Chef John's Meatless Meatballs

I made this recipe for vegetarian meatballs to celebrate Earth Day. Thanks to a thorough browning, mushrooms provide more than enough savoriness. The garlic, cheese, and parsley do the rest. What really blew me away was how close the texture was to actual meatballs. They are officially approved for use on spaghetti!


Recipes · Cuisine · European · Italian


Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
Total Time: 5 hrs 45 mins
Additional Time: 4 hrs
Servings: 4
Yield: 16 small meatballs

Ingredients

Ingredients List

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 pound fresh white mushrooms, finely chopped

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • ½ cup finely chopped onion

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • ½ cup quick-cooking oats

  • 1 ounce very finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

  • ½ cup bread crumbs

  • ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, packed

  • 2 large eggs, divided

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

  • 1 pinch dried oregano

  • 3 cups pasta sauce

  • 1 tablespoon very finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste

  • 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, or to taste


Directions

  1. Gather and prep all ingredients.

Cook's Note:

It looks like a ton of Parmesan cheese in the video, but it was only 1 ounce. Because I used a Microplane to grate it, it created a huge-looking pile of cheese. It would be about 1/2 cup if you measure it, but use weight for this ingredient.


Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Nutrition Facts
421 Calories
18g Fat
50g Carbs
17g Protein


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