These paleo vegan meatballs are absolutely delicious, packed with flavour and totally plant-based making them very affordable to make. I pretty much guarantee you will not be disappointed with the deliciousness of this recipe. It's one the whole family will love!
This recipe is actually a revamp from 8 years ago! I was going to take the OG post down but then I thought I would leave it just for kicks so you can see how far our food photography (and food styling) has come over the years! It just goes to show you, practice, practice, practice!
The ingredients in these paleo-vegan meatballs are whole, simple and just like most of my recipes, you probably have all in the ingredients in your kitchen right now!
If you're wondering what makes these meatballs paleo, it's because there are no grains or beans/legumes in this recipe and they are vegan because there are no animal foods either. But don't think that you're missing out on anything because they are packed full of flavour.
In fact, I encourage you to make these for a meat-loving friend or family member and don't even tell them how healthy they are until they are giving you glowing reviews over the dinner you made for them. And be sure to report back to me because I cannot wait to hear all about it!! (Comment below).
You may have noticed if you looked at my OG recipe, I didn't cook them - they were originally a raw recipe. However, I think baking them is a good step for extra deliciousness. It seals in the flavour and makes them hold better. Plus it's nice to have warm balls in your bowl of pasta.
A food processor is an essential kitchen tool to make these meatballs. It just does the trick of chopping them up into the perfect texture. I don't think this would work very well in a blender, so I would recommend sticking with a food processor.
- Paleo - no grains, no beans
- Gluten-free
- Vegan
- Packed with fibre and blood sugar balancing
- Excellent for gut health and your microbiome
- Kid-friendly
Here's my recipe for The Best Paleo Vegan Meatballs on the freakin' planet!
Mains & Sides
The Best Paleo Vegan Meatballs
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup walnuts
- 1 large carrot, chopped into chunks
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, loosely packed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, loosely packed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, loosely packed
- 5-6 medjool dates, pits removed or 1/2 cup deglet noor dates
- 5 sundried tomatoes
- 1/4 of a small cauliflower, chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Half juice of fresh lemon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and give a blitz until finely ground.
- Form into 2 inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. If they are difficult to form and hold their shape, add another medjool date or two and blitz again, they provide the sticking action.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- The texture should be very tender so you can easily eat them with a fork.
- Enjoy right away with some zucchini pasta or regular pasta. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days or freeze no-meatballs for up to 3 months.
Notes
These no-meatballs can be eaten raw if you like, but they are nice warmed up in my opinion.
If you use regular pasta, I really like Quinoa Pasta or Chickepea pasta which is chickpeas and lentils.
Here's a quick video on how to make them!
Now you're probably wondering what you should serve these paleo vegan meatballs with? Well, you've got tons of options. You could use Chickapea Pasta - it's Joyous Approved! And it's part of my Best Carbs for Kids list.
Or you can spiralize some zucchini - so that's what I did! Well, Vienna and Walker had the pasta and I had the zucchini. I just love the lightness of zucchini! But I also eat the Chickpea pasta often like in our Tuscany Bolognese Bowl and this Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad.
This dish would go delightfully well with my Creamy & Dreamy Kale Salad or my Kale Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing.
I can't wait to hear how much you guys love this recipe!
Joy xo
Ps. If you want to try a more traditional meatball recipe then be sure to check out my Turkey Meatballs from The Joyous Cookbook!
These sound delicious! Is the carrot and cauliflower raw to start with? Also do the dates give the final product a sweetness? Looking forward to trying these a thanks!
ReplyYes the carrots and cauliflower are raw. You can check out the recipe video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-sE5vY1zZ8
Thanks - can’t wait to try making these!
ReplyYou're welcome!! Enjoy! :)
Hey! I have a question about substituting the dates. We don't like the sweetness in the meatball. Is there anything else you would substitute the dates with? I think the dates are the glue to keep the meatball together but I can't think of anything else to keep it plant based. Yummy recipe by the way!! Thank you for your assistance Nadia
ReplyOh yes for sure, you could use an egg or 2 to help them stick together. Or if you want to keep them plant-based you could also add more garlic and other spices to try and out-flavour the dates. I love the taste of the dates because I don't find them very strong. Another idea is to use fewer dates. Hope that helps!
I’m allergic to walnuts. Could I replace them with pistachios? Thanks
ReplyFor sure! If they aren't sticking as well, just add more dates or you could add an egg if you eat eggs.
Hi Joy, What would you recommend instead of walnuts to use? I have allergy to all nuts. Love your recipes! Thanks, Kim
ReplyYou could try pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds -- that would be nice too. If they aren't sticking as well, add more dates or add an egg if you eat eggs :) Enjoy!
I'm going to try this recipe, thank you Joy, sounds so good !
ReplyEnjoy Nancy!
Could the walnut be substituted to make them lunchbox friendly?
ReplyYes you could use seeds instead. I haven't made them with pumpkin or sunflower seeds yet, but this is a great idea. If they are not sticking well because the change in texture you can add more dates. You could also add an egg to increase the sticking powder if you change up the nuts.
Wondering your thoughts on using silicone sheet instead of using parchment paper to line the baking sheet.
ReplyI haven't tried silicon only because I really dislike the taste of ice cubes that have been in silicone mold because they literally taste like silicon. So I am hesitant to try it but do like the sustainability aspect of it. Have you used them for baking?
Hi Joy, do you think I could sub broccoli for cauliflower?
ReplyYes for sure, that will still work :)
This was relatively easy to prepare. We had it with the chickpea pasta and tomato sauce and it WAS TERRIFIC!! Thank you Joy for creating it.
ReplyMy pleasure! Glad you loved it as much as we do! :)
Delicious!!
ReplyGlad you loved them!!
Are medjool dates or any dates fine with people that have diabetes?
ReplyThat depends on what you're eating it with. Other foods within a meal have an impact on the overall glycemic load and that person's overall health/diet too. In the context of a meal, dates should be fine but I would suggest that person have a meatball and then test their blood sugar. Hope that helps!
Hi Joy. What could I use instead of the walnuts. Thank you.
ReplyYou could try sunflower seeds and hemp hearts? You may need to adjust the dates for more sticking power but try that!
Hi, these look great, what do you recommend for a substitution for sun-dried tomatoes - can't do nightshades.
ReplyJust omit them :) They won't make or break the recipe.