Food should always be as comforting as these vegan Meatballs in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce. The silky and decadent sauce flecked with rosemary and garlic envelopes the meatballs -- and your tastebuds -- with warm, savory flavor. Recipe can be gluten-free.
This creamy vegan Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce recipe is one of the ways I sneak mushrooms into my picky son's diet, and here's the kicker: it's one of the dishes he most requests.
Everything about this sauce is lovely: it has umami from mushrooms, savory flavor from onions and garlic, and all of that yumminess is wrapped into a creamy sauce lightly flavored with nutmeg. Best of all, it's so easy to make.
You can make the meatballs using my vegan meatballs recipe - they are easy and delicious and have more mushrooms in them, along with beans and oats and other good stuff. Or you can use store-bought vegan meatballs (I like the ones at Aldi's which are also budget-friendly and great when you're putting together a rushed meal).
There are just a few ingredients in the sauce, so try and stick with the most flavorful ingredients: use crimini or portobello or shiitake mushrooms instead of button mushrooms, a really good homemade vegetable stock, and make sure you sauté the onions until they are a lovely golden-brown.
I strain the sauce because I want it to be really, really creamy with the meatballs. But you don't have to, if you like the bits of mushrooms and onions. I eat the strained mushrooms and onions on toast for a decadent breakfast/snack.
This sauce uses all purpose flour, therefore it's not gluten-free, but if you do want it to be gluten-free, use rice flour instead of all purpose flour. Make the dish soy-free by skipping the liquid aminos, or use a non-soy soy sauce.
I serve these vegan meatballs in mushroom sauce the way Jay likes them best, with mashed potatoes. They make a great comfort meal, and who can resist mounds of fluffy potatoes topped with a savory, creamy gravy? You can also serve this dish with pasta. Use a flat noodle, preferably pappardelle or tagliatelle. A fettuccine would work too.
Recipe card
Vegan Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms (dry)
- 15 oz canned or cooked kidney beans
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon sage (or rosemary, dry)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon liquid aminos
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- Salt to taste
For the sauce :
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 2 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 16 oz cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon rosemary
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon parsley (minced, for garnish)
Instructions
Make the meatballs:
- Pour a cup of boiling water over the dry shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and let them steep for 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out as much water from them as possible. Reserve the stock for use in the gravy.
- Place the mushrooms in a food processor and pulse five or six times until they are broken down into small bits. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, to the food processor and pulse a few times until they are thoroughly mixed and the mixture holds together when you form a ball.
- Shape into 20 meatballs. Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the meatballs, turning them to brown all over. Remove the meatballs to a bowl large enough to hold the sauce.
Make the gravy:
- Blend the cashews with ½ cup water into a very thick cream. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic along with some salt and pepper and saute for five to six minutes over medium heat. The onions should brown nicely so your sauce has great flavor, but don't let the garlic burn. Stir frequently.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan along with the apple cider vinegar. Saute until the mushrooms have expressed most of their water and it has evaporated, another five to six minutes over medium-high heat. Now add the flour and stir until it gets absorbed into the mushrooms.
- Stir in the rosemary, then pour the vegetable stock in, stirring constantly, so the flour dissolves in it. Bring the stock to a boil. It will look very soupy at this stage, but don't worry -- you need to let the stock reduce to about four cups, which will take about 10-15 minutes over high heat. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Once the sauce has reduced and is quite thick, season with salt and pepper. Wait until the sauce has cooled a little or, if doing this while the sauce is still hot, very carefully strain it into a large bowl.
- Pour the sauce back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Stir in the liquid aminos or soy sauce and cashew cream. Turn off the heat and pour over the meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve hot or warm.
Nutrition Information
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Carol says
How do you have the cashews with the water make a thick paste?
Vaishali says
1/2 cup cashews with 1/2 cup water will make a pretty thick cream.
Brigitte says
I don’t have the dry mushrooms can I use the cremini mushrooms cooking them lightly and add to the food processor ? If yes how many mushrooms would I need ? Thanks
Vaishali says
About 16 oz should be fine.
Beth says
I just made this on a cold winter day. It is absolutely delicious! I and my family thank you!
Vaishali says
So happy to hear!
Diane Jay says
A winner!!!! Super delicious and satisfying. Thank you for sharing.
Vaishali says
So awesome you made these!