Vegan Meatballs with Savory Peanut Pumpkin Sauce

Make these gorgeous homemade vegan meatballs with real whole-food ingredients and douse them in a luscious pumpkin sauce. The resulting dish is delicious, and wholesome, and will make your tastebuds happy!

Why You'll Love Our Vegan Meatballs Recipe

All Wholesome Real Ingredients. These meatballs aren't filled with highly processed meat substitutes. Instead, you'll find mushrooms, chickpeas, and oats. Plus they are allergen friendly with no eggs required.

Incredibly Versatile. You can serve these delicious vegetarian meatballs with any variety of sauces, with or without pasta. Instead of marinara sauce, try one of these.

• Easy Peanut Sauce Recipe (Gluten-Free + Vegan)
• Cashew Cream - A Magical Vegan Sauce
• Chimichurri - A Fresh Sauce from Argentina
• Tahini Sauce - One bowl, 3 ingredients
• Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

These meatballs are also fantastic on a vegan meatball sub.

Comfort Food. Many of us remember the meatballs of our childhood with great fondness, and this dish brings all of that nostalgia to the forefront with food that tastes amazing and warms your belly and heart.

Ingredients for Vegan Meatballs

• Portabello Mushrooms.
• Organic Chickpeas. You can also use black beans if you prefer.
• Rolled Oats. These help to lock moisture into the vegetarian meatballs.
• Dijon Mustard. This helps keep it all together.
• Hamburger or Grilling seasoning. Use your favorite burger seasoning to amp up the comforting familiar flavor in this recipe. We don't add black pepper to this recipe because more than likely it will be in this seasoning.
• Spices: Onion Powder, Paprika, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt.
• Shredded Vegan Cheese. We used cheddar but you could also use vegan parmesan cheese or really dairy cheese if vegetarian.

Ingredients For the Pumpkin Peanut Sauce

• Onion.
• Grated Ginger.
• Fresh Thyme. Sub with fresh basil or rosemary if you can't find this ingredient.
• Tomato Paste.
• Maple Syrup.
• Balsamic Vinegar.
• Soy Sauce. Tamari works if you need a gluten-free form of soy sauce.
• No-Chicken Broth. Vegetable broth will work.
• Canned Pumpkin. Do not accidentally grab pumpkin pie filling.
• All-natural Smooth Peanut Butter. It is preferable to use a newer jar of peanut butter; try to avoid the thicker and drier peanut butter at the bottom of a jar.
• Cilantro or Parsley.

How to Make Vegan Meatballs

Preheat your oven and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Combine all of the meatball ingredients except the cheese in a food processor and pulse according to the recipe instructions. Move to a large mixing bowl and fold in the cheese by hand. Form meatballs from this thick and clumpy mixture. Bake for twenty minutes.

While the meatless meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Begin by heating some olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the ginger and thyme and cook for another three minutes. Add the tomato paste, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook for three more minutes. Add ¾ cup of broth and salt. Stir and cook for two more minutes.

Whisk the pumpkin and peanut butter into your sauce. Once the sauce thickens, add the remaining broth until your sauce reaches the desired consistency. When everything is ready, combine the veggie meatballs with the pumpkin sauce and heat through to serve.

Make Ahead Tips

Make the sauce and bake meatballs and keep them separately. Make 2-3 days ahead. When ready to enjoy, place the meatballs in the sauce and heat through.  Serve with rice, quinoa, or pasta. You can also make the veggie meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. Add them to your favorite sauce when ready to cook. The sauce can also be made ahead and frozen.

Recipe Tips

• Do not overprocess the meatball mixture in your food processor, it will get too mushy, and you won't be able to form the meatballs. This ruins the texture as well. You do not want a puree.
• When first making the sauce, stir the contents of the skillet often to prevent the onions from burning until you add liquid.
• You may add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed to keep the onions from burning.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this delicious vegan meatballs recipe over prepared quinoa, rice, or pasta such as spaghetti. Add a nice crusty bread like French bread or focaccia. If you like, add a fresh tomato cucumber salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you keep vegan meatballs from falling apart?

The oats and mustard keep our vegan meatball recipe from falling apart. Make sure you do not overprocess this mixture or it will turn to mush and not form into meatballs.

How do I store leftover plant-based meatballs?

You can keep your leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several days. Alternatively, freeze this meal to enjoy again at a later date. To store your dish in the freezer, keep the sauce and meatballs separate. (I recommend only mixing half of the sauce and half of the meatballs if you expect to have leftovers.) When you are ready to enjoy the meatballs, thaw the two items, place the meatballs into the sauce, and heat through.  

More Great Vegan Meatball Recipes

• Eggplant Meatballs with Pomegranate Sauce
• Sweet Potato Veggie Meatballs
• Lentil Meatballs in Tahini Turmeric Sauce
• Cauliflower Quinoa Meatless Meatballs In Coconut Turmeric Sauce
• Spinach Veggie Meatballs In Spicy Tomato Sauce - Vegan & Paleo!

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.

Vegan Meatballs with Pumpkin Sauce

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• Author: Vicky and Ruth
• Yield: 22 meatballs 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Make these gorgeous homemade vegan meatballs with real whole-food ingredients and smother them in a luscious pumpkin sauce. The resulting dish is delicious, and wholesome, and will make your tastebuds happy! 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the meatballs

• 6 ounces Portabello mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 - 15.5oz can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp hamburger or grilling seasoning
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 8 tbsp shredded vegan cheese, you may use dairy cheese if you prefer

For the Pumpkin Peanut Sauce

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-size onion, diced
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped or 1 tsp dry thyme, chopped
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 ¾ cup no-chicken or vegetable both
• 1 tsp salt (add more to taste)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 /2 cup all-natural smooth peanut butter. See Note 1
• Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish

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Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease it well with olive oil.
2. Combine all the meatball ingredients, except the shredded cheese, in the food processor, and pulse 20 times, pinch the dough with your hands to see if it comes together, if it doesn't pulse a few more times, and check again. The dough will look chunky, not smooth. Do not overprocess, it will get too mushy and you won't be able to form the burgers. Transfer to a large bowl.  
3. Add the cheese and mix by hand
4. Form 22 meatballs using a 1 ½ tablespoon ice cream scoop or by hand and place them on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes
6. While the meatballs are baking make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add the onions and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until translucent. Add the ginger, and thyme and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, stirring often to prevent the onions from burning, you may add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed to keep the onions from burning.
7. Add the tomato paste, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes. Add ¾ cup of the broth and salt, stir well, and continue cooking for 2 more minutes
8. Whisk in the pumpkin and peanut butter and mix well. The sauce will thicken, add the remaining broth and more if needed to achieve the desired consistency. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat. 
9. When ready to serve, place veggie meatballs in the sauce and heat

Notes

1. It is preferable to use a newer jar of peanut butter, try to avoid the thicker and drier peanut butter at the bottom of a jar.
2. Make-ahead instructions: make the sauce and bake meatballs and keep them separately. Make 2-3 days ahead. When ready to enjoy place meatballs in the sauce and heat.  Serve with rice, quinoa, or pasta.
3. Freezing instructions: make the sauce and bake meatballs and freeze them separately. When ready to enjoy, thaw, place meatballs in the sauce, and heat.  Serve with rice, quinoa, or pasta.
4. Do not overprocess the meatball mixture in your food processor, it will get too mushy, and you won't be able to form the meatballs. This ruins the texture as well. You do not want a puree.
5. When first making the sauce, stir the contents of the skillet often to prevent the onions from burning until you add liquid.
6. You may add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed to keep the onions from burning.

• Category: dinner
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4 meatballs with sauce
• Calories: 392
• Sugar: 12
• Sodium: 1192
• Fat: 18.8
• Saturated Fat: 4.8
• Unsaturated Fat: 11.6
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 43.2
• Fiber: 9.2
• Protein: 12.8
• Cholesterol: 0