ramyaramesh3007This vegan version of the popular IKEA meatballs with their signature creamy sauce, upgraded buttery mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce is a meal you should have during the holidays!
The first time I tried IKEA meatballs, I was in heaven and I haven’t stopped eating them ever since. Our trips to IKEA always end with a hearty meal of delicious meatballs, creamy gravy, mashed potatoes and their signature 50-cents soy ice cream. Once I turned vegan, I was fortunate enough to still be able to try their plant balls but the sauce and mashed potatoes were not.
Holiday season was the perfect opportunity for me to try making a vegan version of these meatballs. These taste just like the real deal and when paired with the vegan mushroom sauce, buttery mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce, it’s just so delicious on its own!
These are also made from entirely whole foods making this a nutritious meal option too. A little history lesson: these meatball dish are also known as ‘Koettbullar’ – Swedish meatballs doused in a fresh mushroom sauce.
These meatballs are also meal-prep friendly – simply freeze them ahead of time and bake / pan fry them when required. You can also store the sauce separately and combine them right before eating them. This ensures the meatballs don’t get soggy.
What You Need
- textured vegetable protein (TVP) – TVP is generally only made from one ingredient: defatted soy flour
- swiss brown mushrooms – you can also substitute this with shitake or white mushrooms
- gluten free oats – oats serve as a great binder and also has a neutral taste profile
- gluten free breadcrumbs – an additional ingredient to bind the mixture
- seasoning – light soy sauce, worchestershire sauce
- herbs – chives
The gravy is made with coconut cream and seasonings. Mashed potatoes are also an easy one to make with very minimal ingredients. This recipe can easily be adapted to be 100% gluten free with the right omissions too! Full recipe and details are below.
Vegan IKEA Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
Swedish Meatballs
- 1/2 white onion
- 1/2 cup textured vegetable protein
- 1.5 cups swiss brown mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
- 1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp chives
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce gf if required
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
Vegan Mushroom Sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 tbsp mushroom seasoning
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce gf if required
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce gf if required
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- salt if required
- 1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup water
Buttery Mashed Potatoes
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp plant milk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C. Microwave your potatoes for 4 minutes in 2-minute intervals.
- Chop onions and mushrooms and saute them in the pan until they are fully cooked.
- Add oats, cooked onions & mushrooms and all the other ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until you get a well-combined dough like mixture.
- Shape them into balls with your hand and grease your baking tray with some olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes.
- Alternatively, you can pan fry or deep fry them on all sides until browned on all sides.
- While baking, prepare your mashed potatoes. Slice potatoes into half and peel them. Mash them with a fork or potato masher and add all your ingredients – vegan butter, plant milk and spices.
- Then prepare your mushroom sauce. Add minced garlic to pan and saute for a few minutes. Add water, veg stock cube, mushroom seasoning and combine well.
- Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, dijon mustard, onion powder and corn starch slurry.
- Combine mixture until it thickens. Add coconut milk and mix well.
- Serve meatballs with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and season with chives.