Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs

I was able to make this in the space of a relatively small boat galley. It was a dish that impressed vegetarians and meat eaters. Very filling and flavorful. It doesn’t make 24, realistically. I doubled the recipe, which made 23 meatballs. That fed 6 people, with seconds. Don’t go crazy with the sour cream in the gravy. You can always add. Same with the mustard. But you can’t add too much parsley. I had to add more flour than prescribed. Brown it more in the 1st step. That’s your gravy’s color.

I like a lot of sauce on my pasta dishes. I found that the meatballs pretty much absorbed all of the gravy. Next time I will make a separate batch of gravy to drizzle on the noodles that are not covered by the meatballs.

How many ounces of cremini mushrooms? Come in a wide range of sizes where I shop.

As a life-long, unapologetic carnivore, I was somewhat reluctant to try this recipe. But we have a few vegetarian friends and relatives (poor souls), so I am always on the lookout for recipes like this. Surprisingly, the “meatballs” were quite tasty, and not at all dry and mealy like those in some other faux-meat dishes I have had. And I doctored the sauce by soaking about 1 oz. of dried porcini in about 2 c. of boiling water and using the broth and chopped mushrooms in the gravy. Yum!8

I always sub couscous for bulgur in recipes with great results.

My family and I are vegan and my mom is on a wheat-free, onion-free diet/cleanse so I made some adjustments: -coconut cream for sour cream -flax egg for egg -quinoa for bulgur wheat -quick oats for breadcrumbs -garlic powder for onion powder After reading most of the notes by other readers here, I did not add the nutmeg and cut the allspice to 1/4 teaspoon. I also doubled the gravy. It was absolutely delicious. Enjoyed this and will be making again.

Overall, fine, but I had a few issues with the recipe. Mainly, the spicing is way too aggressive, especially the allspice. I would dial it back to 1/4th or even 1/8th teaspoon. It's way too much. Same with the nutmeg. I'd also add in some dill. The gravy amounts here are just enough to glaze the meatballs, but if you're serving with noodles or potatoes, you should go 1.5x or even 2x on the gravy if you have hungry people. (Good stock is critical here too. It'll make or break the dish.)

Lots of people in the comments recommended reducing the nutmeg but I chose to follow the original recipe. I would definitely reduce the nutmeg or possibly eliminate next time.

If you hate notes about recipe adaptations, move on...I happened to catch a sale on Impossible meat, which I used in lieu of chickpeas. Onion powder? Nah. Diced shallots. A little bit of dijon in the meatballs. 2/3 c. panko bread crumbs. Caramelized shiitakes in the gravy, Subbed 1/4 c. crème fraîche for sour cream b/c that's what we had. 2 tlbs brandy in the roux & a splash of Worcestershire at the end+minced parsley. Served w/ garlic mashed potatoes with truffle butter. Insanely brilliant!

Technically, a vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat. There are variations of vegetarianism, so some may forego eggs as well or eggs and dairy. A vegan is someone who doesn't eat or use any animal products. This recipe contains no meat, so I think it's fair to call it vegetarian.

Overall, absolutely delicious! I was really impressed with the flavor of the "meatballs". Definitely reminded me of traditional swedish meatballs from my grandmother. I dialed back the allspice to 1/2 tsp and next time, I plan on cutting back the salt to a 1/2 tsp as well. For the sauce, definitely double or even triple the recipe if you're serving over egg noodles and want to coat the pasta. Dial back the flour: liquid ratio as well. Also, I'd recommend using low sodium broth.

The sauce was great with the noodles. The "meatballs" turned out well, but next time, I am omitting the nutmeg and allspice and going with garlic and more parsley.

When it comes to processing the chickpeas, don't leave pea-size pieces. (These are known as "whole chickpeas.") You want them to become like a grainy flour, so your meatballs hold together. I would ease up on the allspice, too.

Would aquafaba work instead of eggs? Since there's already that can of chickpeas...

“Vegans eat no animal products, while vegetarians don't eat animals, but may eat products that come from them (such as dairy and eggs)” And eggs are not chickens