Tofu meatballs are a quick, tasty, and nutritious alternative to meat-based meatballs, as they are packed with flavor, protein, and nutrition.
You can make them with pantry staples in 3 easy steps. For more vegetarian recipes, try our lentil meatballs, black bean burger, and lentil patties.
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What are Tofu Meatballs?
Our tofu meatballs are an excellent high-protein vegetarian meal for a weeknight dinner as they are easy to put together and cook in 20 minutes in the oven.
Like many of our other tofu recipes, such as baked tofu, air fryer tofu, pan-fried tofu, and BBQ tofu, these vegan meatballs are satisfying and versatile.
Our favorite way of serving this tofu meatball recipe is with spaghetti and homemade marinara sauce.
Your whole family will love them this way.
Our tofu meatballs are inspired by Italian home cooking, so you’ll be familiar with the ingredients and flavor of this dish.
As we’ve shown you in our other Italian-inspired recipes like our tofu cacciatore, tofu pasta, and tofu in pizzaiola sauce, tofu’s neutral taste works beautifully with Italian flavors.
With pasta e fagioli, pasta e ceci, and eggplant parmigiana, tofu meatballs are part of our rotation when we feel like delicious plant-based Italian comfort food.
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Tofu
Use firm tofu or extra-firm tofu for the best texture.
Avoid silken and soft tofu as they won’t stay together when forming the meatballs.
Olives
We recommend black or green pitted olives. They add a rich, savory flavor to the tofu meatballs.
Walnuts
Walnuts add healthy fats, protein, and flavor.
Substitute almonds or cashews for walnuts.
Breadcrumbs
We recommend Italian breadcrumbs. They absorb the extra moisture from the tofu and help the meatballs stay together.
Onion and Garlic
You can flavor the meatballs by using white, yellow, and red onion or shallots and fresh garlic.
Substitute one teaspoon of garlic powder and one teaspoon of onion powder for fresh garlic and onion.
Dried oregano
Substitute dried thyme or an Italian herb mix for dried oregano.
Fresh parsley
We like to add fresh parsley for freshness. Substitute another fresh herb like fresh basil or chives for parsley.
Salt and Black pepper
Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Red pepper flakes are optional.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch helps the tofu meatballs bind together, so we recommend it. Substitute tapioca starch for cornstarch.
Nutritional yeast (optional)
Nutritional yeast is optional, but if you already have it in your pantry, add a tablespoon or two to infuse the tofu meatballs with a pleasant cheesy flavor.
How to Make Tofu Meatballs
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take the firm tofu from the package and squeeze it over a sink to remove excess moisture.
To a food processor, add the tofu, breadcrumbs, pitted olives, walnuts, chopped onion, garlic, dried oregano, fresh parsley, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper.
Blend until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice.
Shape the tofu mixture into small balls of 0.7 ounces or 20 grams each by rolling them between the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 24 tofu meatballs.
Tip: We recommend using a scale to measure the first couple of meatballs and make sure they are the right size so they cook fast and get warm to the core.
Tip: If the mixture sticks, grease your hands with a few drops of olive oil. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can shape the meatballs with two spoons, but they won’t get as round.
Arrange the meatballs on your prepared baking tray.
Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 20 minutes.
Tip: For extra flavor, brush the meatballs with olive oil before baking them.
This is what they should look like after baking for 20 minutes. They are soft but stay together well and don’t fall apart.
Serving Suggestions
These tofu meatballs are delicious with a store-bought or homemade marinara sauce or other Italian tomato-based sauce.
Heat the sauce in a large skillet, then add your baked tofu meatballs.
Stir them in and simmer for 5 minutes, then add fresh parsley or basil and serve them with warm bread, rosemary focaccia, in a sandwich, with pasta or rice.
Variations
Pan-fried tofu meatballs
Warm up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, then add the meatballs. Fry gently for 12 to 15 minutes, turning them around often to get cooked on all sides.
Air fryer tofu meatballs
Arrange the meatballs in your air fryer without overlapping and air fry at 350°F or 180°C for 10 minutes.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: Tofu meatballs are an excellent recipe for meal prep as they keep well for days in the fridge.
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: You can freeze the meatballs for up to 3 months. Let them cool down completely and freeze in a freezer-friendly container without the sauce.
Thaw & Reheat: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Warm them in the microwave for 1 minute or in a saucepan with sauce for 5 minutes. Frozen and thawed vegan balls can fall apart as you reheat them.
Questions
Pan-fried meatballs are softer and juicier but a little less healthy as they are cooked in oil.
Oven-baked ones are a little dryer but healthier and still delicious.
However, if you put them in marinara sauce, it’s very hard to tell which ones are fried and which are oven-baked.
Yes. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs. Also, serve them with gluten-free pasta or gluten-free bread.
Yes, absolutely. Just leave the breadcrumbs out or substitute rolled oats for breadcrumbs.
The meatballs will still be delicious, although a little denser. The tofu flavor will be more recognizable.
More Tofu Recipes
Find more easy and delicious tofu recipes with these quick meals:
Tofu Meatballs
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 8 ounces firm tofu or extra-firm.
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup pitted olives black or green.
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- ½ onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional, to help binding.
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional, for flavor.
Serve well with
- 12 ounces spaghetti cooked in salted boiling water.
- our homemade marinara sauce or a store-bought one.
Instructions
BLEND
- Heat oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.Squeeze 8 ounces firm tofu over your sink to remove excess moisture.To a food processor, add tofu, ½ cup breadcrumbs, ⅓ cup pitted olives, ⅓ cup walnuts, ½ onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 handful fresh parsley, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 twists black pepper, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast.
- Blend until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice.
SHAPE
- Shape the tofu mixture into small balls of 0.7 ounces or 20 grams each by rolling them between the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 24 tofu meatballs.Tip: We recommend using a scale to measure the first couple of meatballs and make sure they are the right size so they cook fast and get warm to the core.
- Arrange the meatballs on your prepared baking tray.Tip: If the mixture sticks, grease your hands with a few drops of olive oil.
BAKE
- Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until browned on top and bottom.
MAKE THIS A MEAL
- Heat our homemade marinara sauce or a store-bought one in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve with 12 ounces spaghetti, focaccia bread, or in a sub sandwich.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked these tofu meatballs, you might also enjoy:
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
I tried this recipe with a few substitutes due to pantry-blindness and I am just amazed at it.
I replaced the olives with equal amount capers (and a bit of their brine), added some chia seeds for binding and dijon mustard because I saw it in the fridge.
Absolutely incredible, this will be on rotation from now on.
Hi Joanna,
Your substitutions sound brilliant — I love how you worked with what you had and still made it shine. So glad it’s earned a spot in your rotation!
Kindest,
Louise
Update number 2 because we had a cooking date night at home and the meatballs were already devoured:
Sun-dried tomatoes also work amazingly and most importantly, this recipe works in meatloaf form which is perfect for meal-prepping. Just follow the same process and aim for the same consistency (which depends on the tofu, I played around a bit with the binding ingredients to get to consistency in the pictures), pop it in a bread tin and bake. (I did almost an hour at 180C)
Hi Joanna,
I absolutely love this update — sun-dried tomatoes sound fantastic, and turning it into a meatloaf for meal prep is such a smart twist! Thank you for experimenting and sharing the details so generously.
Happy Friday and all the best,
Louise
Excellent recipe, very easy to make and ingredients that were available around the house. Very simple. Flavorful with whole wheat penne pasta. Spinach cauliflower yum… And quick for dinner. Put half in the air fryer 390F for 20 min . Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Thank you for this great recipe.
Hi Neeth! 😊 I’m so glad you enjoyed the tofu meatballs — love the idea of pairing them with whole wheat penne and those veggies!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and for the kind words!
Kindest,
Louise
I made these today. Love the flavor. Next time I’ll freeze and defrost the tofu first because it creates a great meat texture.
Fantastic, Sharon, great tip. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment here. Kindest,
Louise
Excellent flavor! We would prefer them to be a little more firm with some texture. We really enjoyed them and would make them again, maybe with a tweak or two.
Today I made these Tofu meatballs. They are delicious . You can not tell it is tofu. My husband loved them.
Sarebbe possibile cuocerle nel brodo, tipo canederli?
Mmmm, forse si. Però non abbiamo provato, protrebbero rompersi. Ma se le compatti bene, portrebbe funzionare.
Queste polpette sono veramente deliziose!!! Grandi!!!