Easy Veggie Balls

5 from 2 votes
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Veggie balls are the ultimate comfort food for cooler temps. These vegetarian meatballs are full of veggies, have wonderful texture and can be made in under 30 minutes. Your entire family will love this tasty vegetarian meal. They are great paired with homemade sauces like marinara, spicy tomatoes harissa and more! 

Vegetarian meatballs with cheese on top on a white plate.
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Why Make These Veggie Balls

This recipe is hearty. This recipe has rice and Quaker Oats baked right into it making it a filling vegetarian dish. 

It can easily be made gluten free by swapping the oats for Quaker Oats Gluten Free Oats and you can skip the cheese for those with dairy allergies. Look for specially marked gluten free products.

This recipe is customizable. You can add any sauce you would like to these vegetarian meatballs. They have a savory herbaceous flavor that pairs nicely with red sauce, stroganoff or alfredo sauces. 

Recipe Ingredients.

Ingredients to make these vegetarian meatballs.

Quaker Quick Oats. These add a great binder and texture to the meatballs. Quaker’s Oats are made from 100% whole grain and there are no artificial preservatives or flavors, which is another reason I love using them.

Eggs. These work as a binder and will keep everything together in a ball form. You do not want to skip these!

Chopped mushrooms. They give the vegetarian meatballs a lot of flavor. I like to use them because they are dry and don’t add too much moisture to the meatball. 

Fresh Parsley. This herb does a lot of the heavy lifting with flavor, you don’t want to skip this ingredient! 

How To Make This Recipe.

Steps to make these vegetarian meatballs.
Raw meatballs and finished meatballs.

Step 1: Chop up mushrooms, parsley, onions, garlic and shred cheese if needed. Add to a bowl and stir up with all other ingredients (garlic, rice, oats, seasoning). Do not add eggs in until step 3-4.

Step 2: Add to a food processor and pulse. 

Step 3 and 4: Add in the eggs and pulse some more. You may need a spatula to clean of the sides and pulse some more. Mixture should still have texture to it.

Step 5 & 6: use a scoop to form 1-inch balls and place on a cooking sheet. Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes. 

FAQs And Expert Tips.

Can I use different rice?

Yes! White rice, quinoa or wild rice would be great in this recipe.

Can I use something besides mushrooms?

Yes, cooked cauliflower would be a great alternative to mushrooms for this recipe.

If you find the meatball dough getting sticky, just coat your hands with a little oil and it should help. 

Keep an eye on your meatballs as they may cook quicker than expected since all oven temps vary. 

If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.

5 from 2 votes

Veggie Balls

Delicious, hearty veggie balls ready in under 30 minutes. Perfect for any meat eater or vegetarian!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups brown rice, Cooked
  • cups  Quaker Quick Oats 
  • ½ cup chopped onions
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp garlic
  • 3 tbsp italian seasoning
  • ½ cup pecorino cheese or parmesan
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 jar of pasta sauce , *

Instructions 

  • Cook the rice first. Chop up mushrooms, parsley, onions, garlic and shred cheese if needed. Add to a bowl and stir up with all other ingredients (garlic, rice, oats, seasoning). Do not add eggs in until step 3 – 4
  • Add to a food processor and pulse. 
  • Add in the eggs and pulse some more. You may need a spatula to clean of the sides and pulse some more. Mixture should still have texture to it.
  • Use a scoop to form 1-inch balls and place on a cooking sheet, if batter is too sticky, coat your hands in olive oil to help. Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes. 
     

Notes

*Use any sauce you prefer for these meatballs. I enjoy them with red sauce. 
Keep an eye on the cooking time, oven temps vary greatly. They will be a light golden brown when finished. 

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 418mg | Potassium: 388mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 122IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Bailey
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Course: dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 315
Keyword: 30 minute, Vegetarian Meatballs
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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Hi Bailey!
    We made these this weekend and they turned out amazing. We added feta instead of parmesan and loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

  2. 5 stars
    Bailey made these and shared some with us – we LOVED them. Will be making asap.

  3. Is the rice cooked or raw when added to the processor? Also, would binding consistency change if flax โ€˜eggโ€™ mixture replaced the 2 โ€˜realโ€™ eggs?

    Thank You!

    1. Hi D!
      The rice will need to be cooked for this recipe. I went ahead and updated that did-bit thanks for bringing it to my attention!
      For the Flax Egg – I imagine it will work, but the meatballs may not hold their shape/form as much as they would with an egg. They should still be tasty. If you use a vegan cheese that will help to keep them together without the egg!