This IKEA vegan Swedish meatballs copycat makes moist and tender cauliflower meatballs coated in a rich dairy-free cream sauce with coconut milk. Serve these plant-based meatballs over mashed potatoes or noodles for a cozy comfort food dinner.

Vegan Swedish meatballs in skillet with wooden spoon

If visits to IKEA have you feeling left out, this is how to make vegan Swedish meatballs at home that are just as classic and comforting! My vegan Swedish meatballs recipe makes juicy, flavour-packed cauliflower quinoa meatballs simmered in rich plant-based gravy. To make the sauce, you’ll make a roux with flour and vegan butter, then add in vegetable broth, coconut milk, and seasonings. It’s rich and creamy, without any dairy.

About This Vegan Swedish Meatballs Recipe

  • Juicy and tender. These meatballs are crispy outside, tender inside, and they hold their shape well.
  • The best dairy-free Swedish gravy. Simple ingredients, including flavour powerhouses like soy sauce, Dijon, and garlic powder, come together to make the best vegan version of this classic cream sauce I’ve ever tasted. It’s rich, silky, and coats the meatballs perfectly.
  • Versatile. Serve your vegan Swedish meatballs over pasta, with rice or farro, or as a meatball appetizer for the holidays.
  • Make them ahead. If you want to get a head start on this recipe, you can make the meatballs a day or two in advance, then warm them up in the sauce.

If you love meatballs as much as I do, be sure to save my vegan cranberry meatballs and classic vegan spaghetti and meatballs, too.

Vegan meatballs in a bowl with sauce and other ingredients around it

Notes on Ingredients

Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions, and the FULL recipe with amounts and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.

For the Meatballs

  • Roasted cauliflower – Roasting brings out the flavours. For extra depth of flavour, roast the garlic cloves in the same pan as I do for my vegan mashed cauliflower.
  • Cooked quinoa – Here’s how to cook quinoa.
  • Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer – You can also make a flax egg from flax meal and water.
  • Red onion – Or another mild onion, like white onion or shallot.
  • Garlic – Combined with sea salt and cracked black pepper to flavour the meatballs. Use freshly minced garlic, roasted garlic, or you can substitute 1 tablespoon of jarred garlic for each fresh clove.
  • Breadcrumbs – Use gluten-free breadcrumbs if needed.
  • Coconut oil – Or your preferred cooking oil for browning the meatballs.

Vegan Swedish Meatball Sauce

  • Vegan butter – Use store-bought or make your own vegan butter.
  • Flour – If needed, swap all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour.
  • Vegetable broth – Here’s how to make your own vegetable broth. You can also use store-bought low-sodium broth.
  • Coconut milk – Make sure you use canned coconut milk, not the refrigerated kind sold in big cartons!
  • Garlic powder – Feel free to use fresh, finely minced garlic here. One clove should replace 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
  • Light soy sauce – You can use liquid aminos here, too.
  • Dijon mustard – Or yellow mustard, though the flavour will be slightly stronger.
  • Parsley – Optional, for garnish.
Vegan Swedish meatballs in skillet with wooden spoon, garnished with parsley

How to Keep Vegan Meatballs From Falling Apart

If you find that your vegan cauliflower meatballs aren’t holding their shape, it’s likely because you haven’t blended the mixture smooth enough. Rice the cauliflower first, then blend it with the other ingredients until you have a smooth, cohesive dough. Here are some tips:

  • Blend thoroughly. You shouldn’t see bits of quinoa and cauliflower in the mixture. Pulse it in your food processor until it’s very well-combined. The finished mixture shouldn’t fall apart when you try to form the meatballs.
  • Beware of substitutes. If you decide to substitute any ingredients—like using store-bought riced cauliflower instead of making it yourself—be sure that you get any excess liquid out before adding it. Extra liquid will make vegan meatballs fall apart. 
  • Press and roll firmly. I like to squeeze each meatball together properly before adding them to the pan, like you would with regular meatballs. 
  • Roll the meatballs right before frying. This way, they’ll be tightly rolled right before they hit the hot pan to sear and seal their shape. Scoop a tablespoon of the vegan meatball mixture and form it into a ball with your hands. Then, place the meatball in the skillet and repeat with the remaining meatball mixture.

More Tips for Successful Swedish Meatballs

  • Adjusting the sauce. I like a thick sauce here, but if you want to thin it out a bit, add up to 1/2 cup of additional broth, adjusting the seasonings as needed.
  • Don’t skip the mustard! Even if you’re not a mustard fan, don’t worry—it doesn’t give the sauce a mustard-y flavour. Instead, it helps neutralise the flavour of the coconut milk. 
  • Add more soy sauce if needed. I started with 1 tablespoon, then ended up adding an extra 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce and I felt like it really enhanced the flavour. So start with 1 tablespoon, and add more if you think you need it. Also, if you don’t use light soy sauce or liquid aminos, note that the sauce will be saltier, so adjust accordingly!

Serving Suggestions

Add these vegan Swedish meatballs to a hoagie for a Swedish meatball sandwich, or serve them over cauliflower rice, quinoa, or other grain. I also love them ladled over mashed potatoes or pasta. And they’re a favourite party appetizer served on toothpicks!

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing

  • Make ahead. Prepare, roll, and cook your meatballs 1-2 days in advance. When it’s time to serve, prepare the sauce and add the meatballs. Done!
  • Refrigerate leftovers. If you have leftover vegan Swedish meatballs, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Note that the meatballs will soften as they sit in the sauce, so the texture of the dish will change.
  • Reheat. Reheat the meatballs in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat, or in the microwave.
  • Freeze. You can freeze this recipe for up to 2 months in an airtight storage container. I recommend letting it thaw in the refrigerator and then reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan Swedish meatballs recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!

More Vegan Comfort Food Recipes

Save This Recipe Form

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email below & I’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!

Vegan Swedish meatballs in skillet with wooden spoon, garnished with parsley

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

Servings: 18 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
These plant-based Swedish meatballs have everything you love about the comfort food classic, minus the meat and dairy!
4.93 (from 13 ratings)
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review

Ingredients

Vegan Meatballs Base

  • 8 ounces roasted cauliflower (instructions below), (1 cup)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa, (137g)
  • 2 Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacers OR flax eggs, if flax eggs, less one tablespoon of liquid per flax egg
  • ½ cup red onion, finely diced, (114g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs, gluten free if needed
  • 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil

Swedish Meatballs Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 13.4 ounce can of coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce or liquid aminos*
  • 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • salt to taste, depending on your vegetable broth

Instructions 

Sauce

  • I would make the sauce after the meatballs are finished cooking. In a pan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter. Add the flour to pan, and whisk vigorously with a whisk until the flour is fully incorporated with the butter with no lumps, forming a roux. Let it cook for about 2 minutes to remove any flour taste.
  • Slowly mix in the vegetable broth, whisking at the same time, until a smooth sauce is formed. Add in the can of coconut milk, whisking at the same time too until fully incorporated.
  • Add in the garlic powder, soy sauce, mustard, black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Mix, taste, and add salt to test.
  • Remove the sauce from the heat and add in the meatballs, slowly turning to coat the meatballs. Add the last of the parsley to garnish and serve and enjoy!

Vegan Meatballs Base

  • Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C. Cut the cauliflower’s stem off, and cut into even-sized florets. Drizzle the cauliflower with maybe a teaspoon of oil. Roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes in the oven. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.
  • In a food processor, add the cauliflower and pulse it until it’s completely riced. Remove from the food processor. You only need 1 cup of this for this recipe and 8 ounces should make about 1 cup.
  • Add the 1 cup of riced cauliflower and all the other meatball ingredients EXCEPT the coconut oil. You can pulse them or mix them together until they form into a tight ball, combining everything. You want to ensure they are so mixed together that you’re not seeing individual cauliflower or quinoa florets, it’s all one big mixture. That’s how you’ll ensure the meatballs will hold together!
  • Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium high heat. While it’s heating, use a tablespoon measurer to form one raw meatball and shape into a ball with your fingers. You can place them on a plate while the oil heats.
  • Add one meatball to test the oil. Cook on one side for about 1-2 minutes, turning on all sides onto fully cooked inside and out, about 4 minutes. You can add as many meatballs as can fit in the pan without overcrowding it, cooking them all for about 4-5 minutes turning on each side, to cook them through.
  • Lower/turn the heat off. Prep the sauce either in this cooled down pan, or in a separate pan then add the meatballs to it as in the sauce directions. You can enjoy these vegan meatballs alone, in a nice hoagie or with cauliflower rice or quinoa on the side, you know, for a double down. You could even have them on toothpicks as an appetiser at your parties! Enjoy!

Notes

*I started with 1 tablespoon then ended up adding in an extra 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce and I felt like it really enhanced the flavour. So start with 1 tablespoon, and add more if you think you need it. Also, if you don’t use light soy sauce or liquid aminos, please note that it WILL be saltier, so adjust accordingly!
How to store: If you have leftover vegan Swedish meatballs, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Note that the meatballs will soften as they sit in the sauce, so the texture of the dish will change. Reheat the meatballs in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat, or in the microwave.
How to freeze: You can freeze this recipe for up to 2 months in an airtight storage container. I recommend letting it thaw in the refrigerator and then reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Calories: 126kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Sodium: 426mg, Potassium: 144mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 201IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.

Cuisine: Swedish
Course: Dinner
Author: Jessica Hylton