Vegan Ikea Meatballs
These Vegan Ikea Meatballs (Swedish Meatballs) are rich and meaty, seriously comforting and covered in a dairy-free creamy gravy!
THE RECIPE
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 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
Source: rhiansrecipes.com