Vegan German Meatballs (Frikadellen)

Make a wish: In our series “Make a wish“ we develop recipes to make your wishes come true - whether it’s about vegan french toasts or doughnuts. If you also have a recipe that we should cook for you, send us a quick mail to hello@zuckerjagdwurst.com. Until then, find all your previous wished recipes here.

A few weeks ago, my mother called me in shock and asked me where our recipe for vegan meatballs was. The fact that we had not yet posted a recipe for vegan meatballs online at that time astonished both her and me – silence on the phone. So I took her wish as an opportunity for a new round of "Make a Wish", the category where we take your favorite recipes and make them vegan, and started working on a recipe.

So far, we only had spaghetti with vegan meatballs on the blog, where we use kidney beans and oats to form meatballs. We also have a recipe for vegan köttbullar, where we use a wide variety of vegetables such as peas, corn, peppers and carrots to form small balls. However, when it comes to "proper meatballs", I tend to imagine a recipe that is less reminiscent of vegetables and, instead, tastes hearty and savory.

In our first version of the recipe, we used soy granules as the base. At that time (2019/2020), there was no vegan mince in the supermarket yet, and soy granules were among the few meat substitutes on the market. In the meantime, things have changed, and you can now find vegan mince (which looks confusingly similar to the animal version) from countless brands in most supermarkets. Therefore, we have now (2023) added a version of the recipe with vegan fresh minced meat. Using soy granules is a little more tricky because you must soak them first and then squeeze them well. Also, you have to season more and add some extra ingredients, so the balls hold together well. With vegan mince, you save a few steps. Also, the meatball base feels more authentic, is easy to form, and already has a lot of flavor.

Essential in both versions is the mustard, which adds a wonderful savory taste. No matter if you use the vegan mince or the soy granules, if you have trouble forming the balls, your mixture is probably too dry or too moist. Just add more breadcrumbs or a little bit more mustard. And now all that's missing is some love for my mom: Thanks for letting me know, and I hope you like the recipe!