Swedish "Meat"balls
You guys…. these are so freaking good and I’m so glad I made these. I only have one picture, because I forgot to take photos after the meatballs were in the sauce, but you get the idea!
I am in a “moms group” on facebook (I know, go ahead and laugh) and I met a mom on there last summer. She has a super cool story and she is what inspired me to make these. She moved to California through an exchange student program from Sweden. She loved it here, met her soulmate and decided to stay. She has a beautiful little boy and her family is just super sweet. I absolutely love her fun Swedish accent so she’s super fun to talk to. Anyways, she invited my family over for a traditional Swedish Christmas celebration and we jumped at the invitation! I love learning about other cultures and traditions, so I couldn’t wait to be a part of hers!
I didn’t want to ask her to change her recipes to suit my family’s needs, so I took to pinterest to find some inspiration for Swedish dishes that I could bring. I kept seeing recipes for Swedish Meatballs so I knew that was the one to make. I picked this recipe from #crueltyfreefamily and made tiny adjustments to create this perfect savory dish.
Lucky for us, my friend wanted us to feel included, so she made a few of her recipes vegan and they were outstanding! We ate, we drank, and we had a great time. Hopefully you will love these as much as I did!
INGREDIENTS:
For the meatballs:
*1 tbs olive oil
*2 cups diced mushrooms
*1 small diced onion
*3 minced garlic cloves
*1 1/2 cups drained and rinsed chickpeas
*1 cup panko
*1/4 cup nutritional yeast
*1/4 cup chopped parsley (fresh!)
*1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
*2 tbs soy sauce
*1/2 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder
*1/4 tsp paprika
*Pinch each of nutmeg, salt, and pepper
For the Sauce:
*1/2 cup cashews soaked overnight
*1 Cup water
*1 tsp apple cider vinegar
*1 tbs soy sauce
*1 tsp dijon mustard
*5 tbs vegan butter (like Earth balance or Melt)
*3 tbs all purpose flour
*2 cups veggie broth
*Salt/Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
After you’ve rinsed and drained your chickpeas, place them in a small microwaveable bowl and microwave for 1 minute to soften them up. Mash them with a fork and put them in a large bowl.
Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Add mushrooms and cook a few minutes. Add onions and garlic, cook until onions are translucent, remove from heat and put in the bowl with the chickpeas.
Add the remaining meatball ingredients to the bowl. Mix all ingredients with your hands (get in there and squish it all around!). Preheat your oven to 400.
Using your hands roll tablespoon amounts of the meatball mixture around in your hand to form a ball. If it’s not sticking together, squish it really good in your hands, then roll again. Place balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake 15 minutes, turn each ball over, then bake again for another 10 minutes.
Make the sauce: Add water, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and cashews to a high speed blender or food processor, blend until creamy and smooth.
Place butter in a large skillet and heat until melted. Whisk in flour, then pour cashew mix and veggie broth in.
Add salt and pepper and stir with your whisk until sauce thickens.
Stir the meatballs into the sauce gently.
You can eat these by themselves, or serve over noodles or rice! Either way, they were delicious!
NOTE: I brought these in a crockpot to my party, but sitting in the sauce for a couple hours, the meatballs started to fall apart a little, so I recommend eating them soon after your mix the sauce in, or bring the sauce and meatballs separate if you are taking them somewhere.
Keep cooking, friends!
-Kristin
