Author: Are you ready to try the meatiest vegan meatballs you've ever come across? Juicy, tender, flavourful, perfect for enjoying as an appetizer with a dipping sauce and even better for topping pasta. These vegan Italian seitan meatballs have quickly become a go-to recipe in my house!
Not only are these super easy to prepare (just 10 minutes prep time), but once they are steamed they can be stored in the fridge for 5 days or they can even be frozen for another time. Perfect for making ahead of time or for meal prep.
The secret to getting the meatiest texture is to use vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten is a flour made from the protein in wheat, and it's what gives bread its bouncy stretchy texture, and what makes pizza dough so awesome. Using it in combination with lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, and various spices makes these seitan meatballs so meaty and flavourful it's pretty astounding.
For those of you who love counting macros, one serving (5 meatballs) contains a whopping 39 grams of protein!! Or 8 grams of protein per meatball.
Unfortunately, vital wheat gluten is a very special ingredient and there is no substitution for it. So if you are gluten-free this isn't the recipe for you. You could try my beanball recipe found in my cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan which has a gluten-free option.
To make vegan Italian Seitan Meatballs:
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts to a food processor and pulse until you reach a paste-like texture.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse, stopping to scrape the sides as needed until combined into a crumbly dough.
Pinch off some of the dough and roll into a vegan meatball about the size of a golf ball and set aside on a plate or dish. Repeat until all the dough is used up and you have made about 20 meatballs.
Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the meatballs to the steamer basket, cover and steam for 25 minutes, gently turning the meatballs halfway through. The meatballs will expand a bit when they steam.
Once the steaming is done, you can either prepare them right away (see below), or allow them to cool completely and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for later.
Steaming the seitan is what gives it the perfect texture. Once they are steamed you can basically treat them as if they were raw meatballs and pan-fry them before serving.
To do this add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the meatballs and fry a couple of minutes per side, turning as needed until they are golden all over and heated through.
Serve with dipping sauce, add to a tomato sauce, top on pasta, or enjoy them any way you please.
I love making pasta with tomato sauce from my cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan, adding the seitan meatballs on top, and garnishing with Parmegan. And I've also served them as a little appetizer with a few sauces for dipping. Let's just say that anyway I prepare these vegan Italian seitan meatballs, they have disappeared immediately.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Italian Seitan Meatballs
Servings: (makes about 20 meatballs)
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, (the kind in oil)
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 ¼ cup vital wheat gluten, (there is no substitution for this)
- 1 cup cooked lentils, (I used canned)
- 6 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
To prepare the vegan meatballs:
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts to a food processor and pulse until you reach a paste-like texture. Add all the remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse, stopping to scrape the sides as needed until combined into a crumbly dough.
- Pinch off some of the dough and roll into a vegan meatball about the size of a golf ball and set aside on a plate or dish. Repeat until all the dough is used up and you have made about 20 meatballs.
- Fill a large pot with several inches of water and place a steamer basket inside. Bring the water to a boil, then add the meatballs to the steamer basket. Cover and steam for 25 minutes, gently turning the meatballs halfway through, or until their internal temperature reaches at least 160°F (71°C) when tested with an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature goes higher, that's perfectly fine—you can't really oversteam seitan.The meatballs will expand a bit when they steam. Once the steaming is done, you can either prepare them right away (see below), or allow them to cool completely and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for later.
To serve:
- Steaming the seitan is what gives it the perfect texture. Once they are steamed you can basically treat them as if they were raw meatballs and pan-fry them before serving.To do this add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the meatballs and fry a couple of minutes per side, turning as needed until they are golden all over and heated through. Serve with dipping sauce, add to a tomato sauce, or enjoy them any way you please. * Learn my secret tricks to making perfect seitan in my free masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
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More Vegan Recipes You Might Enjoy:
ilaria says
Hallo, I made these meatballs today. The texture is really good but next time I will use more seasonig, they came out a bit to bland for my taste :).
Deb Zak says
I agree Ilaria. Texture was good but needed way more seasoning. IF you figure it out, please post and let me know.
JD says
These are so tasty and easy to make! The flavor is so good! I don’t know why I haven’t tried them before now. I should have made mine a tad smaller as I didn’t quite get 20. I panfried until brown and then broke them in half and simmered in some sauce before adding to pasta.
I also added everything to the food processor except the gluten and then mixed the gluten by hand in a separate bowl to save myself from cleaning The stickiness out of the processor. Worked great!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved them so much JD 🙂
Jesse says
I saw your comment so I decided to do the same thing! Plus I didn’t want to bust out our large food processor so I used my mini one for the tomato nut lentil mixture and them put that in a mixing bowl with the wheat gluten. Easy clean up! Thank you
Antoinette says
Can't eat legumes. What would be a good IBS safe sub for the lentils?\
Thank you
cazzie says
These are amazing and so easy to make and the taste is better than any store bought vegan meatballs. I have had a few disasters trying to make setian but your recipes have encouraged me to keep trying I have made the steak and the chicken tenders and both turned out fantastic I now have a freezer full of setian success story's. Thank you for your fantastic recipes and keep them coming.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's amazing. Thrilled you love my seitan recipes cazzie 🙂
Trish Aussem says
Hi Sam,
I just got my first bag of vital wheat gluten and decided to try these meatballs. I followed your directions except for three things. I only had packaged sun dried tomatoes with no oil so I added a little water to the walnut tomato mixture. I added only one tablespoon of soy sauce because my lentils had added salt. Third I cooked them in the instant pot for 20 minutes. When done they looked like perfect little meatballs. I tasted one. The flavor was really good but they were extremely dry. My guess is they got over cooked in the instant pot. I served them with pasta sauce but they were still dry. I would like to try them again. Any thoughts on how to keep them from being so dry.
Thanks,
Trish
Giovanna says
Glad t know it comes out ok in the instant pot, Did you use the sauté setting? Maybe add a few tablespoons of your favorite oil. I used chipotle peppers instead of the sun dried tomatoes also added fresh basil onions and oregano. Indeed delicious!
Mandy says
I also made these in the Instant Pot after reading your comment about them being dry I made a couple modifications. I think the oil with the sun dried tomatoes helps keep them moist so maybe add a tablespoon of oil next time (I used olive oil). I also reduced the amount of vital wheat gluten to 1 cup. I then put a 2 cups of water and a lightly oiled steamer basket in the Instant Pot. I then placed the meatballs on the steamer basket, and cooked at High Pressure for 20 mins, quick release. They seemed a bit "soft" right off the bat but after browning them in a pan and simmering in tomato sauce they were perfect.
Mike says
I made these last night. I did some substitutions (subbed sunflower seeds for walnuts due to tree allergies, I added a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base to the 6 T of water, and I used NO soy sauce - the BTB is salty enough). The flavor was OUTSTANDING.
I had to add additional oil (about 3T olive oil) to the tomato/seeds "paste" and even so they were still super dry after steaming. I think next time I'll add more oil from the tomato jar since it's so flavorful. Not sure why they're so dry, but they do TASTE amazing.
Will definitely be making these again.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Mike!
AJ Gest says
Sam, you scored again! I made these for dinner tonight and they came out fantastic. Can't wait to have family over for a spaghetti dinner, with garlic bread and the trimmings! The flavor was spot on and the tooth stood up great. Your site has become my go to site for great Seitan dishes. Thank you for sharing your experience and these unbelievably good recipes. AJ
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! So happy you enjoyed, AJ!
Claudia says
These were sooo good - the texture and flavor was wonderful! I'm going to try more flavor variations in the future. I also happened onto a pretty easy cleanup for the sticky food processor. I do a 'first' cleaning/rinshing with COLD water, a little dish soap and just use my fingers to get all the spicy stuff to wash into the sink disposal. The cold water seems to coagulate the gluten mixture residue, making it easy to rinse off. Then I do a second full wash with hot water and soap for a full cleanup. Hope that helps anyone!
Claudia says
Make that "rinsing" and "sticky" stuff! Sorry for the typos
New Vegan says
I have never made anything with vital wheat gluten before. The consistency of my meatballs came out very doughy and stretchy. Is that supposed to happen? The texture is all one consistency and not very grainy like a meatball. The flavor seems right thought. I don’t know if it made a difference, but I added the lentils while they were still hot to the mixture.
New Vegan says
I really love your recipe’s! Your chili was amazing! Would love some feedback from anyone on the seitan meatball. It came out very doughey and stretchy. I did a little more research and I may have over processed it or it could of been that I needed to cool down my lentils. I want to try this recipe again, because the flavor was amazing, but maybe seitan is supposed to be gooey like play dough, in that case...probably not something I can eat.
Ema says
Hmmmm... the texture came out perfectly for me. They were grainy enough to feel meaty, not gooey, but still held together well. Did you follow the instructions carefully? The only thing I can think of is if you used hot water; that might make the gluten go super gluey. I would definitely recommend trying them again though. They were delicious!
Giovanna says
I think the lentils should have been cooled, since the balls are supposed to be steamed to set. ‘The hot lentils may have made the dough set to soon making it more elastic.
Emabean says
These were so delicious! I've been wanting to try making vegan meatballs forever, and I decided today was the day. I've enjoyed so many of your dishes that I thought I'd see if you had a meatball recipe... and you do!! I was worried they'd be dense since they didn't expand a lot when steaming, but they were just perfect. They hold together well and the flavour is amazing! They were wonderful simmered in homemade tomato sauce and served over spaghetti!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! So thrilled you gave them a try and love them, Emabean 🙂
Emabean says
I just wanted to check back in and say that I made these as sausages. I wrapped them in foil and steamed them, then browned them in a little oil and served them with scrambled tofu and toast. Everyone loved them that way too!
Valerie says
These were so good and easy to make. Only change was I used half an onion as I didn't have onion powder. The whole family loved them. My son asked if they could be made like burger patties and I don't see why not so will make those next time with the same recipe. Thank you so much.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!!
MJ says
Made these today and as with all your recipes - easy and delicious! I had to freeze a few to stop me from eating the entire batch. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing!!
Angela Losfeld says
Hello,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your recipes. So far, I've made the seitan steaks and chicken tenders, which both turned out really good. In your recipe for meatballs, do you measure the walnuts whole or ground? Thanks in advance
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you love them. I measure them whole 🙂
Linda says
This recipe sounds wonderful! I don't have any lentils, dry or canned. Can I substitute with another bean? Red beans, white beans? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
You can use other beans but you might want to mash them first so they blend well. ENjoy!
Margie says
Easy recipe. Great texture!!! I made 25 and they were quite large. Next time I would add a bit of salt. I only had frozen dehydrated tomatoes so I added about 1 T of olive oil. Steaming seitan is the ONLY way to go. Not sure if you rinsed and drained your lentils. I did NOT and it all came out fine.
Sam Turnbull says
WOnderful Margie! Yes, I agree, steaming is the only way. 🙂
Jane says
So many comments by people pleased with this recipe. I’m a new vegetarian, missing my spaghetti and meatballs. Can’t wait to try this but....
I don’t see seitan listed in the ingredients list. Am I missing something?
Thanks
Jane says
Never mind. I was confusing seitan with tempeh.
Can’t wait to try your recipe now that it makes more sense to me
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jane, this recipe is to make your own seitan. When you make a meat like food using vital wheat gluten, that is called seitan. So in this recipe you are making your own homemade seitan meatballs 🙂
Jane says
Rookie mistake. I’m off to buy some vital gluten! Thanks.
Laureen says
I love your cookbook -- several of the recipes favourites and in regular rotation. I've become concerned about eating too many products with textured soy protein and wanted to make my own meatballs rather than relying on the products in the grocery store. I have a cookbook dedicated to seitan, but the the thought of wrapping each meatball in foil just didn't appeal. And then I saw this recipe. My flexitarian husband loves them and I think they're superior to the products I've had before. They were also easy to make! I made a batch last week for company and they were a big hit. I made another batch yesterday for freezing. Thank you so much! If you've got another cookbook in the works I think this should definitely be included.
Sam Turnbull says
So very happy you love them so much, Laureen!!
Faye Hicks says
OMG - what sorcery is this? I could not believe how AMAZING these meatballs were! We're already huge fans of your other seitan recipes, but these meatballs are in a league of their own. Truly epic! Thanks so much!
After steaming and pan-frying, I popped them into the slow cooker with my sister-in-law's yummy meatball sauce (1/2 c vinegar, 1 c brown sugar, 1 tsp soy sauce, 3/4 c ketchup). Left them simmering on the low setting for a couple of hours and the final product was oh, oh oh, soooo incredibly delicious! Could not stop eating them!
Can't wait to try them in stew next, then spaghetti! Will have to make a new batch first though! 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's wonderful, Faye! So thrilled you enjoyed them so much 🙂
Kata says
Hi Sam,
Love the seitan balls 🙂 I pan-fried some straight after steaming (very good!) and have frozen some. Do you think the frozen ones should be fully defrosted before pan-frying?
Thanks,
Kata
Sam Turnbull says
Yes I would defrost them first. Glad you enjoyed!
Hope says
These were so good! I made them tonight with a Swedish meatball sauce and mashed potatoes. Your seitan recipes truly cannot be beat! The sausages and steak are some of our favorite things so make. I always use my instant pot for the steaming part. Thanks so much for sharing your amazing recipes with us!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thank you so much, Hope! So thrilled you love all my seitan recipes so much 🙂
Jeri says
Made the meatballs tonight, and they were awesome! Followed the recipe exactly as written and then steamed and pan fried them. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
ou're most welcome, Jeri! Thrilled you enjoyed it!