedish 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.

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

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

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

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.

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

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.

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

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.

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

I love to serve these Vegan Swedish 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!

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

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.

Helpful tools to make these Vegan Swedish Meatballs:

For the meatballs:

food processor

blender

hand-held stick blender

rectangular baking tray

baking paper

For the gravy:

measuring jug

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)

These Vegan Swedish Meatballs are rich and meaty, seriously comforting and covered in a creamy gravy!
4.42 from 31 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: vegan ikea meatballs, vegan swedish meatballs
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 385kcal
Author: Rhian Williams

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 (½ cup) walnuts
  • Salt + pepper, to taste

For the gravy:

  • 530 ml (2 ¼ cups) unsweetened almond milk (or sub unsweetened cashew or oat milk)
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
  • ½ teaspoon (Dijon) mustard
  • 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce if not 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:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • Heat up the oil and add the onion and garlic once hot
  • Fry for around 10 minutes until softened
  • Meanwhile, place the white beans in a food processor or blender (or hand-held stick blender) and whizz until completely smooth
  • Now add the cooked onion and garlic, along with the mushrooms, walnuts and salt + pepper
  • Blend very briefly so that the mushrooms and walnuts are cut up into smaller pieces, but still retain a little texture
  • Lay out some greased baking paper on a large baking tray
  • 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
  • Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until golden brown

For the gravy:

  • Measure out the milk in a measuring jug or container and add all the other ingredients
  • Mix very well, ensuring that the cornflour has completely dissolved
  • Heat the mixture in a pan on a low heat, stirring regularly to make sure the cornflour doesn’t clump
  • 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
  • Add the cooked meatballs just before serving, and sprinkle over chopped parsley, if desired
  • Serve alongside mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, if desired
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Swedish Meatballs (GF)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 385
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Jane Charron

    May 11, 2022 at 10:55 pm

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious. They are not as firm as a real meatball but the flavor and texture are amazing! Great recipe!

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      May 12, 2022 at 11:38 am

      Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

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Brown meatballs in a brown gravy topped with green herbs with a wooden spoon lifting up one meatball
Photo of Rhian Williams

Hi, I’m Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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