Vegetarian Meatballs
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:24 meatballs
- 2tablespoons bulgur wheat
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½cup plus ⅓ cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
- ½cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
- 2garlic cloves, peeled
- 4medium cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
- 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (about 1½ cups)
- 1large egg
- ¼cup ricotta (about 2 ounces)
- 1teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 1cup marinara sauce, warmed, for dipping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
107 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 112 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the bulgur, remove from heat, cover and let sit until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, pressing to remove excess water, then let cool.
- Step 2
Prepare the coating: In a shallow bowl, combine the oil, ½ cup bread crumbs and ¼ cup Parmesan; mix until well blended and crumbly. Set aside.
- Step 3
Prepare the meatballs: In a food processor, pulse garlic until finely chopped. Add mushrooms, and pulse until chopped, with pea-size pieces remaining (do not purée). Transfer to a large bowl. Add the chickpeas to the food processor, pulse, then add them to the mushrooms. Add the remaining ⅓ cup breadcrumbs and ¼ cup Parmesan, plus the bulgur, egg, ricotta, fennel seeds, oregano, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon water; mix until well blended.
- Step 4
Form the meatball mixture into 1½-inch meatballs (you should have about 24). Roll meatballs in the coating, pressing gently to adhere, then arrange on a greased baking sheet. Bake, turning halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce, for dipping.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Cora R.
Either I'm starving or these meatballs are amazing! (Or both.) I made substitutions based on the ingredients I had on hand. I used cooked quinoa instead of bulgur, crushed Saltines instead of breadcrumbs, and feta instead of ricotta. I didn't bother with the marinara I'm not a huge tomato person but these were absolutely amazing right out of oven (after cooling). I found it easier to roll all meatballs into balls first then rub in the breadcrumbs with my hands. Would definitely make again!
Grace
Violife makes a great vegan Parmesan. I used Bob’s red mill egg replacer and some “ricotta (tofu+ soaked cashews blitzed in a food processor w/ garlic powder, salt and lemon juice)” I had leftover from making lasagna.
Tammi
Rennet is a byproduct of veal production, and therefore not vegetarian even in the most liberal interpretation. I happen to be a carnivore, but it's rude to assume vegetarians don't understand their own dietary restrictions.
JP
Seems like there’s confusion over vegetarian and vegan. Vegetarian, if ovo/lacto can eat animal products, specifically dairy and eggs. Vegans eat no animal products of any kind.
Erin
I'm not a fan of mushrooms, so I replaced them and the bulgar with about a 1/2 cup of cooked wild rice. I found that the balls required closer to 25-30 minutes of cooking time. These were extremely tasty! Kind of like an Italian falafel.
Meghan
Excellent recipe and appears adaptable to use what you have on hand. I made them slightly bigger (about 2"), which yielded 16 meatballs that baked for 32 minutes until they were golden. Added a healthy amount of roasted garlic, a pearl onion, and a few extra cremini mushrooms to the mixture. Did not have bulgur, so substituted couscous instead. Served on a roll with some homemade marinara for vegetarian meatball subs!
gailparis
It is passover week so I swapped out the breadcrumbs for matzoh meal instead - used mixed mushrooms (had a bunch of different ones), served with polenta, marinara and broccoli!
Christian
These sound delicious, but technically Parmesan isn’t vegetarian bc most Parmesan is made with rennet.
Lilly
Great recipe. I use leftover rice, which is always in my fridge, in place of the bulgur and it works out fine. Can add small amounts of other vegetables, too (onion, bell peppers, shallots.) It's a forgiving recipe. More of a crabcake/fritter experience than a "meatball," but still delicious.
Patti B
Too much of the chickpea flavor came through for me. I’ll stick with Chef John’ss Italian meatballs on Allrecipes which is “meatless” via use of mushrooms.
James
To those who are saying that Parm is made with rennet - this is not always true. For example BelGioioso is a wonderful parm that does not have rennet. There are others as well - the interwebs can help with that.
Michelle L
that would be vegan, nowadays anyway!
Suzette
These take a little work, but they are worth it! I was out of bulgur, so I used farro. (I made a full batch and we had Melissa Clark's roasted broccoli farro bowls with lemon tahini the next night.) The cooked meatballs were sturdy enough to be simmered in marinara sauce. They also freeze well.
Erin
These are delicious and reliable. They come out of oven nicely crispy and hold together well (as long as you let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes or so). I spread a simple tomato sauce on a platter and add meatballs just before serving. Nice with grilled veggies and a green salad.
David D
Agree with the other commenters that you might need some more binding agent, like chickpea flour or another egg, mine came out the texture closer to croquette than meatball, but delicious nonetheless. We like a little heat in our food, so some red pepper flakes helped give a little kick.
Melissa
These meatballs are yummy and I will make them again. I didn't have fennel, so subbed 3/4 tsp anise seed; flavoring worked out well. Also subbed cooked quinoa for the bulgur. The wet mixture was a little challenging for me to handle, just felt a bit crumbly. I ended up adding a second egg to help bind it all together. I only added 1 tbsp of olive oil to the coating and just lightly covered the meatballs before baking. 20 minutes at 375 was good for me.
Melissa
These meatballs are yummy and I will make them again. I didn't have fennel, so subbed 3/4 tsp anise seed; flavoring worked out well. Also subbed cooked quinoa for the bulgur. The wet mixture was a little challenging for me to handle, just felt a bit crumbly. I ended up adding a second egg to help bind it all together. I only added 1 tbsp of olive oil to the coating and just lightly covered the meatballs before baking. 20 minutes at 375 was good for me.
Cape Codder
For all the work, found them a bit bland.
g
Tasty but totally fell apart when after roasting them put them in marinara. It was like a veg Bolognese.
ED
Most vegetarians know about microbial rennet, but I still think it’s unfortunate that so many “vegetarian” recipes include hard cheeses without mentioning the rennet thing. People who are trying to cook for vegetarian friends or visitors probably have no idea and are going to assume that a NYT recipe literally titled “vegetarian” can be made as-is and will be suitable. Would we be this dismissive about marshmallows? Vegetarian ones exist but it’s not the default or assumed unless mentioned.
STK
I used a heavier dose of farro rather than bulgar, and puréed a roast red pepper sauce to go with it. Delicious.
James
To those who are saying that Parm is made with rennet - this is not always true. For example BelGioioso is a wonderful parm that does not have rennet. There are others as well - the interwebs can help with that.
Shawn
How is this a vegetarian recipe if you’re using Parmesan? Isn’t there rennet in Parmesan?
jaime
Believe it or not, you can get Parmesan cheese with microbial or vegetable rennet (usually these are grated varieties, unfortunately, but it should still work in this recipe).
dianne
Less allspice and nutmeg Brown flour with butter to get goo color Only makes enough gravy to glaze meatballs
Lilly
Great recipe. I use leftover rice, which is always in my fridge, in place of the bulgur and it works out fine. Can add small amounts of other vegetables, too (onion, bell peppers, shallots.) It's a forgiving recipe. More of a crabcake/fritter experience than a "meatball," but still delicious.
Meg B
These are absolutely delish! I am a vegetarian, my husband is not. He gave them a HUGE thumbs up. They took me longer than 50 minutes to make (I wish I had doubled the recipe). I also cooked them longer than written above... probably closer to 25 minutes.
Rebecca
These are really tasty! I didn’t have ricotta so I subbed with tofu and used couscous in place of bulgur. I also made them slightly larger than the recipe called for so the yield was 18. Despite all the changes these held together really well. They take a bit of time to make but I think I’ll make them again
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