The term vegetarian meatballs seems like kind of an oxymoron. Since a meatball is exactly what the name suggests, a ball of meat, a vegetarian version of that wouldn’t be a ball of meat at all. But that doesn’t mean vegetarian meatballs aren’t actually a thing; there are many versions of this treat on the market these days. And that brings us to Lightlife’s Meatless Veggie Meatballs, which are part of Lightlife’s Smart Menu line of vegetarian foods.
These meatballs come tightly sealed in a plastic wrap. This actually presents the same problem that Lightlife’s Smart Patties do: the meatballs tend to freeze together into one gigantic clump.
We were able to separate the clump only after sticking these in the microwave for 30 seconds, and even then it was quite a bit of work to pry these apart. We did manage, but it’s far more difficult to actually make these into meatballs rather than just a huge chunk of meat substitute.
One package is said to include about nine meatballs, and ours had exactly that. We did lose a few chunks in the separation process, of course, so not all of these turned out to be balls. We’d say they ended up in sphere-like objects with a lot of flat edges.
The packaging gives instructions for microwaving these or frying them in a skillet, but we chose to bake them in the oven instead. We preheated to 425 degrees fahrenheit, then stuck the meatballs on a cookie sheet (make sure you spray the cookie sheet with some sort of cooking spray, because otherwise these will stick to the cookie sheet relentlessly). Then we threw them into the oven for about 15 minutes. They came out sizzling and smelling amazing.
These are made up of mostly soy and wheat products. That means that no one’s going to be fooled into thinking these are actual meatballs. Even the most absent-minded of carnivores will realize something’s a bit off about these. These meatballs actually taste a bit like granola, if we’re being totally honest.
And that means these are dependent on a good sauce. We tried them with some honey bbq sauce and found that to be a great complement to the flavor of the meatballs.
These do have a rubbery texture, and even when they’re cooked they never really lose their stickiness. If you eat these with your fingers, even if you don’t dip them in a sauce of any kind, you’ll definitely need a napkin to wipe your hands afterward. We hesitate to call this a perfect finger food. The box shows these served on the ends of toothpicks, and that’s a pretty smart way to handle these if you’re serving them to guests. We just used a fork, because that was easiest for us.
A serving of three meatballs will run you about 100 calories, so even if you eat the whole package you’re only consuming about 300 calories. That’s not bad at all. Of course that brings the sodium level up from 600 mg to 1,800 mg, so watch out. That’s a bonkers amount of sodium.
Lightlife’s Meatless Veggie Meatballs are probably not going to impress your carnivorous friends. For vegetarians, however, these are a pretty decent tasting alternative. Just make sure you serve them with a great-tasting sauce, because these are definitely not designed to be eaten on their own.
If you want to know more about the ingredients or nutrition info for these veggie meatballs, check out our package scans below.
