Vegan Meatballs (Sweet & Sticky)

Reasons to Love This Vegan Meatballs Recipe

• Sweet and sticky. I slather these easy meatballs with a thick and syrupy homemade teriyaki sauce. You can repurpose leftover sauce for more dinners, too, like crispy teriyaki tofu.
• The perfect texture. Firm enough to stick a fork in and not fall apart, but still moist on the inside.
• Freezer-friendly. Just freeze without the sauce!
• Meal prep friendly. Make like 40 of these juicy meatless meatballs and add them to everything in life.
  

Notes on the Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

• Roasted cauliflower — I love roasted cauliflower, and it’s the perfect base for these veggie meatballs. Roast it before ricing it for such a lovely depth of flavour!
• Quinoa — My favorite ancient grain! I love the texture quinoa adds to these vegan meatballs
• Egg substitute — Where there’s meatballs, you need a binder — but how can you make meatballs without eggs? You can use egg replacers ( I prefer Bob’s Red Mill) or make a flax egg!
• Red onion — I love the slightly sharp bite of red onion. You can use white or yellow onions in a pinch.
• Garlic — Everything is better with garlic, and these Asian-inspired meatballs are no exception. Can you ever use too much?
• Breadcrumbs — Every meatball needs some breadcrumbs! This helps hold everything together without being too dense.
• Coconut oil — You need to brown the “meatballs” before adding the yummy sauce, and I always cook mine in coconut oil for the best char.

For the Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy sauce — I usually use a light soy sauce or liquid aminos as the base of this sticky-sweet sauce. Choose your fav!
• Sugar — You can use raw brown sugar or coconut sugar for this teriyaki sauce. You just need a little sweetness to balance the sauce.
• Sesame seeds — I love the extra nutty crunch of sesame seeds!
• Cornstarch — To make this luscious sauce stick to the meatballs, I recommend a little cornstarch.
• Rice wine vinegar — If your teriyaki sauce is missing a little tang, this is what you need.

How to Make Vegan Meatballs

This is a quick overview of the steps to make the best vegan meatballs slathered with rich, sticky teriyaki sauce. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable instructions.

• First, make the vegan teriyaki sauce. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, water, ground ginger, sesame seeds, and rice wine vinegar. Simmer it all for 5 minutes, and then set the sauce aside until the end.

• Prepare the cauliflower base. Next, chop up the cauliflower. Roast it in a little oil at 450ºF for 15-20 minutes, until it’s beautifully golden brown. Pulse the roasted cauliflower in your food processor for a few minutes until it’s completely riced.

• Add the remaining ingredients. Now, mix your riced roasted cauliflower with the cooked quinoa, egg replacement, red onion, black pepper, salt, garlic, and breadcrumbs. Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. This helps the meatballs stay together.

• Shape the meatballs. To make the meatballs, use a tablespoon or scoop to make evenly sized meatballs, then roll them with your hands.
• Brown the meatballs. Cook for a few minutes on all sides, but be sure not to overcrowd the pan! This will lead to steamed veggie meatballs without that golden char.
• Add the teriyaki sauce. When all the meatballs are cooked, put them back in the warm pan (not over the heat) and add the sauce. Mix until everything is coated and delicious!

Feeling Extra? Add Pineapple!

I love boosting the sweet-savory contrast in the teriyaki sauce with fresh, overripe pineapple. Add diced or drained, canned pineapple when you combine the sauce ingredients, and let it simmer and cook down with the sauce. Another delicious option is to serve these saucy meatballs over pineapple fried rice!

Recipe Tips and FAQs

• Mix, mix, mix. If your meatballs aren’t staying together, keep mixing! An even distribution of the roasted cauliflower rice, quinoa, and other ingredients will help hold everything in place when you sauté them.
• Don’t crowd the pan. If you add too many meatballs to the sauté pan at once, they’ll still cook, but you won’t get that golden char on the outside. Be sure to leave a little room around each meatball, and sauté them in batches if you need to. You can tent the cooked veggie meatballs with foil to keep them warm.
• Turn off the heat. When you add the sauce, make sure the heat is off and the pan is slightly cooled. Otherwise, the sauce could splatter and/or thicken way too much.

Try These Serving Ideas

There’s nothing better than having teriyaki veggie meatballs pre-made and sitting in your fridge, waiting for you to add them to your favorite vegan meals.

• As an appetizer, with homemade inari sushi and avocado sushi.
• Serve these on top of pasta or sesame noodles.
• With white rice, fried rice, or quinoa.
• Squished down into a hoagie or tucked into dinner rolls for sliders.
• Rolled into pita or lettuce wraps. I think you get the picture!

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

• Refrigerate. Store any leftover vegan teriyaki meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Freeze. You can freeze the cooked or uncooked vegan meatballs for up to 2 months. To freeze the uncooked meatballs, I recommend flash-freezing the meatballs on a baking sheet, then transferring them to a freezer-safe container or bag. For cooked, sauced meatballs, freeze them airtight in the sauce once they’re completely cooled.
• Reheat. Cook any unbaked meatballs right from frozen. To warm up leftovers, reheat the teriyaki meatballs in a saucepan on the stove, in the oven, or using the microwave or air fryer until they’re warmed through.

More Vegan Meatballs Recipes

• Vegan Swedish Meatballs
• Buffalo Quinoa Cauliflower Vegan Meatballs
• Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Vegan Cranberry Meatballs