Funky Fields Vegan Meatballs

Ever since trying the new Funky Fields vegan mince which is available in Australia from Woolworths, I’ve been on mission to try it in various different family recipes. One being Italian meatballs. So I’ve created these Funky Fields Vegan Meatballs and whilst they may not be exactly like the ones that Nanna used to make, they are pretty bloody good!

Cooking is a tradition

In the traditional recipe we used in our family we would use meat mince (obviously) and eggs as key ingredients in these Funky Fields meatballs. I have swapped the meat for Funky Fields mince and the eggs from some Chia Seed Eggs. It was a bit of a shot in the dark as I didn’t have any flaxseeds in my pantry, and I’m really happy with how the Chia Seed Eggs worked out.

Moist balls are tasty balls

The key to getting them nice and moist is using plenty of quality breadcrumbs and ensuring there’s a lot of water content in the sauce. Another thing I did with these ones was add some water to the meatball mix itself as I could feel in my hands it was a little dry. For the moisture to penetrate the fried shell of the meatballs you really need there to be some moisture in the balls to start with so don’t be afraid of adding some water of sauce to the meatball mix before rolling.

In terms of the sauce itself you can play with different flavours. When I’m making vegan meatballs I tend to prefer something a little more traditional so that the flavour of the meatballs stands out, so this time I’ve just used simple passata, crushed tomatoes, onion and garlic.

Time to eat

I can’t wait to serve these Funky Fields Vegan Meatballs over pasta with some vegan parmesan, but they are also great served as a snack with some crusty bread. Pictured I’m using olive sourdough loaf from my local fruit and veg shop and it’s delicious. I’ve gone through nearly a whole loaf today, toasting it and smothering it in vegan butter, or dipping it in this sauce as a tester.

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5 from 1 vote

Funky Fields Vegan Meatballs

Delicious Italian vegan meatballs that may even fool your Nanna. I mean, probably not at all, but you can try.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 8 meatballs

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 400 grams Funky Fields Mince or other vegan style mince however I haven't tested it with other minces.
• 50 grams Fresh Bread Crumbs
• 10 grams Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tbsp Black Chia Seeds
• 3 tbsp Water separated into 2 tbsp for the chia seed eggs and 1 tbsp for the meatball mix
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano

Sauce

• 1 large Brown Onion Chopped
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 400 grams Crushed Tomatoes
• 500 grams Tomato Puree or Pasta Sauce
• 1 cup Water
• 1 tsp Salt

Instructions

Meatballs

• In a small bowl combine the chia seeds and 2 tbsp of water and stir to let them soak up the water.
• In a large mixing bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients (including the chia seed eggs you just made) and mix well with your hands. There is no other way to mix meatballs except to get your hands dirty, so go on, roll those sleeves up and go for gold. You will love it.
• Roll the meatball mixture into 8 equal sized balls, slightly smaller than golf balls. Using wet hands will help with this. Set them aside.
• Using a large heavy base frying pan, brown the meatballs on each side in a shallow amount of olive oil over medium heat. They don't need to cook through but need to be sealed ready to finish cooking in the sauce.

Sauce

• While the meatballs are cooking, add the olive oil to a medium sauce pan and brown the onion and garlic.
• Add crushed tomatoes, water, salt and the tomato puree and stir to combine.
• Once it starts to boil lower the heat until your meatballs are ready to add to the sauce.
• Once the meatballs are browned add them to the sauce, increase the heat and bring to the boil again.
• Reduce the heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for half an hour to an hour. The longer they cook, the better they taste. I would even deliberately leave them in the fridge overnight to get the flavour to really pop the next day.