Vegan Paleo BBQ Meatballs

5 from 1 vote
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Delicious paleo vegan bbq meatballs are an easy comfort food that is perfect as an appetizer or a main dish! No tofu, soy, or grains- just lots of veggies and whole foods!

meatballs in bbq sauce on a plate

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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!

Delicious Vegan Paleo BBQ Meatballs

I love finding fresh, delicious ways to re-make some of my favorite foods – reducing calories, fat, and even making them gluten/grain free, or vegan!

It’s not always easy to come up with a way to create a meaty flavor or a good texture from vegetables – and I really didn’t think I’d be able to without using grains to bind the meatballs– but I am so pleased with how great these turned out!

And- to make this recipe even tastier– I am teaming up with Vitamix to give YOU a 5200 blender so you can make your own!

This blender is awesome- and what I used to get the perfect texture for these “meat”balls! (as well as perfect drinks, smoothies, soups, etc!!)

meatballs in bbq sauce on a plate

Eating fresh, healthy food is a lot easier with the right tools- and my Vitamix makes eating healthy foods super simple! It can be used as a blender for smoothies or soups, as a food processor, or even as a grain mill!

It is also awesome for making homemade nut butters!

And I am so excited to give a brand new Vitamix 5200 to a lucky reader! Be sure to scroll down to enter and win- after this delicious meat-free, grain-free, totally fresh and delicious Paleo Vegan BBQ Meatball recipe!

meatballs in bbq sauce in a pot with a wooden spoon

Freezing these Meatballs

These are such an easy, delicious comfort food that you don’t have to feel bad about!

You can also pre-cook them and freeze these meatballs ahead of time- and make them in big batches!

This way, you can pull a few out at a time to have a perfectly portioned appetizer or dinner, so you can reach for a great whole-food instead of quick go-to processed foods!

I’m sharing another great take with these meatballs soon- so stay tuned!

ingredients being blended in a vitamix

How to Make these BBQ Meatballs

The trick to this recipe is the perfect texture- and a good method.

For our meatball texture, we want a finely ground base- but not overly ground (or it will turn to soup!!).

paleo meatballs laid out on tin foil.

In many blenders, this would be tough- but the Vitamix allows you to use a tamper to stir your ingredients right there in the blender for the right texture!

Pulse on a low setting and stir well while blending to keep the food moving and prevent it from liquifying.

Also, after testing a few ways to make these meatballs- I can say NOT to cook these on foil (as pictured). Use parchment paper instead- the soft texture of these meatballs will stick to foil.

The meatball itself is a little fragile until sautรฉed (or frozen for future use) – so don’t manhandle them when sautรฉing!

Other Delicious Paleo Recipes

Click here to view all my paleo recipes!

meatballs in bbq sauce in a pot with a wooden spoon

Paleo Vegan BBQ Meatballs Recipe

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meatballs in bbq sauce in a pot with a wooden spoon

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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Paleo BBQ Meatballs

By: Courtney O’Dell
Servings: 6
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
A plate of BBQ meatballs with sauce and a fork.
Delicious paleo vegan bbq meatballs are an easy comfort food that is perfect as an appetizer or a main dish! No tofu, soy, or grains- just lots of veggies and whole foods!

Ingredients 

  • 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1 bell pepper, any color, diced
  • 1 eggplant, skin on, diced
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • ยฝ cup walnuts, diced very fine
  • ยฝ cup paleo BBQ sauce

Instructions 

  • Set a baking sheet out with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large pan, heat grapeseed oil until shimmery.
  • Add in diced bell pepper, eggplant, walnuts, and zucchini.
  • Sautee until browned, about 15 minutes – stirring regularly to prevent burning.
  • Remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes.
  • Add to vitamix blender with tamper and grind until soft- making sure to use tamper to stir mixture. It should be a small, soft texture but not liquified.
  • Remove mixture from blender and put into a large bowl.
  • Take 1/4 cup mixture and roll into a tightly packed ball.
  • Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Continue rolling balls until you’ve made them all.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until a deep brown. This step helps the meatballs “set”, so don’t skip it!
  • At this point, you can remove your meatballs and freeze them for another use.
  • If eating immediately, place meatballs in a pan with a drizzle of grapeseed oil over medium heat.
  • Brown on all sides, about 8 minutes.
  • Add bbq sauce, stir well.
  • Let sauce heat up- about 2 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and serve immediately!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 181kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 244mgFiber: 4gSugar: 12g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: low carb
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetcsdesigns or tag #sweetcsdesigns!

About Courtney

Courtney loves to share great wine, good food, and loves to explore far flung places- all while masting an everyday elegant and easy style at lifestyle blog Sweet Cโ€™s Designs. Sweet C's devoted to finding the best food and drinks you'll want to make or find, around the world!

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5 Comments

  1. Terra says:

    hello, I do not have A vitamix, could I use my Ninja instead?

    1. Courtney ODell says:

      Of course, Terra! I used my vitamix but any blender will work.

  2. Megan says:

    You mentioned peeling the eggplant but do I also need to peel the zucchini? Or do I keep the zucchini skin on? Thanks!

    1. Courtney ODell says:

      I keep zucchini skin on- it gives a deeper color and isn’t tough like eggplant’s can be. That being said, you can remove it if you like!

  3. drawntoit says:

    The addition of the walnuts is not in the recipe. When do they go in?