Vegan Pasta And Not-Meat-Balls
I’ve used these Trader Joe’s vegan meatless balls once before, and again I dug them out of my freezer for a quick vegan pasta meal. They aren’t my favorite meatless product, the flavor is very soy-ish, but I wasn’t about to let them go to waste either.
I cooked whole wheat penne, and let the meatless balls simmer in marinara sauce for about 15 minutes, while I sliced and buttered bread for garlic toast. After a sprinkling of garlic salt and nutritional yeast, I popped the bread in the oven to toast for 10 minutes. It was a super quick and delicious meal! I personally thought the garlic bread was the star of the show, but maybe that’s just because I love garlic bread and haven’t made it in a long time.
How often do you use “short-cuts”, such as prepared meatless balls, in your meals?
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I Eat Trees is a blog featuring my adventures in all things vegan. My favorite recipes, snack food finds, and restaurant trials are all on the menu so enjoy!
My short cut is store bought hummus. As much as I try I have not mastered hummus making. Plus it is just easier to have a container of hummus on hand for those quick meals. Now I want garlic bread looking at your meal.
I like them both, but I agree store-bought and homemade have completely different consistencies!
I’ve never bought those Trader Joe’s meatballs, but now I want them, because that looks great! I think it’s totally fine to use shortcuts now and then – I often get home late from work, and I’m the only one who cooks dinner, and making something like this is probably still much healthier than ordering take-out. Make no apologies for the shortcuts, we all need help sometimes!
I do love that shortcuts mean more family time!
I rarely buy fake meat products, but I haven’t had any luck making homemade meatballs any better than the frozen kind (the beanballs from Veganomicon? Gross!)…I might get these to make a much-loved meatball sub
They would be really great for a sub! Thanks for the heads up about the bean balls; I’ll remember to avoid those!
I bought some of those meatless “meatballs” from Trader Joe’s, too, but haven’t used them yet. Thanks for reminding me about them!
I try not to use faux meat products too often, but I will occasionally add soy chorizo or a chopped Boca burger to certain dishes for convenient bulk and protein.
Yeah, I agree. I haven’t found a good vegan premade chorizo though.. I forget where I got it, but the one I tried was so salty it was almost painful!
We buy fake meat and dairy products very infrequently, but they’re a huge relief sometimes. I haven’t experimented a whole lot with making homemade meatballs. And the only time I made homemade vegan “burgers”, it didn’t taste all that great. I’m still hopeful, though.
Vegan meatballs recipes seem to be pretty hit and miss, so if you ever find a keeper, let me know!
This meal looks delicious! I’ll have to try those meatballs next time I get to TJ’s. I like to buy tempeh and use it in spaghetti sauce—it’s really simple as well. I do often purchase premade veggie burgers like Sunburger’s or Dr. Praeger’s and sometimes Gardein products depending on what I’m cooking for the week.
Good idea on adding tempeh! I’ll have to try that too. And I really liked Sunburgers!
Looks delicious but I agree with you, I would be turned off by the soy-ish flavor. I have not had any fake meats in a month. I am enjoying only because I was told to lay off on anything that has vital gluten. Sticking to tofu and tempeh for now. Nice dish !
I love tempeh!! But unfortunately the husband seems to dislike it no matter how I prepare it, so I try not to make it *too* often. I think he’ll eventually like it with gradual persuasion… Haha!
I do buy a few vegan meats and intend to buy more. I do not miss meat and i don’t think i ever will, but just to try something new that the rest of the family can eat (like when they have hotdogs, i make toffurkey) helps me have better “Family Meals”.
Never been to trader joe’s, though i want to so badly. The nearest one is about an hour away, but i might make the trip soon!
Ours is quite a drive too, but it’s a really fun store.