Vegan Spaghetti & Meatballs
This vegan spaghetti and meatballs dish is packed with hearty, savory flavors, featuring tender plant-based meatballs and a rich tomato sauce. It’s a delicious, satisfying meal that’s 100% vegan and perfect for a comforting dinner.
Your family will love this hearty vegan spaghetti recipe, packed with rich flavors and satisfying plant-based ingredients. It’s perfect for feeding a crowd, making it an ideal dish for family dinners or gatherings. Everyone will enjoy this comforting, flavorful meal that’s both nutritious and delicious!
We have more Italian-inspired vegan recipes on this website like Chef AJ’s Vegetable Lasagna Recipe, my English muffin mini veggie pizzas, and this fresh oil-free tomato marinara sauce.
Reasons you will love this recipe
- Hearty and Satisfying – This vegan spaghetti with bulgur and rolled oat meatballs offers a meaty texture and flavor, perfect for a filling and wholesome meal.
- Packed with Plant-Based Protein – The combination of bulgur and oats makes these meatballs a great source of plant-based protein, keeping you full and energized.
- Easy to Make and Crowd-Pleasing – This vegan spaghetti with meatballs is easy to prepare and perfect for feeding a family or crowd, offering a satisfying, nutritious dinner everyone will love.
Ingredients you will need
- Pasta- For healthy spaghetti, whole grain pasta like whole wheat or spelt pasta offers a nutrient-rich and fiber-packed option. For gluten-free alternatives, try brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta, or chickpea pasta for a wholesome and gluten-free meal.
- Cooked Bulgur- It has a hearty, chewy texture that mimics the consistency of traditional meatballs. It also absorbs flavors well, ensuring that your meatballs are flavorful throughout.
- Breadcrumbs- Whole wheat breadcrumbs help bind the ingredients together, creating a firm and cohesive texture. They also add a subtle, nutty flavor and extra fiber, making the meatballs more nutritious.
- Rolled oats- Act as a natural binder, helping to hold the meatballs together without the need for eggs or other animal-based ingredients.
- Tomatoes- Fire-roasted tomatoes add a deep, smoky flavor to vegan meatballs, enhancing their taste and giving them a richer, more complex profile. The natural sweetness and slight char of fire-roasted tomatoes complement the savory ingredients.
- Veggies- Garlic, onions, celery, bell pepper, and carrots add texture and flavor.
- Walnuts- Provide a rich, meaty texture that closely mimics ground meat. Their natural oils add moisture, preventing the meatballs from being dry, while their earthy flavor enhances the overall taste of the dish.
- Seasonings- Soy sauce, Dijon mustard, thyme, and sage round out the robust flavor profile.
What is bulgur?
Bulgur is a whole wheat grain that is cooked exactly like rice in about 15 minutes. I like to make a big batch of it in my rice cooker and freeze it for use in recipes like this one, spaghetti, vegetable lasagna, and vegan bean nachos.
This amazing grain adds a crumbly ground beef texture and soaks up the flavors of the dishes you’re preparing. We have a great article all about bulgur and recipes to use it in.
Tips & Suggestions
- Pasta- I recommend using whole-grain pasta to keep this dish completely healthy.
- Overcooking- Don’t overcook the pasta, or it will become mushy. Rinsing it under cool water helps to stop the cooking process quickly and keep the noodles from sticking together.
- Make firmer- The vegan meatballs firm up even more after refrigerating them.
How to make this vegan pasta dish
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
STEP #1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.
Begin by cooking the bulgur according to the package directions. It cooks on the stove or in a rice cooker in about 15 minutes.
Though it calls for bulgur, a number of people have told me that they’ve subbed with buckwheat groats, quinoa, brown rice, and barley and it still comes out good.
STEP #2: Dice the veggies–onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, carrots, and walnuts. One tip here is that a blender or food processor makes it easy to make bread crumbs. It’s also great for chopping walnuts.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (including the fully cooked bulgur). Mix with a spoon, or do as I do, and use your hands to mix thoroughly.
STEP #3: Form into balls and place on a baking sheet. If the mixture seems too wet, add a few more oats.
If it seems too dry, add a little bit of the juice drained from tomatoes or water. These should hold together to form balls pretty well.
STEP #4: Bake at 350°F for approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
If you like them extra firm, I suggest refrigerating them once they are cooked so they have more time to set up. When they are reheated, the texture is even denser.
STEP #5: While the meatballs are baking, put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook your spaghetti noodles according to the package directions. Usually, pasta takes about 15 minutes to cook on the stovetop.
Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse under cool water to remove the starchy residue and stop the cooking process.
STEP #6: Lastly, place the meatballs on a plate with the pasta and top with your favorite marinara sauce.
I highly recommend topping this with my Vegan Parmesan Cheese in 5 Minutes to really push it over the top!
Frequently Asked Questions
Buckwheat groats could be substituted for the bulgur and gluten-free breadcrumbs could be used to make these gluten-free.
A classic marinara or tomato-based sauce works best for vegan spaghetti and meatballs. If you would like to make your own, we have a great oil-free marinara sauce recipe on this website.
For store-bought options, the Aldi discount grocery store has an organic oil-free marinara brand called Simply Nature. Another great oil-free marinara is the DeLallo Fat-Free Brand. It can be ordered on Amazon and delivered straight to your door. I actually love this particular brand.
Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Italian-Inspired Vegan Recipes
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Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 cups cooked bulgur
- 1.5 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (equals 2-3 slices of bread)
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- 1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes (with juice drained and reserved)
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 sticks celery diced
- 3/4 cup carrot diced
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 green pepper diced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- sea salt to your taste
Pasta & Marinara
- 12 ozs pasta
- 3 cups marinara sauce
Instructions
Meatball Instructions
- Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350. Parchment paper makes clean up so much easier with this recipe.
- Cook bulgur according to package directions. It cooks on the stovetop or in a rice cooker in about 15-minutes.
- Dice all veggies–onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, and walnuts.
- Mix all ingredients in a very large bowl. You can use a spoon, but I prefer to use my hands to thoroughly blend ingredients.
- Form into balls and place on a baking sheet. If the mixture seems too wet, add a few more oats. If it seems too dry, add a little bit of the juice drained from tomatoes or water. These should hold together to form balls pretty well.
- Bake at 350°F for approximately 25-30 minutes.
- To make these meatballs even firmer, cook a day ahead and refrigerate. When they are reheated, the texture is very firm and the flavors have had time to marry and are fabulous.
- Cooking Pasta
- While this is cooking, put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook your spaghetti noodles according to the package directions. Usually, pasta takes about 15-minutes to cook on the stovetop.
- Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse under cool water to remove the starchy residue and stop the cooking process.
Assembly Instructions
- Lastly, place the meatballs on a plate with the pasta and top with your favorite marinara sauce. Homemade options linked above in the article above.
Video
Notes
- Pasta- I recommend using whole-grain pasta to keep this dish completely healthy.
- Overcooking- Don’t overcook the pasta, or it will become mushy. Rinsing it under cool water helps to stop the cooking process quickly and keep the noodles from sticking together.
- Make firmer- The vegan meatballs firm up even more after refrigerating them.
- Make them gluten-free- Subbed the bulgur with buckwheat groats, quinoa, brown rice, and barley for gluten-free options. Just be mindful to use gluten-free breadcrumbs and oats, as well as tamari in place of the soy sauce for the whole recipe.
- Marinara options- A classic marinara or tomato-based sauce works best for vegan spaghetti and meatballs. If you would like to make your own, we have a great oil-free marinara sauce recipe on this website. For store-bought options, the Aldi discount grocery store has an organic oil-free marinara brand called Simply Nature. Another great oil-free marinara is the DeLallo Fat-Free Brand. It can be ordered on Amazon and delivered straight to your door. I actually love this particular brand.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
I really loved these “meatballs” but I found the carrots to still be a bit crunchy. Next time I will saute the carrots and onions before adding them.
I also served the leftover meatballs with plant based gravy and it was great. They held up well like a traditional meatball.
That’s awesome to hear! I’m glad that you liked them, and thank you for the great rating and feedback.
Hi Terri – I grabbed some Simply Nature Marinara at Aldi’s, and noticed when I got it home that while there isn’t any oil, it’s fairly high in sodium. Should I be looking for something that is even lower in sodium than Simply Nature? I’ll check DeLallo, maybe their’s is lower in sodium. Appreciate the suggestion!
I think most of the bottled marinara options are going to be higher in sodium. The only way to get around that would be to make your own. There’s a good homemade, oil-free marinara sauce from Dreena Burton on this website that is a good option.
If I subbed quinoa for bulgur, would I use the same amount?
Can’t wait to make this!
I haven’t tried these with quinoa, but the same amound should work fine. Quinoa might make them a little more crumbly.
I just found your recipe for these meatballs. I have a question. Can I freeze these for future use?.
Elizabeth- Absolutely! I freeze them all the time, and they do great.
Thanks for providing substitutions to make these gluten free. Is there a substitute for the oats as my body perceives them as gluten due to the similar protein?
Lisa- Perhaps you could try quinoa flakes as a replacement for the oats.
I found my forever meatball recipe Thank you Teri!
I made those last week so delicious, made meatball subs then the spaghetti and meatballs my husband even took a sandwich for his lunch that’s how much he loved them. Last night I made them again with the idea of a savory flavor meatball I omitted the tomato sautéed mushrooms and onions added a cup of that. Added 1/2 teaspoons each of Thyme, sage and rosemary served with egg noodles and a vegan gravy so delicious.
Hi Darlene- WooHoo! I’m so glad that you and your husband liked these so much! Thank you for letting me know. 😀
I didn’t have bulgar so I used millet. These meatless balls are terrific. Thanks.
Very good and filling! Thanks!
Wow! Just made these and even my meat eating husband is loving them!!
Hi Ellen- For the WIN!! That’s awesome, and I’m thrilled that your husband liked the vegan meatballs too. Thanks so much for the great feedback!
Thank you so much for the recipes! It says this makes 6 servings but how many meatballs is a serving? Not sure how to big to make them.
Hi Amelia- You’re very welcome! This recipe should make about 12 meatballs, so approximately 2 per serving.
My favorite meatball recipe. I also flattened some and my our now favorite burger. Thanks so much
Hi Debbie- That’s awesome! I’m so glad that you liked them and even turned the recipe into burgers. Great idea!