Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs

Name: Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 dozen meatballs
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons bulgur wheat; 4 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered; 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups); 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1 large egg; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg; Canola oil, for greasing; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock); 1 tablespoon sour cream; 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

By Kay Chun

Updated Jan. 30, 2020

Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs — Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

Total Time: 50 minutes
Rating: 4(1,873)
Comments: Read comments

Cremini mushrooms, chickpeas and bulgur wheat mimic the texture of ground meat in this vegetarian version of the classic Swedish meatball dish. Seasoned generously with allspice and nutmeg and blanketed in a velvety mushroom gravy, they are excellent served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes — or spooned onto a toasted hero (add sliced tangy pickles to balance out the richness). Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 dozen meatballs

For the Meatballs

2tablespoons bulgur wheat
4cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed (about 1½ cups)
⅓cup plain bread crumbs
¼cup sour cream
1large egg
1½teaspoons kosher salt
¾teaspoon ground allspice
½teaspoon black pepper
½teaspoon onion powder
½teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Canola oil, for greasing

For the Gravy

2tablespoons unsalted butter
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock)
1tablespoon sour cream
1tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Make the meatballs: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the bulgur, remove from heat, cover and let sit until tender, 15 minutes. Drain, pressing to remove excess water. Cool.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse mushrooms until finely chopped with some pea-size pieces remaining (do not purée); transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the chickpeas: Pulse, then add them to the large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, sour cream, egg, salt, allspice, pepper, onion powder, nutmeg and the cooled bulgur and mix until well blended. Form into 1¼-inch meatballs (about 2 teaspoons each; you should have about 24). Arrange on a greased baking sheet and bake, turning halfway, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Step 3
Make the gravy: While the meatballs bake, in a large nonstick saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and lightly golden, 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking, until thickened, 2 minutes. Whisk in sour cream, parsley and mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper (you should have about 1 cup gravy). Add meatballs and simmer, spooning sauce over meatballs, until nicely coated, about 2 minutes more. Serve warm.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,873 user ratings

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Comments

robert5 years ago

I was able to make this in the space of a relatively small boat galley. It was a dish that impressed vegetarians and meat eaters. Very filling and flavorful. It doesn’t make 24, realistically. I doubled the recipe, which made 23 meatballs. That fed 6 people, with seconds. Don’t go crazy with the sour cream in the gravy. You can always add. Same with the mustard. But you can’t add too much parsley. I had to add more flour than prescribed. Brown it more in the 1st step. That’s your gravy’s color.

Bill5 years ago

I like a lot of sauce on my pasta dishes. I found that the meatballs pretty much absorbed all of the gravy. Next time I will make a separate batch of gravy to drizzle on the noodles that are not covered by the meatballs.

PatR5 years ago

How many ounces of cremini mushrooms? Come in a wide range of sizes where I shop.

srpelsue1 month ago

This was delish. As per other comments I doubled the recipe for the meatballs and tripled the sauce. I needed this to feed 6 people. I reduced the “Swedish” seasonings as a results of comments as well but reduced it too much. Didn’t have enough for my tastes. I didn’t have bulgar so I used quinoa. I will make this dish again, and keep the seasoning as written.

Tina3 months ago

This was great! My beef stroganoff loving husband loved this as a vegetarian approximation. I used couscous instead of bulgar and doubled the gravy, adding the other 4 oz. to a pack of mushrooms to the butter before adding the flour. Better than Bouillon makes a vegetarian broth base that works well with this. Will definitely make again.

Elliek4 months ago

I think this is such a great, cozy, "cold weather" dish. Sometimes, if I feel like cheating, I just get pre-maid/plant based meatballs and they totally do the trick, as well. I echo what someone else said, though... if you like lots of sauce, you might want to make an extra batch. The sauce thickens quite a bit and largely coats the meatballs, not leaving much leftover to coat the noodles.

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