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.
Vegan Italian Seitan Meatballs
Ingredients
- â…“ 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.
- 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.
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Emily says
Made these twice now, and they are fantastic!
My tips: Process the walnuts first, then add other ingredients. Also, I didn't have sundried tomatoes, so I just subbed tomato paste and a bit of olive oil.
The taste and texture on these is great. My husband and I both love them. Thanks for the
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Great tips, thanks Emily!
CeaCea says
I'm leaving this review 4 those who want 2 share this recipe w/ non-vegan folks as I was using the recipe 2 share w/ a family member who is NOT supposed 2 b eating red meat... Before u share with a meat eater, I'd highly recommend upping the amount of spices u use. I made the mistake of offering as is and he said "I just don't think the faux meat is 4 me, it's just bland". I knew what he meant as it didnt taste bad but it wasn't full of flavour as the prepared meatballs he usually has really is.
I love IDTLC's recipes on the whole & this site tends 2 b my fav 4 ease of making with usual staple pantry ingredients & often ingenuity and taste. I was VERY impressed w the texture of these neatballs (I've made MANY vegan recipes over the years) but being seitain, IMHO and experience, the spices REALLY need 2 b ramped up in order 2 (1) mask that odd seitan taste and (2) make it flavorful. It hit mark (1) but not (2). TIP- spices added if using a boil-in-water method OR adding veg broth vs water if recipe calls 4 it when making seitan REALLY does make a huge taste difference in the end result.
These neatballs held up in the crockpot BEAUTIFULLY. So I'm not sure if the key is 2 season the pasta sauce too.... or ramp up the spices in seitan AND do that... so I'll keep at it until I make it so that any meat-eater wouldn't bat an eye about eating them and will b asking 4 more!
BEAUTIFUL Texture, thank u 4 sharing as this will b GAME CHANGER 4 so many with some tweaks 4 personal taste with spices!!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing your experience and tips, CeaCea!
Ann M says
Holy cow, Sam! THESE. ARE. AMAZING! I made a small meatball as my test to try when they were done steaming, and I was totally blown away! The level of spice is perfect, and I can’t imagine how wonderful these will be with pasta and sauce… if they last that long. It’s all I can do to not eat them all right out of the steamer trays!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We're thrilled you enjoyed them so much!
Robbie says
Could I simmer them directly in the tomato sauce instead of steaming them first?
Sam Turnbull says
No, to get the correct texture seitan has to be steamed fully before frying or simmering. Enjoy!
Krinio says
I just now saw that my comment didn't have the 5 stars it should have added!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thank you! I appreciate it 🙂
Christiane says
Wow, these meatballs are fantastic! Even better after one night in the fridge, which is very convenient because I can prepare them in advance to serve them at a party (one less thing to do that day). Thanks for sharing! (By the way, I used roasted peppers + 1/2 Tbsp of oil instead of sun dried tomatoes, like Krinio suggested, because I did not have sun dried tomatoes)
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed Christiane!
TvS says
Made these a few times, they taste great! However, they've turned out quite soft every time, to the point of almost falling apart in a sauce. Any ideas on how to get them more firm?
Sam Turnbull says
Try blending up the sun dried tomatoes and walnut mixture even more to a sauce consistency. Then mix the seitan balls a little longer. Shape tightly, steam, and then cool overnight in the fridge before pan frying. Each one of those tips will make them more firm so you can try all of them or whichever ones you like. Enjoy!
Krinio says
Excellent recipe! I steamed them in my instant pot, about 25-30 minutes. Let them rest in the fridge overnight and baked them in the oven, at 200 celsius until crispy.
I had to sub red peppers from a jar for the sundried tomatoes as I hadn't any, so I added tomato powder, salt and oil to kinda make up for it.
I also added marmite and mushroom powder to give some beefiness.
We loved them.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved them Krinio!
Wayne Blizzard says
Krinio, did you add the Marmite to the mix prior to steaming? Thank you!
Krinio says
Yes, the steaming doesn’t add anything in terms of taste (unlike methods where you simmer seitan in a broth) so you need to make sure they are to your liking flavor wise. I added marmite and mushroom powder to the mixture.
Jeff says
Just made these, came out great! I also added a tsp of tomato paste ( I can't get enough tomatoes). I also steamed them in my Ninja Foodi using the steam setting for 25 min. Don't know if that's equivalent to the steaming method used in the recipe, but it seemed to work They firmed up, and the center was moist after browning in a pan. Is it okay to eat seitan "medium" if they weren't steamed enough?
Jeff says
Edit--I realized I ran out of steaming water much earlier before cooking time was over. Made these a second time (after eating all of the first batch!) and made sure there was plenty of water for steaming in the Ninja and 25 minutes worked perfectly in it. So thanks again for the awesome recipe!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jeff, if seitan is undercooked it will be very gooey and stretchy (not appetizing), so as long as your seitan is meat like, and not gooey, it is safe to eat and delicious!
Bob says
Just made this but it's in the fridge waiting for a steamer tray. Smells great. I never used the gluten before. I mixed the nuts beans and tomatoes separately as was tip for another fan and mixed flour by hand. I also used 1tbsp of marmite as a tip from another- sauce stache started it and it works! Fresh garlic onion parsley and oregano and 2 leftover mushrooms. Thank you for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You're welcome 🙂
Barbara says
I made these for my non-vegan husband. He said that if I made the outside of the meatballs crispier (probably deep fry before adding the sauce), it would taste like a fancy meat dish from an expensive restaurant. Thank you for the recipe, it is going to be a regular in this household 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! You could also coat them in cornstarch and panfry and that should get the outside more crispy 🙂
Jenna Wingate says
This is such a great recipe. I've been making huge batches and freezing them and then taking out a few to steam in the instant pot in prep for dinner. Makes really great burger patties, too. I've tried a lot of seitan recipes and especially appreciate the simpler ones that I can throw together with a cutting board, a stick blender, and some quick kneading.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love them Jenna!
E says
Wow!!! This is a fantastic recipe. I live with my folks and they can be very skeptical of my veggie "meats" but even my carnivorous dad went back for seconds. Love it.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!! Thanks for the review E 🙂
Rob says
This is one of my favorite recipes. I have made two alterations, for your consideration. First, I use kidney beans instead of lentils This makes the "meat" look more like beef. Second, I add a tablespoon of Marmite. I learned this trick from another vegan website. It somehow makes the meatballs taste a little more beefy and adds complexity to the flavor
Thanks for a great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Rob! I like the marmite tip, I will give it a try. 🙂
Terri says
These are fantastic. We don't like walnuts so I subbed in cashews and used Italian seasoning instead of basil. We are not using oil so I used the dry packed tomatoes boiled for about 5 minutes and used the water from the tomatoes for the 6 Tbs of water. After steaming them, I baked them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. The outside got a little crunchy and the inside stayed moist. They were so good that my non-vegan spouse asked if I would make another batch tonight to have for lunches this week.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha amazing! Thrilled you enjoyed them so much, Terri 🙂
Vicky says
Lovely meatballs! I've struggled to find a recipe that didn't just result in mushy meatballs so this one is fab, I added oregano and fennel as I'm a fan of basil and they turned out really well. Definitely saving this recipe 🙂
Laurie says
I made these yesterday and doubled the recipe. After tasting the dough, I added fennel seed to half the batch so I could compare. After steaming, the texture of both was fabulous, but I think the fennel seed adds something special. Thanks for a great recipe!
Laura says
I’ve tried a lot of meatball recipes, this one is the best!
Delicious! I didn’t have the sun dried tomatoes so I substituted a generous teaspoon of tomato paste & fresh garlic. The texture, taste was perfect. Thank you
Nikki says
Thank you for the substitute idea of using tomato paste... I'm going to sub sundried tomatoes with paste.
I can't find them in my area.
Thank You
Brooke Salas says
SAM! Oh my freaking word. Ok, so while I always love your recipes and use them almost daily, I rarely comment on things. But these meatballs - BEST mock meat EVER! I am beyond obsessed and literally did a happy dance when I tasted them. I made them with spaghetti and meatballs and my dad (who is vegan skeptical and not a fan of spaghetti) said that they are "restaurant yummy" and wants me to make more for him asap! Girl, this recipe is amazing and instantly shot up to the top of our faves!! Meatballs were something I really missed but never thought much about when I went vegan 4 years ago. But I can honestly say these are better than any meat version I ever ate before! So yummy!
Jesse says
I made these two nights ago and put them in the fridge and and ate them yesterday. I’m not vegan but I try to eat a vegan meal sometimes so I had vegan spaghetti and these not meatballs. It was amazing! I loved the texture and they weren’t too firm and somewhat crumbly. My mom tried one and said they tasted a little like wheat but she liked them and did say they were good! I couldn’t taste any wheat. Easy to make too. The meal was super filling and the macros are great! I used 1 tb nutritional yeast and 1 tb soy sauce because I’m gonna eat them with different sauces so I would rather the balls themselves be undersalted. Can’t wait to try your other recipes!