Eggplant Meatballs (Vegan & Gluten-free)

Roasted eggplant has this amazing texture and fairly neutral flavor, so with proper seasoning they can be turned into many tasty things. If you would like to try eggplants for the first time or just looking for vegan recipes with eggplants, this 5-ingredient (plus spices) vegan eggplant meatballs recipe might be exactly what you need.

When I feel sad or depressed or in a serious need of comfort food, I almost always think of tomato sauce-based dishes. No idea why, all my favorite comfort foods are somehow tomato-based. Just like these Spaghetti Meatballs, I love a flavorful Lasagna, a hearty Shepherd’s Pie, or a spicy Chili. Maybe the only exception is this Vegan Alfredo Sauce which won me over by how quick I can make it. In less than 15 minutes! What is your favorite comfort food?

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Eggplant balls? What are they exactly?

If you are looking for a meatless meatball alternative, eggplant balls are a great choice. We don’t need to call it vegan or vegetarian or veggies, as I haven’t come across any other recipe where they listed meat as one of the ingredients.

The star is eggplant of course and all other ingredients are only there to make sure you can form a ball. There are many versions to prepare this meal:

• You can roast or fry the eggplant or just blend them with the other ingredients.
• Some recipes add eggs to make sure the balls stick together.
• Other recipes add breadcrumbs for crunchiness.
• To finish off you can bake or deep fry the balls at the end.

What do you need for our eggplant meatballs recipe? 

I have to say our eggplant meatballs are somewhat simpler and healthier. You can make delicious meatballs without eggs, oil or breadcrumbs. Eggplant has such a spongy texture, you have to watch the amount of oil especially with these veggies as they can soak up too much and become too oily and heavy at the end. I love how enthusiastically Chef Pasquale cooks eggplant balls but it is hard to watch the amount of oil he uses.

We use only 5 ingredients to make eggplant meatballs:

• roasted and pureed eggplants
• oats and brown rice flour will give you texture
• flax egg to make the balls stick together
• marjoram will give you zing

The idea to use marjoram comes from the seasoning of sausages we grew up with. We were just experimenting with our Vegan Lentil Loaf recipe using marjoram when we thought of trying it also with this recipe. And it worked. At least for our taste buds. You can – of course – season it with basil and oregano. Options are described in the recipe card below.

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How to make vegan eggplant meatballs? 

Roasting eggplant

First, you need to roast the eggplants, which is easy to do. I usually use a glass container or a baking mat so I can roast them oil-free. After washing the eggplants I cut them in half vertically and place the halves upside down. You can cut off the stem, but not necessary. You need approx. 30 minutes to get the eggplants soft in enough that you can peel or spoon out the eggplant flesh. You can see it in the below photo of how eggplants look like after roasting without oil in the oven.

Making the mixture

First, peel or spoon the eggplant “meat” and blend it until you get a puree using a food processor or a hand blender. Now, take a glass bowl and add the pureed eggplant and all other ingredients (oats, brown rice flour, flax egg, and the seasoning) and mix them with a wooden spoon (photo #1). You don’t need to add the mixture back to a food processor or blender.

Resting to form the balls

Now, the mixture for your vegan, egg-free and gluten-free eggplant meatballs is ready. I usually pop it in the fridge for approx. 10-15 minutes so that the oats and the flax egg can work their magic and get all ingredients to stick together so to speak. After that, it will be easy to form small (2-3 inch wide) veggie balls (photo #2), which can even be fun for the kids to help out with.

Baking or frying

Take your frying pan, add a bit of oil and fry them on medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. If it is a truly non-stick like these ones*, then you wouldn’t need to add any oil and the eggplant balls will still get a crispy brownish crust.

If you prefer baking, then take a baking mat or a sheet pan with parchment paper and bake them on 350 Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for 15-20 minutes turning them at half-time.

Top tips to make perfect eggplant meatballs

• Roasting in advance – you can roast the eggplants in advance and store them in the fridge for 1-2 days without a problem. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that they might release liquid, so you need more oats or flour to get to the right consistency
• Size matters – Baking and frying time depends on the size of the meatballs you make. The smaller they are, the cooking time will be shorter.
• Balls or patties – You can make burger-shaped veggie patties, the mixture will hold it together.
• Turn them gently – In my experience with gluten-free cooking and baking, whatever mixture I make it is usually soft to work with or when hot, but firms up after cooling.

More vegan recipes with eggplant meatballs

When your vegan eggplant meatballs are ready, you can serve them in many different ways. Try also our easy and quick Chickpea Meatballs or Mushroom Meatballs or our Copycat IKEA Veggie Balls recipe. They are delicious!

• Drop them into our homemade marinara sauce and make spaghetti with “meatballs”. You can even pop it in the oven top it with lots of grated cheese to turn it into a pasta bake or casserole.
• Try it with our delicious caramelized carrot pasta sauce.
• You can make a complete meal by adding Vegan Mashed Potatoes, your favorite Fried Rice, or any combination of roasted veggies (asparagus, mushroom, root veggies…)
• Make an eggplant meatballs sandwich with marinara sauce.
• Put them on a stick or skewer, add a dip (like vegan BBQ sauce) and serve them as appetizers.
• Take a vegan and gluten-free biscuit and make meatball biscuit sliders.
• Drop them in your Vegan Mac and Cheese.
• Stuff pita bread with veggies and eggplant balls top with your favorite vegan yogurt dip.
• Add them to your vegan shakshuka to make it more filling.
• Can it be a delicious pizza topping? Why not?

Let us know in the comments what is your favorite combination!

FAQs and Substitutions

What can I use instead of rice flour?

If you don’t need to eat gluten-free, then you can use all-purpose wheat flour. If gluten-free, you can use oat flour, chickpea flour or buckwheat flour for sure.

What can I use instead of oats?

I have only tried to make it with oats. If I need to change it, I would try it with breadcrumbs. Any other grain would be too hard when they are uncooked, or too moist if they are cooked.

How do you store eggplant balls?

You can keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days tops without any problem. We recommend storing the meatballs by themselves and not dipped in any sauce.

Can you freeze them?

Yes, you can. We recommend freezing after frying/baking, not as an uncooked mixture as the eggplant will release moisture when uncooked and thawed. If you are ready to enjoy them, pop them back in the oven or warm them up in a frying pan to get crispy crust back.

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Why do we love eggplant recipes?

Did you know?

Eggplant is technically a fruit, but we rather think of it as one of the nightshade vegetables.

According to Cronometer eggplants are great to boost the fiber content of any dish. It is high in Vitamine B1 and B6 as well as copper and manganese. Furthermore, purple fruits and veggies are usually high in antioxidants just like eggplant. If you are interested in learning more, here is an article about the 7 surprising health benefits of eggplants. So it is really worth it to incorporate eggplants in your weekly meals.

Choosing the right recipe may determine whether you like eggplant or not at the end. They can be quite bitter if not properly cooked or baked. It has a spongy texture similar to mushrooms. However, there are so many great recipes you can try apart from having them as “meatballs” for example make it a star in this Asian Caramelised Eggplant Salad or go with a Middle Eastern flow and make Lebanese Stuffed Eggplants or a Vegan Sabich Sandwich. Do you have a favorite eggplant recipe? Let us know in the comments below.

This Eggplant Meatballs recipe is vegan (so egg-free and dairy-free), vegetarian, nut-free, soy-free, and WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based). However, it is only gluten-free if you buy certified gluten-free rolled oats like this one. Oats are naturally gluten-free, although they are usually cross-contaminated with other grains. If you are interested to read more about oats, you can always visit UK’s Coeliac Website.

⇒ Get our FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN now! or check out all vegan meal plan recipes here! ⇐

More quick dinner recipes

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out

• Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
• Vegan Jackfruit Stew
• Vegan Portobello Fajitas
• Quick Broccoli Lentil Stir Fry
• Easy Vegan Alfredo Sauc

UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in Jan 2019, but was rewritten and republished with new photos, instructions, and tips in April 2020.