Vegan Swedish meatballs - these meaty IKEA style vegan seitan meatballs in a creamy mustard sauce are the ultimate in comfort food dinners!

Serve them with mashed potatoes or pasta for a hearty, filling, comforting meal that it sure to please everybody!

Vegan Swedish meatballs in a creamy mustard sauce in a white saucepan with a bowl of mustard and a bowl of chopped parsley.

These vegan Swedish meatballs are high in plant-based protein, meaty in texture, full of flavour and extremely satisfying!

Served with a creamy mustard sauce and mashed potato or pasta they are the ultimate comfort food meal!

The meatballs are seitan based, which is what gives them their meaty texture. But I also add finely chopped walnuts, chickpeas and mushrooms which not only add even more protein and flavour, but also help to create a texture closer to that of classic mince based meatballs.

What Are Swedish Meatballs?:

Swedish meatballs, or köttbullar, are a popular dish that many people have heard of through IKEA. Some people go to IKEA just to eat the meatballs. (Proper ones are far better than the IKEA version however!).

Swedish meatballs are different to other meatballs in that they are usually smaller in size, seasoned with allspice, nutmeg and white pepper and are served with a creamy gravy, mashed potato and lingonberry sauce.

They are made with a base of beef and pork mince, so to recreate that meaty texture in this vegan version I used seitan, aka vital wheat gluten.

What Is Seitan?:

Seitan is made using vital wheat gluten, which is the main protein found in wheat.

It is what gives bread it's bouncy, chewy texture, though seitan has very little in common with bread. When cooked it has a chewy, meaty texture and it is high in protein, which makes it a great meat substitute for vegans.

In fact, wheat gluten has been eaten as an alternative to meat for centuries in China, it is not a new thing!

Wheat gluten used in combination with chickpeas, walnuts and mushrooms gives these vegan Swedish meatballs a meaty flavour and texture that is incredibly close to the real thing!

Vegan Swedish meatballs on top of mashed potato on a white plate, one with a bite taken out of it.

What Do I Need To Make Vegan Swedish Meatballs?:

For The Meatballs:

Vital wheat gluten: This ingredient is essential for making these meatballs and it cannot be substituted for anything else.

Walnuts: Adding coarsely ground walnuts gives the meatballs a better texture, adds flavour and ups the protein content. You can swap them for any other type of nut or seed if needed.

Chickpeas: As with the walnuts, adding very finely chopped (but not pureed!) chickpeas adds flavour, texture and protein. I recommend not swapping for another type of bean if possible, as chickpeas have a firmer texture. If you really must swap them out then I would try puy lentils instead.

Mushrooms: cooked and finely chopped mushrooms add umami flavour and also help with the texture.

Onion and garlic: pretty essential for flavour.

Soy sauce, nutritional yeast, tomato puree and vegetable bouillon powder: These all add savoury, umami flavour. You can use a crumbled vegetable stock cube instead of the bouillon powder if needed.

Allspice, nutmeg, white pepper and black pepper: These are the seasonings that make these 'Swedish' meatballs as opposed to just regular ones.

Fresh parsley: This is not essential but it does add to the flavour. You could add a dash of dried herbs instead if you don't have any fresh.

For The Sauce:

Vegan butter: Either block or tub butter will work here (I use Flora original). You could use olive oil instead but butter will give the best flavour.

Flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour. I imagine that it would work ok using a gluten-free flour blend.

Vegetable stock: I use Marigold vegetable bouillon but any stock that you like the flavour of will work.

Cream: I generally use Alpro single soy cream, but have also successfully made the sauce using Elmlea Plant Cream and my homemade cashew cream (thinned to double cream consistency). I wouldn't use coconut cream, I don't think that the flavour would be right here.

Soy sauce: This gives the sauce lots of flavour.

Mustard: You can use either wholegrain or dijon mustard. I prefer wholegrain, but both are good.

Vegan Swedish meatballs in a white pan with a spoon.

How To Make Vegan Swedish Meatballs:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

To make the meatballs, fry chopped onion, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until they are soft and the excess liquid has evaporated.

Step 1 - frying the onion, mushrooms and garlic.

Meanwhile, blitz the walnuts in a food processor until they are ground to a fine rubble. Don't go too far, you don't want to make flour or nut butter.

Tip the ground walnuts into a large bowl and add the drained chickpeas to the food processor. Blend until they are very finely chopped but again don't go too far, you don't want to end up with hummus.

Add the chickpeas to the bowl with the walnuts and transfer the mushroom onion mixture to the food processor. Again, blend until extremely finely chopped but not pureed.

Add the blended mushroom mixture to the bowl along with the nutritional yeast, black pepper, white pepper, allspice, nutmeg, salt, bouillon powder, soy sauce, tomato puree, chopped parsley and water.

Mix everything together very well then add the vital wheat gluten and stir until it is combined and no dry patches remain. Do not knead the mixture or stir it too much as that will make the meatballs too chewy.

Step 5 - a four image collage of adding the seasonings and the vital wheat gluten.

Using about a rounded tablespoon per meatball, roll the mixture tightly into balls. Aim for about 37.

Place the balls slightly spaced apart in a steamer pan, they will expand as they cook.

Step 6 - the rolled meatballs in a steamer pan.

Steam them for 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through. At this point they can be allowed to cool and then refrigerated in an airtight container for up to four days. They can also be frozen (see below for instructions).

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. cook for a minute then very gradually stir in the vegetable stock.

Just add a little at a time and stir very well after each addition to avoid lumps.

Bring the sauce up to a simmer while stirring and cook until thickened.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, soy sauce and mustard. Taste and add more soy sauce/mustard/salt and pepper as needed.

Step 7 - a three image collage of making the sauce.

When you are ready to serve, heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the meatballs for about 5-8 minutes, turning them frequently until they are browned on all sides.

Serve the meatballs with mashed potato, the creamy gravy and lingonberry sauce if you like.

Top Tips:

You will need a steamer pan or insert to make the meatballs. Mine is a 24cm two layer steamer pan which is exactly the right size to steam a full batch of meatballs. If yours is smaller you may have to steam them in several batches.

Steaming the meatballs is what gives the seitan the perfect texture. Once they are steamed you can just treat them as if they were raw meatballs and pan fry them before serving.

For the meatballs, you want to make sure that your ingredients are very finely chopped in the food processor, but not blended so much that they become a puree. This will give the meatballs a better texture.

I don't recommend chopping/mashing the ingredients by hand, you will struggle to get them fine enough and the meatballs won't hold together as well.

Don't knead the meatball mixture as that will make them tough and chewy. You just want to mix it until no dry patches remain and then stop.

Don't leave the meatballs sitting in the sauce as they will soak up the liquid and become soft. Keep them separate until you are ready to serve them and store any leftovers in separate containers.

If you are short on time you can just make the sauce and serve it with shop bought vegan meatballs instead.

You can use the base meatball recipe to make other flavours of meatball if you swap out the allspice, nutmeg and white pepper for other herbs/spices.

Close up of a meatball that has been sliced in half.

What If I Don't Have A Steamer?

If you don't have a steamer pan or insert then you can bake the meatballs instead.

Spread them out on a couple of parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.

The texture will not be as good as if they were steamed and you will need to simmer them in the sauce for a couple of minutes to soften them.

Can I Make Them Gluten-Free?:

No I'm afraid not. Vital wheat gluten is essential for making seitan and as such these vegan Swedish meatballs cannot be made gluten-free.

You could however use a different meatball recipe and use gluten-free flour and tamari instead of soy sauce to make the gravy.

Can I Make Them In Advance?:

Yes, both the meatballs and the sauce can be prepared up to a couple of days in advance.

Prepare and steam the meatballs as per the recipe, allow to cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

When you are ready to serve them they just need to be pan fried until they are browned on all sides and heated through.

The cooked sauce can be allowed to cool then refrigerated in a covered container for a couple of days.

Reheat in a pan to serve. You may need to add a splash more vegetable stock if the sauce has become too thick.

Can I Freeze Them?:

Yes! These vegan meatballs freeze really well but don't mix them with the sauce first.

Once you have steamed them, allow to cool then freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen transfer them to a freezer bag or suitable container.

Allow them to defrost in the fridge (or in the microwave if you are in a hurry), then pan fry them until they are lightly browned all over to serve.

What To Serve With Vegan Swedish Meatballs:

Most traditionally, Swedish meatballs are served with mashed potato and lingonberry sauce. Cranberry sauce would be a reasonable, and easier to find, substitute for the lingonberry.

They also go really well with pasta and I think that they would also be nice with rice.

I like to have some stir fried or steamed green vegetables on the side to make it more of a balanced meal.

More Vegan Comfort Food Recipes:

Vegan Swedish meatballs and mashed potato on a white plate with a bowl of parsley and a bowl of mustard.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 1 vote