Italian TVP Meatballs Recipe (Vegan)
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Jump to RecipeThis Italian TVP Meatballs recipe is made with textured vegetable protein are ready for spaghetti, a meatball sandwich, or served as a party appetizer! Made with TVP, flavorful seasonings, and great spices these meatballs are perfect for meal prep, batch cooking, or to make ahead.
These easy plant-based meatballs are high in protein, vegan, and are meat and dairy free. Serve these vegan meatballs alongside pressure cooker penne or creamy red pepper pasta and with a slice of oven baked vegan garlic bread.
Add some major flavor to your next spaghetti night with these delicious TVP meatballs. These meatballs are made with Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) which has a similar texture to ground beef.
I have had a lifelong love of spaghetti and meatballs! I have my Italian mother to thank for that one. To this day there is nothing I love more than a huge messy bowl of pasta swimming in my White Wine Tomato Sauce… topped with giant and flavorful TVP meatballs!
This TVP Meatballs Recipe Is:
- Hearty
- Protein-Packed
- Flavorful
- Herby
- Vegan
- Gluten-Free
- Great with Spaghetti or Pasta!
One of the BEST Pantry Staple Vegan High Protein Recipes
These TVP textured vegetable protein meatballs recipe is a fantastic pantry-staple meal! It uses almost all ingredients you would have in your dry pantry or cupboards. You probably already have a lot of these ingredients on hand! Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it easy to come up with delicious meals using a few staples you can rotate.
This recipe is perfect for meal prepping- When I make these I try to make a lot of extras so I can enjoy them throughout the week! For lunch or dinner (or both some days, don’t judge) spaghetti and meatballs are definitely on the menu with this super easy recipe.
What’s In Textured Vegetable Protein Meatballs?
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
- TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein): I love stocking my pantry with TVP! TVP is made from soy protein and has the exact same texture as ground beef… making it really versatile to use in place of real meat. We use TVP in soups and stews, for taco filling, and in lasagnas. TVP is a great pantry-staple protein, and it lasts a long time.
- Italian Seasonings: one of my favorite spice blends, I add a pre-mixed Italian seasoning to my soups, stews, and pasta sauces. You can make your own Italian seasoning blend with oregano, parsley, thyme, basil, rosemary, and garlic.
- Nutritional Yeast: not to be confused with bread baking yeast, nutritional yeast has a cheesy nutty umami flavor! Also great in soups and sauces of all kinds.
- Bread Crumbs – Normally I just use some crusty bread for the breadcrumbs, but if you are looking for a nice gluten free variety, GF Italian Breadcrumbs would be your best bet!
- Salt and pepper to taste – Some pasta sauces can be quite salty so I wanted to keep these meatballs fairly low sodium. Add the amount of salt and pepper that you’d like – but if you are planning to use a salty sauce, then I would recommend cutting back.
A Sheet Pan TVP Meatball Recipe For the Win!
These vegan TVP meatballs make the perfect sheet pan dinner! I love a good sheet pan meal, especially during these fall months when the weather starts to turn cooler. Cooking on a sheet pan is one of my favorite ways to get a meal on the table fast!
All the food gets cooked on a single pan, which makes cleaning up a breeze. And the oven does all the work for you, so you can focus on other kitchen prep while the food cooks.
Sheet pan meals are awesome for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – browse all our sheet pan meals that are ready in no time!
What Do I Serve with These Vegan Italian Meatballs?
- White Wine Tomato Sauce
- Cheesy Eggplant Bake (Vegetarian, Keto)
- Slow Cooker Summer Ratatouille
- Sheet Pan Pasta Bake with Fresh Mozzarella and Lemon
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Italian TVP Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) TVP
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings oregano, basil, parsley
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce make sure GF or tamari
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs use gluten free, if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the TVP into the pot, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes while the TVP absorbs the broth.
- In a large bowl, add the TVP and the rest of the ingredients. Knead until they form a dough.
- Form the mixture into small 2 inch meatballs.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and cook the meatballs for 20 minutes.
- Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet fry the meatballs for 7-8 minutes until they brown and begin to crisp.
- Serve over spaghetti with homemade marinara, on a sub sandwich, or use as a cocktail party appetizer!
Nutrition
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Can I freeze extras?
Hi Lorre – yes you can! They are great to freeze, howveer they may crumble a bit when being re-heated in a tomato sauce. Still delicious, either way!
– Kelly
These are really tasty! Will definitely make again. To cut down on cook time I just put them in the air fryer at 400 for 10 minutes.
Thank you Alysa – and the air fryer is a great idea! I’ll have to try that next time
Yummy
VERY VERY GOOD, AND SO EASY. i WILL DO THIS AGAIN
Thank you so much Sandra! So glad to hear you enjoyed them 🙂
This looks yummy, I’ll have to make these with TVP