Happy Earth Day! As you know, my family has been trying to live more sustainably for some time. Though we aren’t vegan, one of the lifestyle changes we’ve made to reduce our ecological impact is to incorporate more vegan meals and plant-based foods into our diet (click here to see more of my vegan recipes if you’re also trying to add more meatless meals and plant-based recipes to your diet). In honor of Mother Earth, today I’m sharing a recipe for Vegan Spaghetti and (Beyond) Meatballs. These plant-based “meatballs” are made with Beyond Meat’s® Beyond Beef® and served with a slow-simmered tomato sauce for a hearty and satisfying vegan meal. The kids didn’t even know the Beyond Beef meatballs were meatless until we told them, so I would definitely call this vegan meatball alternative a success!
I developed this recipe as part of the Allrecipes Allstars Tastemakers program. Rate, review, and photograph my recipe for Vegan Spaghetti and (Beyond) Meatballs on Allrecipes here, see the full plant-based meatball recipe along with some of my cooking tips below, or Jump to Recipe directly.
How to make Spaghetti and Beyond Meatballs
This plant-based meatballs recipe begins by preparing the tomato sauce.
First, remove the tomatoes from a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, reserving the sauce. Dice the tomatoes and return them to the can with their juice.
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add some finely chopped onion and minced garlic to the hot oil and saute, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, oregano, salt, and pepper until well blended. Bring the sauce to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. You’ll let the sauce simmer while you’re preparing the Beyond Beef meatballs.
Combine your meatless ground beef substitute (I use Beyond Meat® Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground) with bread crumbs (make sure they’re vegan), dried parsley flakes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl. Mix until the ingredients are well combined. Roll the mixture into twelve 1 1/2-inch Beyond Meatballs.
Now it’s time to prepare the spaghetti you’ll serve with your Beyond Beef meatballs and sauce! Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook a 12-ounce pack of spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until it’s tender yet firm to the bite (about 12 minutes). Want to make this step even easier? Check out this awesome Pasta Cooker.
Meanwhile, heat some more olive oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat (I love using my Le Creuset enameled cast iron braiser for this). Add the Beyond Meatballs to the pan and saute, turning occasionally, until all sides are browned and a bit crisp, about 10 minutes total. Reduce the heat to low.
Pour the simmering tomato sauce over the plant-based meatballs and stir. Simmer the sauce with your Beyond Beef meatballs for an additional 10 minutes. Serve the Beyond Meatballs and sauce over spaghetti.
How lovely are these vegan meatballs?
Here’s the full recipe for Vegan Spaghetti and Beyond Meatballs. Enjoy!
Prep Time | 20 minutes |
Cook Time | 35 minutes |
Servings |
servings
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- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes drained, juices reserved
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound meatless ground beef substitute (such as Beyond Meat® Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground)
- 1 tablespoon vegan bread crumbs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 12-ounce package spaghetti
Ingredients
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|
- Dice tomatoes and return them to the can with their juice.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to the hot oil and saute, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well blended. Bring sauce to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Let simmer while preparing meatballs.
- Combine beef substitute with bread crumbs, parsley, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl; mix until ingredients are well combined. Roll the mixture into twelve 1 1/2-inch balls.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meatballs to the pan and saute, turning occasionally, until all sides are browned and a bit crisp, about 10 minutes total. Reduce heat to low.
- Pour simmering tomato sauce over the meatballs and mix. Simmer sauce with meatballs for an additional 10 minutes. Serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti.
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