This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% my own.
These vegan cranberry meatballs are the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. They are made with a mushroom walnut base and tossed in homemade cranberry sauce for the perfect holiday appetizer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
While celebrating the season may be different this year, it is more important than ever to make the holidays extra special. To do that, I’m committed to enjoying the traditions we can and making up for those we can’t by creating extra special moments within those traditions.
One tradition that hasn’t changed is food. This year I am going above and beyond to create delicious holiday meals full of the festive flavors that celebrate the season. These vegan cranberry meatballs are all about doing just that.
These vegan meatball are sweet, spicy, tart, and so full seasonal flavors. Serve them as an appetizer or part of your holiday meal. Just be warned: they are addictive!
Ingredients & Substitutions
The ingredients for this recipe are simple and easy-to-find. You can find all the ingredients for these meatballs at your local Safeway and Albertsons family of stores.
Here is everything you need.
Ingredient Notes
- Walnuts – You can buy toasted walnuts or toast raw walnuts at home. If toasting yourself, simply lay they flat on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 7-8 minutes until they are fragrant. Keep a close eye on them to prevent the walnuts from burning.
- Mushrooms – Button mushrooms are my favorite, but you could use a variety of others, such as portobello or oyster.
- Chia Seeds – This works as an egg replacer to bind the meatballs together. You could replace chia seeds with equal parts ground flax seeds for similar results.
- Signature SELECT™ Jellied Cranberry Sauce – You will find this at your local Safeway store next to the canned fruit.
- Signature SELECT™ Ground Pepper – This is my go-to pepper.
- Hot Sauce – I recommend Tabasco or Crystal.
My Go-To Ingredients
For this recipe, I got all my ingredients from Safeway. They have top quality brands at great prices. For this recipe, I used ingredients from two of their exclusive brands, Signature SELECTand O Organics ®.
O Organicsprovides high-quality, Non-GMO, and 100% USDA Certified Organic products that are affordable for all. They offer a huge selection of quality plant-based and gluten-free options. Signature SELECT offers quality everyday groceries at GREAT prices. You can also find these brands exclusively at Albertsons Companies family of stores, including ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, -United Supermarkets, and Carrs/Safeway.
In addition to Signature SELECT and O Organics, Safeway offers one other exclusive brand that I absolutely love: Open Nature®. Open Nature is committed to natural foods that are minimally processed and with no artificial ingredients. Like O Organics, they provide wholesome, quality, on-trend products, perfect for every-day shopping or holidays alike. .
Visit Safeway.com to find a store near you to pick up these amazing products and discover meal prep tips and recipe ideas. Safeway also offers Grocery Delivery and DriveUp & Go™ for convenient ways to shop!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Make the Chia Egg
A chia egg is essentially chia seeds blended with water. When mixed together, it becomes thick and gelatinous with a similar binding powder to an egg.
To make your chia eggs, whisk together the chia seeds and 6 tablespoons of water in a small measuring cup or glass jar. Mix until the chia seeds are fully hydrated and set aside for about 5 minutes to thicken.
Pro Tip: You could replace chia seeds with equal parts ground flax seeds for similar results.
You will know they are ready to use when your chia seeds have doubled in size and you have a gel-like consistency.
Step Two – Make the Meatballs
To begin, place the crackers (I used O Organics Stone Ground Wheat Crackers) in a food processor. Blend the crackers together until they are all finely ground up. This should take 45-60 seconds. Remove them from the food processor and set aside.
Add the remaining “meatball” ingredients to the food processor. Process the ingredients until they are combined and evenly chopped.
Pro Tip: Make sure not to over process your meatballs or they will get gummy. There should be some texture in the meatballs.
Transfer the mushroom walnut mixture to a large bowl and fold in the cracker crumbs.
Step Three – Shape and Bake
Roll the meatball mixture into balls. I use about 2 heaping tablespoons to get a consistent size. I find that using a small dough scoop works best for measuring and shaping the meatballs.
Place the rolled balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the meatballs at 375F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until meatballs are browned and crispy on the outside.
Step Four – Make the Cranberry Sauce
As the meatballs bake, prepare the cranberry sauce. In a medium saucepan, stir together the sauce ingredients over medium heat. Cook the sauce for 5 minutes until it is smooth and heated all the way through.
Remove the sauce from the heat.
Once the meatballs are done, gently toss them with the sauce and serve immediately with fresh parsley. If serving as an appetizer, you can insert a toothpick into them for easy handling.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Serve these meatless balls warm. They work great as an appetizer or part of your holiday meal. They also make a great weeknight dinner alongside rice and roasted vegetables.
Storing – First, allow the meatballs to cool to room temperature. Transfer them to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Only sauce what you are going to eat and store the remaining meatballs and sauce separately.
Reheating – If frozen, allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the oven at 300 degrees.
Tips and Tricks
- Do not over-mix your mushroom/walnut mixture! If you overmix, you will end up with a gummy paste. Make sure to keep some texture.
- Adjust the spices and herbs to your liking. The flavors in this recipe are very flexible.
- Use a scoop to help make the meatballs a consistent size. You can adjust the size but if you do that, make sure to also adjust the cook time accordingly.
Frequently Asked Question
Yes! You can freeze these balls for up to 2 months. Let them thaw in the fridge and then reheat in the oven or in the microwave until warmed through.
You can serve this recipe as part of your holiday get-togethers. You could also make the meatballs to serve with spaghetti and your favorite sauce. You could also serve them as part of a sandwich for a warm, tasty lunch. Anything you might eat a regular meatball, you can do with a vegan meatball too.
Vegan meatball ingredients can vary. These are made with crackers, mushrooms, egg substitute, walnuts, and various seasonings.
Vegan Cranberry Meatballs
Ingredients
Vegan Meatballs
Cranberry Sauce
- 8 ounces Signature SELECT Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. hot sauce, I recommend Tabasco or Crystal
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- Begin by making the chia eggs. In a small bowl, whisk together the chia seeds and 6 tablespoons of water until the chia seeds are fully hydrated. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Place the crackers in a food processor and blend together until they are a fine crumb. Remove from food processor and set aside. Add the remaining "meatball" ingredients to the food processor and process again until the ingredients are combined and evenly chopped, leaving some texture. Be careful not to overmix or your meatballs will be gummy. Transfer the mushroom walnut mixture to a large bowl and fold in the cracker crumbs.
- Roll the meatball mixture into balls 2 heaping tablespoons in size and place on the prepared parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until meatballs are browned and crispy on the outside.
- While the meatballs bake, prepare the sauce. Stir together the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan placed over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes until the sauce is smooth and heated all the way through. Remove from heat. Once the meatballs are done, gently toss them with the sauce. Serve immediately with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Do not over-mix your mushroom/walnut mixture! If you overmix, you will end up with a gummy paste. Make sure to keep some texture.
- Adjust the spices and herbs to your liking. The flavors in this recipe are very flexible.
- Use a scoop to help make the meatballs a consistent size. You can adjust the size but if you do that, make sure to also adjust the cook time accordingly.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Sandra Botha says
Hi Sarah
We do not eat mushrooms. I usually substitute them with eggplant in recipes. Do you think that these meatballs could work with eggplant instead of mushrooms?
Diana says
In your pictures, when you combine the meatball ingredients in the food processor, you don’t seem to have ketchup and soy sauce. Mine is much more liquid than your picture.
Colleen says
I agree. Haven’t made these yet but picture appears to show all the dry ingredients, including the ground crackers, in the food processor. How did it turn out for you?
Shannon says
Would the sauce be good with mushrooms as the “meatball”?
Stacey Powell says
Could I use flax meal in place of flax seed/chia seed for the egg substitute?
Sue says
What could be used in place if the mushrooms?
Karen says
These are so good and they were very easy to make. As soon as I saw this recipe I decided to make them for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner snack. I’m sure my whole family will love them!