These Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs are a healthy combination of quinoa and cauliflower and smothered in simple cream sauce. No need to go furniture shopping to have a taste of Sweden.
It was only a matter of time, right? Before I started taking inspiration from the innumerable trips to IKEA we’ve made in the process of renovating our new house. Because a trip to IKEA is not complete until you’ve eaten something of vaguely Swedish origin. 
I’ve created my take on Swedish meatballs with a vegetarian version that is *the real deal*.
These vegetarian meatballs have a simple ingredients list that doesn’t involve any mystery meat alternatives. They’re just: quinoa. cauliflower, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings. They would honestly be delicious with any sauce you throw on them. Today, that sauce is an easy, fool-proof sauce that’s rich and creamy (without any cream!)
I go true IKEA-style, serving these over a heap of fluffy mashed potatoes cauliflower (recipe for the fluffiest mashed cauliflower here!) Add a dollop of sour berry jam and you’re good to go.
Click here for the cream sauce recipe.
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Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Vegetarian Meatballs
- 2/3 cups dry quinoa 150 g (+ 1 1/3 cup water)
- 2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower about 1/2 head
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 50 g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp each salt and smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil 60 mL
Cream Sauce
- Click the link above for the cream sauce recipe.
Instructions
Make Meatballs:
- Combine quinoa and water in a pot and simmer for 10 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, add cauliflower to a large pot of water and simmer until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Strain both and add to a food processor. Blitz a few times until mostly broken down. Add breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, and seasonings, stirring to combine. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls.
Cook Meatballs:
- Heat a dash of oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Fill the skillet with a batch of meatballs and cook, flipping them often to evenly brown all sides (about 5 minutes per batch). Continue heating new oil and cooking batches until meatballs are all cooked. Place on a paper towel when finished.
Make Sauce:
- Click the link above.
Serve:
- Serve meatballs warm with cream sauce on top of mashed cauliflower!
Notes
This recipe was inspired by Pinch of Yum’s wild rice Swedish meatballs!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Swedish-inspired
