These meatless meatballs are a delicious vegan option for pasta night! Made with tofu and walnuts, they're high in protein and super satisfying. We also add sautéed red onion, carrot, and garlic for a touch of sweetness that makes these vegan meatballs irresistibly moreish. We like to serve these with our Fresh Basil and Tomato Sauce, but feel free to try them with your own homemade sauce or any one of our fresh herb tomato sauces. Serve with your favourite pasta or spiralised courgettes.
Vegan Tofu Meatballs with Basil and Tomato Sauce
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, grated
1 cup walnuts
450g firm (not silken) tofu
2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
juice from 1/4 lemon
olive oil for greasing
salt and pepper
your favourite pasta or spiralised courgettes
Method:
Before you get started, wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel and place a heavy weight on top (e.g. a plate with a couple books on top). Leave for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours. This step helps expel moisture from the tofu and make for a firm meatball that doesn't fall apart.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C.
Saute the garlic, red onion and carrots in the olive oil until soft.
In a food processes, blitz the walnuts until they are roughly ground.
Add the tofu, herbs, lemon juice and sauteed veggies. Blend until everything is about the size of breadcrumbs.
Add a good pinch of salt and a generous grind of fresh black pepper. Taste and add more seasoning as needed You're looking for something deeply savoury with a touch of sweetness. You may also wish to add more lemon juice to pull out the flavour of the carrot and onion.
Form the mixture into balls (I like to make mine fairly small, about the diameter of a 50p coin) and place on a well oiled cookie sheet or roasting pan.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Rotate the balls and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, until golden.
While the tofu meatballs are baking, heat up the Fresh Basil and Tomato Sauce in a small saucepan and cook your pasta (or steam/sauté your spiralised courgettes).
Serve at once with fresh vegan or dairy parmesan if you'd like.
