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

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!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Swedish
Keyword meatballs
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large brown onion peeled and chopped
  • 250 g (9 oz) chestnut mushrooms sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
  • 100 g (3 ½ oz / 1 cup) walnuts
  • 400 g (14 oz) tin of chickpeas well drained
  • 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • ¾ tsp allspice
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ⅛ tsp white pepper
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (I use Marigold)
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp tomato puree
  • 15 g (a large handful) fresh parsley very finely chopped
  • 160 ml (⅔ cup) cold water
  • 200 g (7 oz) vital wheat gluten*

Sauce:

  • 30 g (2 Tbsp) vegan butter
  • 30 g (¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) vegan cream (I use Alpro single soy cream)
  • 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce (more to taste)
  • 2 tsp wholegrain mustard or 1 tsp dijon (more to taste)

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion, cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent.
  • Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until they are soft and all of the excess liquid has evaporated.
  • Meanwhile, blitz the walnuts in a food processor until they are ground to a very 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, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, white pepper, 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 post above for instructions). (If your steamer pan isn't big enough you may have to steam them in a couple of batches).
  • 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.
  • 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.

Notes

  • For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely and do not omit or substitute any of the ingredients.
  • As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them. A gram is always a gram, but a cup won’t always measure out the same amount.
  • See post above for tips, details, substitutions and step-by-step photos.
  • *The vital wheat gluten CANNOT be substituted for anything else, it is essential for making these meatballs.
  • You will need a steamer pan or insert to make the meatballs. Mine is a 24 cm (9 ½ in) 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.
  • 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.
  • Meatball recipe loosely based on this one by Loving It Vegan.