These high-protein vegan Meatballs are made with TVP (short for Textured Vegetable Protein, also known as soy protein or soy granule). They are flavorful, easy to make, and freezer-friendly!
May I present to you, the best vegan meatballs! They are high in protein, super flavorful, quick & easy to make, and freezer-friendly. They are perfect for pasta, sandwiches, or with creamy gravy.
Most vegan meatball recipes use beans (often kidney beans), which results in almost creamy, doughy, ‘are-these-baked-enough?’-meatballs. This isn’t the case with these TVP meatballs. The texture is spot on.
What is TVP?
TVP stands for Textured Vegetable Protein, often also called soy meat, soya chunks/granule/slices. It is made out of defatted soy flour, which is extruded into shapes (such as granules, flakes, chunks, slices, strips, nuggets,…).
For these vegan meatballs, we are using the smallest kind: granules.
I love TVP because
- it can be stored at room-temperature – like forever,
- it is high in protein, low in fat,
- it is inexpensive,
- it expands when cooked, so it doesn’t need much space in the pantry
- and it’s versatile!
Soy Granule is the KEY INGREDIENT in these meatballs. It’s very easy to work with. First, we’re re-hydrating the granule with water (and lots of spices, herbs, soy sauce, and liquid smoke to make it tasty). Then we can use it just like ground meat.
TVP (soy protein, soy granule) is gluten-free, so you can make these meatballs gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs or oat flour as the binding ingredient.
How to make Vegan TVP Meatballs
You can find the whole recipe below in the box, but I want to share with you the ingredients and basic steps first to give you an overview!
The ingredients
You will need:
- soy granule / TVP
- yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- bread crumbs
- spices: sweet paprika, smoked paprika, dried thyme, salt, soy sauce, liquid smoke – don’t worry if you’re missing an item or two, you can play around with the spices.
The basic steps
Looking for more recipes with TVP?
- TVP – What is it? How to use it? +10 Recipes!
- Vegan Bacon Bits (made with TVP)
- ‘Meaty’ Vegan Chili con TVP
- Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
Love it? Rate it!
I hope you enjoy these vegan TVP meatballs as much as I do! Let me know if you give them a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Vegan TVP Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup soy granule
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 cup parsley chopped
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- To rehydrate the soy granule, add it to a pan. Add water and spices (soy sauce, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, salt, liquid smoke, thyme). Give it a good mix. Cook it over medium to low heat until it has soaked up all the liquid. Then transfer it into a bowl. I am using very fine granule so it takes only a minute until it has soaked up the liquid, it may take a bit longer when your granule is bigger.
- In a pan with olive oil over medium to high heat, cook the chopped onion and minced garlic until translucent and slightly brown. Then add the chopped parsley. Give it a quick mix. Then add it to the bowl with the soy granule.
- To the soy granule and onion-garlic-parsley, add the breadcrumbs.
- Let it cool off a bit until it’s cold enough to handle. Then shape the meatballs. For equally sized meatballs, use an ice cream scoop.
- Add the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spray them with oil.
- Bake them at 400°F/200°C for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy outside.
- Done! Serve them with spaghetti, in meatball sandwiches, or whatever you have planned. Or store them in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze them.