Easy Vegan Meatballs

Air Fryer Vegan Meatballs– this easy to make vegan air-fried meatballs are so healthy and made with easily available pantry staples. These air-fried meatballs are quick meatless gluten-free and fried vegan meatballs with shredded bottle gourd, chickpeas flour, and some common spices. 

What are Vegan Meatballs made of?

There are lots of methods to make vegan meatballs in an air fryer. The recipe I am sharing today is quite a basic method of air-fried meatballs, you can use various grains, veggies, beans, and mushrooms. I have used bottle gourd and chickpeas flour, you can use any veggies and spice mix for this recipe, it’s very versatile.  To get the perfect and firm texture I have used chickpeas flour and bread crumbs.  This combo not only helps to add moisture to the meatballs but also gives a perfect meaty texture to them. 

I have adapted this from my mother’s meatballs recipe, but she used to deep fry them, I prefer a healthier version of it so I love to an air fryer or oven roast them. This is one of the basic meatball recipes, you can use any veggies, spice, herbs of your choice. If you do not like the deep-fried versions you can simply pan fry, air fry, or even bake these meatballs either way it will taste better.

Ingredients for air fryer vegan meatballs:

• Bread crumbs– If you do not want to use breadcrumbs you can use cornmeal or oats flour instead. 
• Bottle Gourd or Opo squash– shredded and squeeze any excess water
• Garlic: make sure to use freshly chopped garlic, you can also use some garlic powder. 
• Parsley: Parsley gives a freshness to the meatballs, this is purely optional you can also add chopped basil leaves. 
• Salt & black pepper: You can add salt as per your taste preference. Freshly grounded black pepper is great but readymade is very convenient for measuring with the spoon. 
• Chickpea flour: it gives a very nice texture to the meatballs but you can also use cornmeal instead of chickpea flour.

EDIT 2021: updated recipe with new images, the recipe is the same.

How to make Vegan Meatballs in Oven:

• Take a bottle of gourd and peel the skin off and grate it properly, gently squeeze the water and add salt to it. 
• In a mixing bowl, add the grated bottle gourd and add all the spices and herbs. Mix it properly until everything is combined. 
• Add chickpeas flour and some cornflour, along with water, and combine it well. Do not add too much water to it.  
• Preheat the oven to 425degree F.
• Make balls with your hands. Add to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Bake them for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping in halfway through. 
• Finally, add the baked vegan meatballs to a pan of warm marinated sauce and give it a gentle stir. Serve it with spaghetti or noodles or even you can make it a side dish for rice.

Gluten-free Meatballs:

To make this air fryer vegan meatball gluten-free you can simply replace the regular breadcrumbs with the gluten-free breadcrumbs or you can even use oats flour(gluten-free oats).

Can I freeze Air fryer vegan meatballs:

Definitely, vegan meatballs freeze very well fully cooked or raw for about 2 to 3 months. If you wish to freeze them in the raw, make sure to separate them with wax paper or parchment paper so that they do not get stick with each other. You can use the required portion very conveniently. 

How to Reheat Air fryer vegan meatballs:

For uncooked vegan meatballs:

Simply apply some oil or spray some oil and bake them in an oven at 375 degrees F for about 30 to 40 minutes until the outer surface turns golden brown and crispy. 

You can also cook the frozen vegan meatballs in an air fryer, place the meatballs in the air fryer basket and cook them at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes until it gets evenly golden brown. Make sure to flip them halfway through.

For cooked vegan meatballs:

spray them lightly with some olive oil and bake them in an oven for about 350 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes until fully heated through. 

Reheat vegan meatballs in an air fryer: simply place them in an air fryer basket in a single layer and reheat them at 350degree F for about 8 to 10 minutes until heated thoroughly. Make sure to flip them halfway through.

Update: I have updated the post with some new images, but the recipe instructions are the same. 

More Air Fryer recipes :

• Crispy Chicken in an air fryer
• Air Fried  crispy cauliflower
• Crispy Air Fried Roasted Tofu
• Easy Air fried Millet Cookies
• Roasted chickpeas 

Air fryer Vegan Meatballs

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Serves: 5 Prep Time: 10 Cooking Time: 10 10

Nutrition facts: 389 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.8/5

( 11 voted )

Ingredients

• 3 cup Bottle gourd / opo squash shredded and squeeze any excess water
• ½ cup Bread crumbs see notes for gluten-free options
• 2 tbsp Garlic freshly chopped or powder
• ¼ cup Parsley
• 1 tbsp Salt
• ⅛ tbsp Black pepper
• 1 cup Chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

 

Instructions

1. Take a bottle gourd and peel the skin off and grate it properly, gently squeeze the water and add salt to it. 
2. In a mixing bowl, add the grated bottle gourd and add all the spices and herbs and olive oil. Mix it properly until everything is combined. 
3. Add chickpeas flour and some cornflour, along with water, and combine it well. Do not add too much water to it.  
4. Preheat the air fryer at 170°C.
5. Make balls with your hands. Add to a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. Gently place the vegan meatballs in the air fryer basket in a single layer. and cook them for 10 minutes, flip the meatballs halfway through.
7. Cook until the meatballs turn golden brown and evenly cook through or the exterior look a little crisp.
8. Serve it warm over pasta, tacos, or sandwich.

Notes

This recipe yields approx 20 vegan meatballs.

More Air Fryer Recipes:

• Crispy Cauliflower 
• Air fryer Roasted Carrot– 3 ways
• Air Fryer Fried Chicken 
• Air fryer Crispy Tofu 
• Vegan Meatballs 
• Roasted Potatoes 
• Air fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs