What’s Actually in Our Vegan Meatballs: A Protein Breakdown

No dish gets more questions than the meatballs. People taste them, like them, and then want to know what is actually in there. Fair question. Here is the honest answer, ingredient by ingredient.

the base: soy protein

Our meatballs start with soy protein rather than seitan or a pea-protein blend. Soy holds moisture well. Once we rehydrate and season it, it takes on a texture close to ground meat, which is exactly what a meatball needs. Seitan works better for something like a cutlet, where you want a firmer, chewier bite. For a round, tender meatball, soy protein gave us the best result in testing. We tried a pea-protein version early on. It came out grainier and did not hold up as well once it sat in marinara sauce.

what gets folded in

Soy protein alone tastes like very little, so the rest of the recipe carries the flavor. We fold in sun-dried tomatoes for a concentrated, slightly sweet tomato note that fresh tomatoes cannot match. Fennel goes in next. It is the ingredient that makes these taste like Italian meatballs specifically, rather than generic ones. The anise-like edge of fennel is a signature of Italian sausage and meatball recipes. We lean into that flavor rather than tone it down. A mix of Italian herbs and garlic rounds out the rest. We adjust the fennel slightly batch to batch, depending on how strong that particular delivery tastes.

how much protein you are actually getting

Soy protein is a complete protein. It contains all nine essential amino acids your body cannot make on its own. That puts it in the same category as tofu, tempeh and lentils nutritionally. We just build the texture here to resemble meat instead of beans. We do not have a certified nutrition label to hand out with an exact gram count. We would rather be upfront about that than guess at a number. If exact macros matter for your diet, ask us directly before you order. We will walk you through the ingredient list.

where you will find them

The meatballs show up two ways on our menu. You will find them over spaghetti in the Meatballs Marinara Spaghetti, or tucked into focaccia bread for the Meatball Marinara Panini. Both use the same batch. The choice really comes down to whether you want a fork or a sandwich that day.

We are not trying to trick anyone into thinking these are meat. The point was never to fool you. It was to make a meatball that holds its own on flavor and texture, soy protein and all.