Are you on a plant-based diet? Thinking of healthy recipes that are also easy to prepare? You came to the right place! I will teach you how to make vegan air fryer meatballs! They are easy to cook, even for people who do not have much experience in the kitchen.
Air-fried vegan meatballs are versatile. You can eat them on their own or be a bit more creative. I like it with pasta slathered with tomato sauce. Alternatively, you can also make it as a sandwich stuffed with your favorite veggies.
Ready to make air-fried vegan meatballs? Keep on reading and I’ll share how it’s done.
A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Cook Vegan Air Fryer Meatballs
You will find lots of variations in this recipe. Feel free to substitute any of the ingredients on this list, depending on what is available in your kitchen. As long as you use vegan substitutes, it will be a healthy and delicious dish!
1. Ingredients
- 15-ounce chickpeas
- ¾ cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic, minced
- ¼ cup yellow onion, minced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Oil spray
2. Instructions
- Use a food processor to mill the oats until you reach a consistency similar to flour.
- In the same food processor, add chickpeas, baby spinach, almond milk, breadcrumbs, cornstarch, ground flax seeds mixed with water, nutritional yeast, black pepper, garlic, yellow onion, and salt.
- Form the mixture into balls. You can use a large spoon or an ice cream scoop. Roll it in your hand and put it on a plate.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Arrange the meatballs in an air fryer. Make sure to not overcrowd the basket or pan. It can also be a good idea to line the surface with parchment paper before putting the meatballs. Spraying with oil is also a must to prevent the vegan meatballs from sticking.
- Cook the vegan meatballs for 10 to 12 minutes. Check if it is done. Once it is cooked, take it out of the air fryer and enjoy.
How to Enjoy Vegan Air Fryer Meatballs
While you can eat air-fried meatballs on their own, you can also experiment with different ways to incorporate them into a meal or snack, including those I will talk about below.
1. Use as a Sandwich Filling
At the most basic, bread is made of water, oil, salt, flour, and yeast. This means that it is vegan. Although, you must be quite careful and check the list of ingredients as some breadmakers might use milk and eggs.
After air-frying vegan meatballs, you can stuff them in your choice of bread. Add your favorite sauces, which should also be vegan. Ketchup and mustard are classic choices. However, as always, they can vary between brands. So I suggest that you always look at the label to be sure that whatever gets in your sandwich is vegan.
2. Stuff in Your Burrito
Just like in sandwiches, you can also use it as a stuffing for your burrito. Mix it with veggies and other vegan ingredients. It is sure to add volume to your burrito while also making it more filling without the guilt.
Speaking of burritos, have you checked out my recipe for a vegan air fryer burrito? You will surely love how easy it is to prepare.
3. Slather in Sauce
Some people might find air-fried vegan meatballs to be quite dry, although such highly depends on the ingredients you use and how you cook them. Nonetheless, one thing you might want to try is to top it with your favorite sauce and eat it with rice! It also goes well with bread, especially with one you can use to wipe the sauce off the plate!
It is hard to go wrong with marinara sauce. You can easily make this from scratch. In a pan, sauté garlic. Next, add tomatoes, oregano, basil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Wait until it boils and lower the heat. Let it simmer for up to 40 minutes. Pour in your meatballs. Otherwise, you can also let it cool, store it in a jar with an air-tight lid, and refrigerate it. Since it is made using fresh ingredients, however, it would be best if you consume it immediately.
4. Turn into a Pasta Dish
Make vegan meatballs more filling by incorporating them into your pasta. The good news is that most packaged pasta you will find in grocery stores is vegan. Although, as usual, it won’t hurt to check the label if you want to be sure.
What about the sauce? Earlier, I talked about how you can make marinara sauce. You can put it in your pasta. One more thing that you can do is to sauté garlic in olive oil, mix it with pasta, and add air-fried vegan meatballs on top.
FAQs
1. How do you store vegan air fryer meatballs?
Let the air-fried vegan meatballs cool. Once they are cool, line them in a container and close with an airtight cover. Make sure there is space between each piece. Do not stack them. Put it in the fridge and label the container, so you will know until when it is good for.
2. Do you defrost meatballs before air frying?
You do not need to defrost meatballs before putting them in an air fryer. If you want to learn more about this topic, I wrote a separate post about defrost before air fryer.
Conclusion
Vegan air fryer meatballs are guilt-free and delicious. They are for health-conscious individuals on a plant-based diet. The best thing is that they are versatile. From sandwiches to pasta, you have tons of ways to turn it into a healthy and filling meal. You can be as creative as you want when it comes to how you can enjoy these vegan meatballs.
Check out our vegan avocado ball recipe as it goes perfectly with this recipe.
