Eggplant Meatballs with Pomegranate Molasses are the vegetarian dinner you’ve been looking for! They’re easy to make and delicious with so many different sides, that you’ll find yourself reaching for this recipe regularly.
We love a good baked eggplant recipe! Many people aren’t sure how to use eggplants, but there are so many flavorful ways to prepare this nutritious purple veggie. We made these Eggplant Meatballs with steamed eggplant and a delicious pomegranate molasses sauce that makes it feel special. It’s a perfect vegan holiday meal! The vegetables get started on the stovetop, but the meatballs get finished in the oven, which makes it easy to work into your evening routine for a great vegan dinner!
Table of contents
Ingredients in Eggplant Meatballs
This is one of our best eggplant recipes! Some people may struggle to prepare eggplant in a delicious way, but this dish makes it as easy as can be and produces perfect meatless meatballs.
- Eggplant. We used two large eggplants Italian eggplants, but you can use any eggplant you prefer. Eggplants should be firm but not hard! They’re high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals while also being low in calories.
- Onion. Choose a large sweet onion without any mushy spots and dice it small.
- Garlic. Mince or grate your garlic so it’s in very small pieces and can be evenly distributed between the meatballs!
- Eggs. Or flax eggs. To make the flax eggs by combining 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. This is the equivalent two two large eggs.
- Panko bread crumbs. Most grocery stores also sell gluten-free versions, so that’s an easy swap if you want these meatballs to also be gluten-free.
- Fresh herbs. Use chopped cilantro or parsley...or a bit of each!
- Spices. This recipe uses turmeric, sumac, ground coriander, salt, and pepper.
All About Pomegranate Molasses
Pomegranate molasses, also called pomegranate syrup, is a dark syrup made from pomegranate juice with or without added sugar. You can make it yourself, we have a recipe in our cookbook Tahini and Turmeric. You can also buy Pomegranate Molasses Here.
It's the base for the delicious festive sauce that gets cooked with our eggplant meatballs. It brings a really decadent, sweet and sour flavor to this dish! We combined pomegranate molasses with onion, pomegranate juice, honey, and a pinch of salt. A so, so substitute would be a balsamic glaze, but the results won’t be quite the same.
How to Make Eggplant Meatballs
Making eggplant meatballs is a simple process that is going to fill your kitchen with delicious, sweet, and savory smells. One of the best parts of cooking is when family members start wandering in to see what smells so good!
- Step 1: We Start by steaming the eggplant.
- Step 2: We then add the cooked onion, garlic, flax eggs, bread crumbs, herbs, and spices. This is when your kitchen starts to smell really good.
- Step 3: Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight
- Step 4: Roll the mixture batter into meatballs, we like to use an ice cream scoop for uniform meatless meatballs.
- Step 5: Bake them in the oven in a baking dish. They’re going to get deliciously crispy around the outside!
- Step 6: Prepare the pomegranate molasses sauce. Drizzle the sauce over the baked eggplant meatballs and return to the oven to let the flavor of the sauce bake in.
How to Serve Vegan Meatballs
We like to serve these veggie meatballs over zucchini noodles, couscous, rice, quinoa, or spaghetti squash...so many possibilities! Add a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley or cilantro before serving. They’re also delicious on their own as an appetizer or snack. For a festive meal, serve them at Thanksgiving or Rosh Hashanah!
Storage, Reheating and Make Ahead Tips
These pomegranate meatballs can be made up to two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them by lining them up on a tray, and then placing them in a freezer bag once frozen! They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Meatballs can be frozen cooked or raw without sauce. We love to make them ahead of time in the summer when eggplants are abundant, inexpensive, and really fresh! We recommend getting eggplants in the summer at local farms or farmer's markets.
More Meatless Meatball Recipes
- Quinoa Cauliflower Meatballs in Coconut Turmeric Sauce
- Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs
- Sweet Potato Veggie Meatballs
- Veggie Meatballs in Pumpkin Sauce
- Italian Eggplant Meatballs
- Lentil Meatballs in Tahini Turmeric Sauce
- Spinach Chickpea Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Other Tasty Eggplant Recipes
- Buffalo Eggplant Fries
- Tahini Miso Eggplant Rice Bowl
- Fresh Mozzarella, Mushroom, & Eggplant Shakshuka
- High Protein Skillet Eggplant Lasagna
- Eggplant Chickpea Curry
- Stuffed Eggplant with Fennel and White Beans
- Creamy Tomato & Roasted Eggplant Soup
- Braised Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Hummus & Grilled Vegetable Pizza
We also have several delicious eggplant recipes in our cookbook, Tahini & Turmeric!
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Eggplant Meatballs with Pomegranate Sauce
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 36 meatballs 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Eggplant Meatballs with Pomegranate Molasses are the vegetarian dinner you’ve been looking for! They’re easy to make and delicious with so many different sides, you’ll find yourself reaching for this recipe regularly.
Ingredients
For the eggplant meatballs
- 2 large eggplants, diced and peeled ( about 10 cups)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
- 2 flax eggs ( 2 tbsp ground flax seeds combined with 5 tbsp of water) or two large eggs
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
For the pomegranate molasses sauce
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups pomegranate juice
- 6 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ tsp salt
Optional Garnish
- Pomegranate seeds
- Chopped Cilantro or parsley
Instructions
- Steam the eggplant, covered, using a steaming basket, and stir the eggplant while it steams, so it cooks evenly. Cook 35 -40 minutes or until tender (see note #1)
- Once the eggplant is cooked make sure it drains well and set it aside (see note #2)
- While the eggplant cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until soft and translucent
- In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, cooked onions and garlic, flax or regular eggs, Panko bread crumbs, cilantro or parsley, turmeric, sumac, salt, coriander, and pepper Mix well and mash with a fork until you get a uniform mixture with no lumps
- Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes or overnight, if making them ahead of time. (see note #3)
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Coat a baking dish with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Working with about 1 ½ tablespoons of mixture at a time, form even-sized meatballs (to make it easier we like to use an ice cream scoop). Arranged them in the greased baking dish, and bake them for 20 minutes
- While the meatballs cook, prepare the pomegranate sauce. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook for 7-10minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, honey, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until reduced in half, about 15-20 minutes
- After the meatballs have been baking for 20 minutes, add ¾ of the pomegranate sauce and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes
- Serve with rice. couscous or quinoa. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley or cilantro before serving
- Add more pomegranate sauce, if needed or when re-heating leftovers.
Notes
- We boiled about 3" of water in a deep skillet, for which we had a lid. We placed a steam basket the boiling water and covered it with a lid.
- If the eggplant is too wet, squeeze the excess water out once it cools.
- Make sure not to skip this step, it will make it easier to form the meatballs.
- Prep Time: 20
- Refrigeration time: 20
- Cook Time: 1h 20min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven roasting
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs with sauce
- Calories: 194
- Sugar: 16
- Sodium: 351
- Fat: 7.6
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 4.4
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 0
Tamarque
Love eggplant and these sound so good with the pomegrante.
However, would need a substitute for the panko as bread anything is out of my diet.
Would chia seeds work to help with binding the meatballs together? What other choice
might there be?
Vicky and Ruth
You could use chia seeds, chickpea flour or any other GF flour that would help bind the eggplant meatballs together.
Rebeca
This last Friday i had guests for dinner and I made this recipe.
They absolutely loved it! It was really delicious. Everybody enjoyed the dish 🙂
Thank you!
Vicky and Ruth
Thank you! So glad your family and guest enjoyed our eggplant meatballs.
Linda FOX
I make this recipe all of the time. It has become a favorite it my home.
Vicky and Ruth
Aww, so nice to hear!
Michelle
Made these twice this week. Once for Sunday dinner and once for a potluck. I had made pomegranate molasses last week so that made it even easier, but it was still easy and kind of mindblowingly delicious. I added a 1/2 block of firm tofu, too
Vicky and Ruth
Thank you so much for sharing! How was it with the tofu? Did you add it to the meatballs?
Emma
Hi
Given that honey isn't vegan, would maple syrup work as a substitute? It's a different flavour profile.
Thanks
Vicky and Ruth
Hi Emma, Maple syrup or agave will work well in this recipe