Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti [vegan]

Italian meatballs have to be the ultimate comfort food in many homes. Somehow a good stack of meatballs and spaghetti can easily make you feel at home no matter where you are. So today, we have for you the best vegan version of this all-time classic.

Nowadays, Italian meatballs are a staple in many American households. You can also find them in most Italian restaurant in the US. I think we all drool just by imagining a beautiful stack of meatballs over perfectly cooked spaghetti drenched with warm aromatic marinara sauce. 

Contrary to popular belief, this dish doesn't come from Italy. The big European immigration to America around 1920 brought to us Italian meatballs. A lot of immigrants were struggling economically and Italians started cooking meatballs since they were easy and affordable to make

Even though, pasta and marinara sauce both have Italian origins they were also added to the dish during this time. People needed food that was filling and that reminded them of home. Spaghetti was one of the only Italian ingredient readily available and marinara sauce could be made from canned tomato paste. 

So, Italians invented these meatballs while in America. This makes it one of the first dishes of the so popular Italian-American cuisine. And I believe that's why it is so comforting and why it gives people that homey feeling as well. 

We have made other meatball recipes in the past and we fell in love with meatballs. A very popular recipe here at vegan.io is our Swedish meatballs, they were a hit! But this time we wanted to honour those old traditions. And since we know everyone loves a good bowl of Italian meatballs I went hunting for the best recipe I could find. 

Vegan meatballs can be a bit tricky. You want to have the right flavour that gives you that homey feeling. But the consistency is also very important. If you don't get this one right the meatballs can either crumble while you cook them, they can come out too dry or they can feel too heavy. 

The sweet spot was not easy to find but I was determined. After trying a few different recipes I found on the internet I decided to do my own little experiment. I used different elements from different recipes to get it right both on flavour and consistency. 

I did have to use a few different ingredients to make these Italian meatballs. But we are only using ingredients that are easily available at your local supermarket. We want everyone to be able to enjoy this delicious dish.

A beautiful meal like this one might seem complicated to make. But it's the complete opposite of that. The perfect Italian meatballs are easy and quick to make with this recipe. You will want to make them every night! 

This is the perfect dinner recipe to enjoy with your family. It brings everyone to the table to share not only food but some much-needed quality time!