Incredible ” meatless” meatballs made with hearty eggplant, flavor-packed mushrooms, garlic, and cilantro, formed into these crazy good balls of delicious joy that you MUST try! Kid-friendly and perfect for spaghetti and meatball dinners!
I love meatballs of any kind. If you love them as much as I do then this easy meatless meatball recipe, is for you. These Eggplant Meatballs can be made in only a few easy steps, and are absolutely the BEST I have had yet!
Are you excited???? I am! They don’t fall apart, resemble traditional meatballs, and are full of veggies like eggplant and mushrooms. YIPPEE!!!
These were so good I had to stop myself from eating too many, haha!
Things to love about these Eggplant Meatballs
- Firm on the outside but tender on the inside
- Hearty and full of good for you veggies like eggplant and mushrooms
- Oh so tasty!
- Easy “meatless” meatball recipe with only a few steps
Ingredients needed to make eggplant meatballs
These meatballs are made of only a few simple ingredients.
How to make these baked Eggplant Meatballs
Roast the eggplant and mushrooms to get them nice and soft and bring out their vibrant flavors. To do this:
- Dice the eggplant
- Chop the mushrooms
- Lay the chopped eggplant and mushrooms onto a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Toss and bake in the oven at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for a few minutes.
Then pulse the cooked eggplant and mushrooms in a food processor, combine with the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
1. Add the roasted veggies to the food processor 2. Pulse into a smooth mixture
3. Add remaining ingredients to a mixing bowl 4. Combine with the pulsed veggies
Cover and chill the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes to set up.
After the mixture chills, roll the mixture into even-sized balls and place onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown. Cook’s tip: I recommend using a small ice cream scoop to scoop the mixture out of the bowl to help ensure they are all the same size for even cooking times.
That’s it! Then you can cook them in your favorite tomato sauce and top them with some more fresh herbs, and you are ready for a “meatless” meatball feast.
Recipe Tips
- The best type of eggplant to use in these eggplant meatballs. I prefer to use a smaller eggplant with thinner skin like a graffiti eggplant since you don’t need to peel it before roasting it. You could also use a standard Italian eggplant but would need to peel it before dicing it up for roasting in this recipe since the skin is slightly thicker.
- How to pick a ripe eggplant. To choose a ripe eggplant, go for one that is small to medium in size and not too large since larger eggplant will not have as much flavor and tend to be less sweet and more bitter in taste. You also want to look for eggplant that has a smooth, shiny skin that is pretty uniform in color. Test ripeness by pressing a finger lightly on the skin of the eggplant. If it leaves an imprint then it is ripe!
- Best mushrooms to use in this eggplant meatball recipe. I always opt for baby Bella (cremini) or portobello mushrooms in all of my recipes since they are meatier in taste and pack more nutrition than white button mushrooms or shitake mushrooms.
- If you don’t want to use cashews, you can pulse other types of nuts like walnuts or almonds. Breadcrumbs also work fine in place of the cashews but I really love the added texture that the pulsed nuts give these meatballs.
- Can you freeze eggplant meatballs? Yes, you can! See recipe notes for how to freeze and reheat these meatballs.
What to eat with Eggplant meatballs
There are so many ways to enjoy these meatballs.
- Meatless meatball subs – add a few meatballs to some toasted buns and top with tomato sauce and cheese. So good!
- With spaghetti squash, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese or even pesto!
- Combine with your favorite soup or salad
- On pizza – Slice them in half and add them as a pizza topping for a vegetarian meatballs pizza! Yum!!!!
Did you try this recipe? If so, please leave a comment and rating below!
Update: This recipe and post have been updated with additional process photos and an updated recipe card.
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Easy Baked Eggplant Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Incredible ” meatless” meatballs made with hearty eggplant, flavor-packed mushrooms, garlic, and cilantro, formed into these crazy good balls of delicious joy that you MUST try! Kid-friendly and perfect for spaghetti and meatball dinners!
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size eggplant peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
- 1-pint baby Bella mushrooms (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cashews (pulsed in a food processor or crushed)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (any kind will work)
- 1 large egg (lightly whisked)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro (you can use dried cilantro or cilantro paste but cut it to 1 tbsp)
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
For serving
- 2 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
- Fresh chopped basil or parsley
- Shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
Roast the veggies
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the diced eggplant to a medium-size mixing bowl, drizzle on one tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread the eggplant out evenly on half of the baking sheet.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the same mixing bowl you tossed the eggplant in and drizzle them with one tablespoon of olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle on the one tablespoon of dried thyme and pepper and toss. Do not add salt to the mushrooms or they won’t brown as well in the oven.
- Lay the mushrooms out evenly on the other half of the baking sheet that the eggplant is on and bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven. Once the veggies are finished cooking, set them aside to cool for a few minutes, and sprinkle the salt over the mushrooms.
Make the meatless meatball mixture
- After the veggies are cooled, add them to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are minced and resemble ground meat. Pour the mixture into a medium-size mixing bowl. If you do not have a food processor, then you can still make these meatballs, but they may be a little chunkier. Just use a potato masher to mash them instead of a food processor.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. I just used my hands, but you can use a rubber spatula to mix everything up.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Form and bake the meatballs
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
- Using an ice cream scoop or just your hands, form about 15-20 even sized balls with the mixture and place them evenly onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the 400F degree oven for 20-25 minutes until they are nice and golden brown.
Serve
- To serve: Heat some tomato sauce in a skillet on the stove to low heat. Once hot and starting to bubble toss the meatballs in the tomato sauce and let them cook for 1-2 minutes in the sauce. Plate, top with some fresh basil and grated parmesan, and ENJOY!
Notes
- Best type of eggplant to use in these eggplant meatballs. I prefer to use a smaller eggplant with thinner skin like a graffiti eggplant since you don’t need to peel it before roasting it. You could also use a standard Italian eggplant but would need to peel it before dicing it up for roasting in this recipe since the skin is slightly thicker.
- How to pick a ripe eggplant. To choose a ripe eggplant, go for one that is small to medium in size and not too large since larger eggplant will not have as much flavor and tend to be less sweet and more bitter in taste. You also want to look for eggplant that has a smooth, shiny skin that is pretty uniform in color. Test ripeness by pressing a finger lightly on the skin of the eggplant. If it leaves an imprint then it is ripe!
- Best mushrooms to use in this eggplant meatball recipe. I always opt for baby Bella (cremini) or portobello mushrooms in all of my recipes since they are meatier in taste and pack more nutrition than white button mushrooms or shitake mushrooms.
- If you don’t want to use cashews, you can pulse other types of nuts like walnuts or almonds. Breadcrumbs also work fine in place of the cashews but I really love the added texture that the pulsed nuts give these meatballs.
- To make this vegan, you can sub the egg with a flax egg and sub the parmesan with vegan parmesan cheese.
- You can store these in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days! To reheat: warm them in a pan on the stovetop with your favorite tomato sauce or in the microwave.
- To freeze these meatballs raw or cooked: You will need to place them into a freezer-friendly airtight container and separate them with wax paper so they do not stick together. They should freeze for about 2-3 months.
- To cook them from frozen: Simply remove them from the freezer, let them thaw on the counter for 30 minutes then cook them per the recipe cooking instructions.
- To cook them from cooked-frozen state: Let them thaw on the counter for 20 minutes. Cook them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 F degrees for 15 minutes. Add them to a pan with your favorite red sauce, cook for a few more minutes in the sauce, serve and ENJOY!
- Category: Healthy Dinner Ideas
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Here are some more EGGPLANT recipes to try!
Roasted Eggplant Casserole from the Savory Tooth
I made these last night and was a little skeptical if they would really work as “meatballs.” Wow! They came our great! Great flavor, nice texture (didn’t fall apart like lots of veggie subsitutes), and worked great with pasta and tomato sauce. And they made enough for several meals. Thanks for a recipe I’ll make again and again.
★★★★★
Hi Kathy, Thank you so much! I am so glad you liked them. They are my absolute favorite meatless meatballs!
Hi! What could I use as a substitute for Parmesan cheese??
Hi Maya, vegan parmesan cheese would work or you could use breadcrumbs.
Is there a substitute for the cashews ? Thanks
Hi Linda, You could use breadcrumbs in place of the cashews.
I love these. I made them for myself for a family dinner. And my meat eaters also enjoyed them.
★★★★★
Hi Tami, I’m so happy you and your family liked them!
Excellent recipe! Made it for the second time tonight. This time I sliced the eggplant to roast it, so I could peel it after it cooked. Also used almond meal instead of cashews, cause that’s what I had. Very delicious! A big hit with my picky husband. Thank you!
★★★★★
That’s so great Debra! These are by far my favorite meatless meatballs! So glad you and your husband liked them.
Have you ever fried rather than baked them?
Hi John, I have not tried frying them since I believe they would fall apart.
Is there a substitute or can you skip the cashews for calorie reduction?
Hi Donna, I have used a combo of pulsed walnuts and almond which have less calories, and that worked very well. Also, I bet if you used breadcrumbs in place of the cashews that would work, although I have not tested that out yet.
Tried them today. Love love love them. And served them with a homemade tomato sauce with a little Panama Chile. Mmmm love. Besides I love everything that is baked Thank you for sharing
Hi Rosa! I am so glad you liked them. This is one of my family’s favorites as well!
This looks so good! What a great way to use this veggie to make a pasta dish more healthy!
Thanks for sharing! What a great way to prep this garden veggie to use throughout the year!
Thank you so much, Vanessa!