Simple, vegan and gluten free meatballs covered in a sweet homemade barbecue sauce, these meatballs make an easy comfort dinner. Serve them with any type of potatoes or rice and vegetables.

A note on some of the ingredients:

Beyond beef: I prefer the flavour of Beyond beef for these meatballs and the fact that it is not only vegan but also gluten free. Impossible meat ground would also work well in this recipe.

Gluten free breadcrumbs: Gluten free breadcrumbs help to hold the meatballs together and add some bulk. It can be difficult to find gluten free breadcrumbs that don’t cost a fortune so you can also make your own. Dice half a loaf of gluten free bread (or save all of the heels from the gluten free loaves) and bake on a large rimmed baking sheet at 250°F for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The bread should be very dry. Let it cool and then zip the bread in a food processor. Store the breadcrumbs in the freezer for up to three months.

Dehydrated minced onion: I use dehydrated onion in this recipe because that is what my grandmother always used. It adds a very subtle onion flavour to the meatballs. If dehydrated minced onion is unavailable, substitute 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder.

Non dairy milk: Any non dairy milk will work in this recipe. I usually use almond milk because I have it on hand and it is unsweetened. If you don’t have non dairy milk substitute with either water or vegetable broth.

White vinegar: Vinegar helps to balance the flavours in the barbecue sauce. If you don’t have white vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even rice vinegar is a good substitute.

Vegan butter: I use vegan Becel margarine in this recipe. It is also gluten free and we always have some on hand. Any plant based, gluten free butter would work.

Blackstrap molasses: Blackstrap molasses are higher in iron than regular molasses and add a deep rich colour to the barbecue sauce. Any type of molasses will work in this recipe.

How Grandma’s meatballs are made:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl add the Beyond meat, breadcrumbs, dehydrated onion and non dairy milk. Mix everything together well leaving no dry patches of breadcrumbs. Using a spoon or a 1″ cookie scoop measure out the mixture and shape it into balls. Add the meatballs to an 8 x 8 baking dish, making sure they aren’t touching. There is no need to grease the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven for 30 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, mix together the sauce ingredients in a medium sized measuring cup or small bowl. Once the meatballs are almost fully cooked, spoon some of the sauce on to the meatballs and put them back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

The sauce is on the sweeter side which appeals to my kids however they don’t like a lot of it on the meatball so I reserve some for the side. We usually have these with brown rice or roasted potatoes and some veggies on the side. Enjoy!