Vegan Swedish Meatballs

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

These meatless meatballs are awesome! They have lots of flavor and a bit of heat.

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk such as rice or soy
1 package (14 ounces) vegetarian sausage (such as LightLife Gimme Lean)
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For Sauce:

2 tablespoons nondairy, nonhydrogenated butter (such as earth balance)
1 cup vegetable stock
1 ½ cups unsweetened nondairy milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Directions:

Soak bread crumbs in milk for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine sausage, onion, garlic, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cayenne in a large-size bowl. Add soaked bread crumbs, and mix well by hand, making sure you fully combine sausage with seasoning.

Form mixture into tiny meatballs, ¾ inch in diameter, and place on a platter. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat for 1 minute. When oil is hot, turn heat down to medium and add one-third of meatballs, and brown on all sides. Transfer to a platter lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. In 2 more batches, brown remaining meatballs in remaining oil. And drain on paper towels.

To make sauce, heat butter, stock and milk in a saucepan over low-medium heat. In a bowl, combine flour and water, and mix into a thin paste. Add water/flour blend to saucepan and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until mixture thickens. Season with salt.

Add all meatballs to skillet, along with sauce, cooking just until heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Note: The only thing that I would change is to add more flour to the sauce. I like my sauce thicker. Or make your own favorite gravy and pour over top of meatballs keeping meatballs warm in the oven.

Summer Vegetable Casserole

Summer Vegetable Casserole

This is simple dish of layered summer vegetables and it’s delicious. Great with any meal. I made it with vegan meatballs. The only thing I would change is, to make a bigger batch. We loved it so much we ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
½ pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
½ pound plum tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 small zucchini (1/2 pound), sliced on the diagonal ¼ inch thick
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9-inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread the potatoes in the dish in an even layer, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the bell pepper, onion, garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Arrange two-thirds of the bell pepper mixture over the potatoes and drizzle with oil. Top with the tomatoes and the zucchini; drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the remaining bell pepper mixture and sprinkle with the cheese.

Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425. Uncover the casserole and bake for about 20 minutes longer, until the vegetables are tender and glazed on top. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve warm.