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 in a food processor and bake them in 20 minutes. They are excellent for a weeknight dinner and meal prep as they keep well for days.
Have tofu meatballs with spaghetti or in a sub with your favorite marinara or arrabbiata sauce.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian and vegan diet. For gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs and pasta.
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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!
You can also add them to rigatoni arrabbiata or spaghetti pomodoro, dip them in tzatziki sauce, or have them for lunch in a sub with your favorite tomato-based sauce.
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, lemon tofu, mushroom tofu, 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.
Tofu meatballs video
Ingredients and Substitutions for Tofu Meatballs
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.
Serve well with
Tofu meatballs are excellent for dipping, in a sub, or with pasta. We recommend them with the following:
- Marinara sauce and spaghetti.
- Spicy rigatoni arrabbiata or penne arrabbiata.
- Spaghetti pomodoro or noodles in tomato sauce.
- In a sub sandwich with plenty of marinara sauce.
- Dipped in marinara sauce and tzatziki sauce and served with pita bread or rosemary focaccia.
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
Tofu meatballs with marinara sauce
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.
Tofu meatballs with pasta
Have them for lunch or dinner with your favorite pasta cooked al dente.
Any Italian tomato-based pasta dish is excellent with tofu meatballs.
You have many choices, from marinara sauce to rigatoni arrabbiata and spaghetti pomodoro. Or you can pick from one of our 40+ Easy Pasta Recipes.
Tofu meatballs in a sub
Have them as a snack or quick lunch in a delicious sub sandwich with plenty of marinara sauce and fresh parsley.
Dip them in tzatziki sauce
You can even serve the meatballs on a plate and dip them in various sauces. Our favorite is tzatziki sauce with yogurt, garlic, and cucumber.
Tofu meatballs with sweet and sour sauce
Cook the meatballs in the oven as described above, then serve them with a sweet and sour sauce dip.
To make it, in a small saucepan, mix 1 cup canned pineapple juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons of ketchup, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of water.
Bring to a simmer while whisking for a minute till the sauce thickens. Turn the heat off, stirring for another minute to cool it down, and serve.
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 High-Protein Vegetarian Meals
Find more high–protein vegetarian meals with these recipes:
- Stuffed butternut squash
- Vegetarian lentil loaf
- Zucchini boats
- Mushroom Wellington
- Lentil and rice mujadara
More Tofu Recipes
Find more easy and delicious tofu recipes with these quick meals:
For many more tofu ideas, check out our tofu category page.
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:
Could you add the sodium amounts in your recipes please? Love your recipes so much! Thank you!!
Thanks Paula,
We are happy you like the recipes 🙂
We are looking into this, we are trying to find a more reliable calculator for the sodium amount.
Have a great day!
Nico
What a amazing dishes you post, just love it, easy to make
Thankyou so much😇😊
Madhuri, I’m so happy you like our food ❤️💪
Thank you for your kind comment, and all the best,
Louise
I really liked the taste but I have to concur with the other comments on the consistency. The next time I use this recipe again, I will not soak the breadcrumbs in the milk first as I think this was the issue. I used the normal Coop brand breadcrumbs and it was almost impossible to mix with the blended tofu mixture as they became solid little masses. After baking for the allotted time according to recipe, the meatballs were not firm and were instead mushy and fell apart in the sauce. I will add the breadcrumbs and milk separately next time, or omit the milk entirely or only use it to aid in blending in the food processor for the tofu mix.
I’m sorry to say that although the flavor was good, the texture and consistency were totally off. With enough water on my hands I was able to form the mixture into balls, but nothing I did could get rid of the soft, sticky, uncooked center. I baked them in a 400° oven for a half an hour and they were still falling apart from the soft center, so I flattened them out and pan fried them for a few mins on each side then cooked them in the sauce for ten minutes. Although crisp on the outside after all that, they were still almost raw mush on the inside and falling apart when served. Will definitely not be making these again and am sad for the lost ingredients.
Hi there, I am sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as expected.
We never had the falling apart or the uncooked issue.
Some things to consider, not sure if you did this, but I’ll mention it anyway:
– use firm or extra firm tofu
– squeeze out the water from the tofu before blending it
– oil your hands before shaping the tofu
– make small balls, 20 grams (0.7 ounces) per ball, measured with a scale
Hope this helps troubleshoot what went wrong.
Have a great day!
Nico
I followed the instructions exactly, and ended up with a mixture the consistency of ricotta cheese. Impossible to shape into meatballs. However it tastes good. Not sure what to do next. I did use extra firm tofu and squeezed the water out of it.
Hi Jennifer,
Sorry it didn’t turn out well, not sure what could have gone wrong. You could try adding a little more breadcrumbs and cornstarch to thicken the mixture till you are able to shape it.
Hope this helps.
Nico
Im afraid I had a similar experience to other commenters, and I wish I had read them before starting. Mixture was sticky but I managed to create balls (measured with scale to 20g), but when frying I got a nice brown surface whilst the centre stayed completely raw. I tried microwaving one to see if that would cook the middle, but it didn’t. I decided to try and make the balls into mince to get it all cooked, and this took ages but eventually worked but when added to the sauce all texture dissolved and I was left with a tomato mush! Disappointing after using lots of expensive ingredients and the end result was inedible..
Hi Elsa,
I’m sorry the meatballs didn’t turn out as expected. We now re-developed and improved the recipe to make it easier to cook.
Have a wonderful day.
Nico
These “tofuballs” are so tasteful. Great for weekdays dinner. Please, do you know if I can freeze them? Thank you!
.
Hi Angie,
I’m super happy you liked the tofu balls! Yes, you can freeze them. Store them in the fridge for 3 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months (that’s the tofu balls without the marinara sauce, it’s best to store the sauce separately).
Have a wonderful rest of your week! Kindest,
Louise
I really enjoyed this for both the taste and the creativity! I just have to tweak a couple things to follow the steps more closely so I do have quite so mushy “meat” balls next time around! Thank you for this inspiring recipe.
Hi Nina, I’m so delighted you liked the “meat”-balls, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here. And have a great Tuesday! Kindest, Louise
Just made this again this time with dried tomatoes instead of olives, also delicious
Delicious and easy to make👍👍
These “meatballs” are delicious! I just made them. I baked them coating them with olive oil and they came out crispy and flavorful. What an easy recipe. You are so right, Nico!
Fantastic, Barbara. I’m delighted you liked them.
Thank you very much for your kind feedback and rating 🎉
All the best, Louise
Hi Jon, yes, thanks for bringing that up. I’ve added the missing step. Add breadcrumb/mix to the rest of the meatball ingredients. Apologies for the confusion.