Vegan Meatballs are glazed in a sweet sauce and perfect for parties! These tofu "meatballs" are packed with red onion, parsley, oregano, and a little liquid smoke and baked for half an hour for a tender and delicious vegetarian appetizer.
This post is sponsored by the EZ Tofu Press!
Great vegan appetizers are hard to find, and these Vegan Meatballs are super flavorful, packed with seasonings and glazed in a sweet sauce.
These tofu meatballs are completely meat-free, made with red onion, parsley, oregano, garlic salt, liquid smoke, and breadcrumbs. You can easily make these gluten free with a simple gluten-free breadcrumb swap!
If you want to skip the sweet glaze and make savory tofu meatballs, try this vegan Vegetable Ragu for a delicious dinner dish.
Do you have some frozen vegan meatballs to cook? Try these instructions for Air Fryer meatballs.
Pressing all of the water out of your tofu is important so that it retains its shape and doesn’t cook into a soupy mess.
The EZ Tofu Press makes pressing tofu super easy! Place the EZ Tofu Press over a plate or shallow bowl to catch the liquid from the tofu. Secure a block of extra firm tofu into the press and turn the knobs to tighten.
Turn the tightening knobs every 3-4 minutes for about 12 minutes or so to ensure that as much liquid as possible has been expended from the tofu block. After the 12 minutes is up, loosen up the knobs to release the block of tofu. It’s that simple!
How to Make Vegan Meatballs
- First, mix your glaze together.
- Next, put the pressed tofu, bread crumbs, red onion, parsley, garlic salt, oregano, and liquid smoke in a food processor.
- Then, process until combined. You should still see small pieces of onion and parsley in the mixture.
- Now, roll the mixture into balls and bake for about half an hour at 375 degrees F.
- After 25 minutes in the oven, brush with brown sugar glaze and continue baking.
- Add any remaining glaze and serve warm!
How to Store Leftovers
These vegan meatballs will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator after baking.
If you want to make these ahead of time, you can roll them the night before and refrigerate until time to bake and glaze!
If you want to freeze these, you could do so raw or baked. Put all the tofu meatballs on a baking sheet with parchment paper and freeze for 3 to 4 hours until kind of firm, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container.
The glaze will likely get absorbed into the leftover meatballs, so be ready to make a new batch or a different dipping sauce when reheating.
What to Serve with Tofu Meatballs
I love to make these for a party to make sure there's at least one vegan appetizer.
If you're having a vegan dinner party, try this Vegan Cheeseball! It's totally gluten free, too.
This dairy-free Hot Corn Dip is another amazing gluten-free appetizer for tailgating that's great alongside these tofu meatballs.
These also go great with pasta! Serve these with my Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce for a great Italian-inspired meatless dinner.
More Delicious Recipes
Vegan Meatballs
Equipment
- EZ Tofu Press
- Small mixing bowl
- Baking dish
- Basting brush
Ingredients
Glaze Ingredients
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
Meatball Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs regular or gluten free
- ½ cup red onion diced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Press the tofu with the EZ Tofu Press for 12 minutes, tightening the knobs every 3 to 4 minutes.
- Place tofu meatball ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until combined. Set aside.
- Mix together glaze ingredients and set aside.
- Take the meatball mixture and form into balls. Put balls into oiled baking dish.
- Bake meatballs at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove from oven, brush sauce over tofu meatballs, and return to oven for remaining time.
- Server warm and enjoy!
The flavors in these tofu balls are just perfect! I love using liquid smoke with tofu to give it a savory flavor.
So glad you enjoyed them!!! 🙂