Best Plant-Based Sweet & Sour Meatballs! (Better Than Takeout!)

plant-based meat

🥗Healthier: mushrooms

💰Cheaper: lentils

Mushrooms add umami while lentils are budget-friendly.

soy sauce

🥗Healthier: tamari

💰Cheaper: coconut aminos

Tamari is gluten-free, coconut aminos offer a sweeter alternative.

brown sugar

🥗Healthier: maple syrup

💰Cheaper: white sugar

Maple syrup provides natural sweetness, while white sugar is cost-effective.

ketchup

🥗Healthier: homemade tomato sauce

💰Cheaper: store-brand ketchup

Homemade sauce is fresher, while store-brand is budget-friendly.

Cook chopped onion and sliced mushrooms together until moisture is released and onions are translucent, no oil needed.

Add minced garlic for the last couple of minutes of cooking to prevent burning.

Transfer the onion and mushroom mixture to a food processor.

Add drained kidney beans, thawed and squeezed tofu, rolled oats, walnuts, flax meal mixed with water, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and thyme to the food processor.

Pulse the mixture until it is chunky but well combined.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Form the mixture into small meatballs, about the size of a golf ball, yielding approximately 22 meatballs.

Bake meatballs for 20 minutes, flip, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

In a small pan, combine tomato paste, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, onion powder, dates, dark miso paste, arrowroot powder, red pepper flakes, cracked pepper, and water.

Heat the sauce mixture to thicken.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens