Vegan BBQ Meatballs

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BBQ Vegan Black Bean Meatballs

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Delicious and easy Vegan Black Bean Meatballs in BBQ sauce

Prep

20 minutes

Cook

40 minutes

Yield

12 -14

Discover the secret to perfect vegan BBQ meatballs! Made with rolled oats and black beans, these plant-based meatballs are savory, versatile, and ready to serve with your favorite sauce.

Holy meatballs! I mean, vegan meatballs! This recipe isn’t your traditional meatball recipe because it’s completely plant-based and perfect for any vegetarian or vegan in your family. However, you may just be able to trick those meat lovers in your family with this easy vegan BBQ meatball recipe. 😉

Vegan meatballs coated in rich red BBQ sauce, piled in a white serving bowl with fresh herbs sprinkled on top.

❤️ Why You’ll Love These BBQ Vegan Black Bean Meatballs

  • Almost Too Much Like Meat: These vegan BBQ meatballs are savory, sweet, and seriously taste just like the real thing.
  • Versatile: Perfect with BBQ sauce or tossed in pasta sauce – these meatballs work with any dish.
  • Meal-Prep Friendly: Great for family dinners, appetizers, or meal prep – you can even freeze them for later.

🍲 Ingredients

Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats: The secret ingredient that makes these meatballs incredibly meat-like! These gluten-free oats not only create the perfect texture when combined with black beans, but they’re also packed with fiber, protein, and essential minerals. Oats help bind the meatballs together while adding a hearty, satisfying texture that mimics traditional meatballs.


Black Beans: These protein-packed beans are loaded with fiber, potassium, folate, and vitamin B6. They help support heart health and lower cholesterol while creating the perfect meat-like consistency.

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Vegan meatballs simmering in rich red BBQ sauce

👩‍🍳 How to Make These BBQ Vegan Black Bean Meatballs

  1. Add your “meat” ball ingredients into the processor and blend till everything is well combined. You want to ensure there is no loose flour from the oats, this is how you know you’ve done blending.
  2. Begin rolling into “meatballs” I like using a tbsp. to measure or even a small ice cream scoop. Please note, you’re balls will cook differently depending on the size you roll them. Once your balls are rolled, set them into the fridge while you prepare your BBQ sauce.
  3. Into a medium-sized pot add your oil and heat on low for a 1 minute. Add your onions and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant and translucent. Add your garlic and cook for another minute. Add the remainder of your ingredients and simmer on medium for around 10-15 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking or burning. Taste and ensure it has the flavours you desire. If it’s perfect then remove from heat, once cooled enough to handle use a hand blender to thicken and blend. Set aside.
  4. Into a large non-stick, pan heat your olive oil for 1 minute or so. Add your balls and cook for around 1 minute on each side. Add your desired amount of BBQ sauce to the pot and cook for around 5-6 minutes, on medium, with the lid on, until your balls are cooked throughout. A way to test this is to cut into one and check if it’s hot in the middle and steaming. That’s when you know you’re ready to eat all this deliciousness!
  5. Serve hot with Rice, on their own or with salad!

🗒 Tips and Tricks

  • Perfect Texture: Combine the oats and black beans thoroughly for the most meat-like consistency.
  • Make Ahead: These can be frozen in a sealed container and thawed when needed.
  • Versatile Sauce: While BBQ sauce is amazing, feel free to use any sauce you prefer.

🗒 Variations

There are so many ways to make these vegan BBQ meatballs – here are a few ideas to mix it up:


🗒 Best served with

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store these vegan BBQ meatballs in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

🤔 Common Questions

What makes these vegan BBQ meatballs taste like meat?

The secret combination of Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats and black beans creates a surprisingly meat-like texture and savory flavor that will fool even the pickiest eaters.

Can I make these ahead of time?

Yes! These vegan BBQ meatballs are perfect for meal prep and can be frozen in a tightly sealed container and thawed when needed.

How do I prevent my meatballs from falling apart?

Combine the oats and beans thoroughly, and don’t skip the binding ingredients. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes before forming the balls.

Delicious and easy Vegan Black Bean Meatballs in BBQ sauce

Vegan BBQ Black Bean Meatballs

4.19 from 60 votes
Discover the secret to perfect vegan BBQ meatballs! Made with rolled oats and black beans, these plant-based meatballs are savory, versatile, and ready to serve with your favorite sauce.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Mains
Cuisine Dairy-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings 12 -14

Ingredients
  

For the “Meat” Balls:

For the BBQ Sauce:

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions
 

  • Add your “meat” ball ingredients into the processor and blend till everything is well combined.  You want to ensure there is no loose flour from the oats, this is how you know you’ve done blending.
  • Begin rolling into “meatballs” I like using a tbsp. to measure or even a small ice cream scoop.  Please note, you’re balls will cook differently depending on the size you roll them. Once your balls are rolled, set them into the fridge while you prepare your BBQ sauce.
  • Into a medium-sized pot add your oil and heat on low for a 1 minute.  Add your onions and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant and translucent.  Add your garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the remainder of your ingredients and simmer on medium for around 10-15 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking or burning.  Taste and ensure it has the flavours you desire.  If it’s perfect then remove from heat, once cooled enough to handle use a hand blender to thicken and blend. Set aside.
  • Into a large non-stick, pan heat your olive oil for 1 minute or so.  Add your balls and cook for around 1 minute on each side.  Add your desired amount of BBQ sauce to the pot and cook for around 5-6 minutes, on medium, with the lid on, until your balls are cooked throughout.  A way to test this is to cut into one and check if it’s hot in the middle and steaming. That’s when you know you’re ready to eat all this deliciousness!
  • Serve hot with Rice, on their own or with salad!

Notes

Balls will last in the fridge, in a tightly sealed container for up to one week.
BBQ Sauce will last for around one week or so in a tight sealed jar in the fridge.
Get creative with your Balls and BBQ Sauce, if you know your family likes a certain cuisine or flavour then add it to the mix! Have fun in the kitchen!
Review This Recipe Let us know how it was!
Chris

The sauce was great, thanks! Maybe I messed up but if I were to make this again, I’d cut out the cup of flour completely, just use the oats and up the radio of black bean. Just personal preference though.

Maria Koutsogiannis

Thanks for the feedback Chris!

Leila Hancox

Very good. I only used one lot of oats ground into flour and omitted the whole oats and it worked out fine. Will remake for my boyfriend’s daughters who are very picky. Reckon it will go down well.

Maria Koutsogiannis

Yes! This is great Leila! So glad you loved them! Let me know how the next round goes xx

Tera Walton

Taste was great but texture was not. Mine were really dense and heavy however I used chickpea flour so maybe that was the reason. Ant suggestions on what I may have done wrong?

Maria Koutsogiannis

Using the chickpea flour may have been the issue. I didn’t test it with that flour. Another thing you may have done to create a dense consistency is too over blend in the processor. I haven’t heard this comment from anyone so I am hoping it was just user error. Please let me know if you try it again! xxx much love for supporting me and my recipes!

Al

These have the potential to turn non vegans pro vegan, usually with vegan food has a stigma for sacrificed texture or flavour, but these meatballs are winning all round,

Cooked a batch of these and got three / four portions from it, ate them for dinner leaving some for my lunch, and woke to find my boyfriend has demolished the lot!

Delicious !

Maria Koutsogiannis

ahah your boyfriend is a sneaky food thief! I love it! Thanks so much for the love xx

Julie Wissmann

After reading the comments I’m confused. It’s one cup of oat flour plus the rolled oats (which get broken up a bit in the food processor) or do I add the remaking oats at the very end? I reread the recipe but I’m still confused. I’m vegan and gluten free and have been for years so I’m no stranger to oats and oat flour in recipes amd I know how adding the wrong type (oat flour vs whole oats) can change the outcome. Lol. Please clarify because I would love to try these ❤️

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hello! It is 1 cup of oat flour and 1 cup of oats x

Amy Byng

I am hesitant when it comes to cooking, but this recipe was simple and didn’t take long to make. The ingredients were easy to find and there was even room to improvise a little. I have two hungry teens at home and this meal hit all the right markers. I will be buying this cookbook in the near future and really appreciate someone who posts full recipes on their account to try. Thank You!!

Maria Koutsogiannis

Yay, Amy, this is amazing!! Thanks so much. So glad you enjoyed these. They are one of my favourites!!!

Sophie Louise

How many people should this serve? I can’t see it on there. Thanks, Sophie

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hey Sophie! This yields around 12-14 so it depends on whether you’re making it as an appetizer or main!

Anonymous

Okay great thank you!

Leanne bidwell

what size can of beans?

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hey Leanne! Just updated that for you, it’s 400ml! Enjoy making them!

Samantha Fernandes

Hi there. I don’t have a food processor. Is there an alternate way to make this? Also, could I use Bob’s steel cut oats instead of the rolled oats?
Thanks!

Maria Koutsogiannis

Do you have a high speed blender? I would not recommend steel cut oats in this recipe. They cook at a different pace and would have an entirely different consistency which I didn’t test. Let me know if you have a blender!

Stacey

I tried this recipe, and although it turned out a meaty texture, I found it to be too bread like. Would it be possible to cut down the oats and make them more dense?

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hey Stacey, we are currently trying to rework this recipe but I think our verdict will end up being so cut the oats in half completely. I hope this helps. Thanks for letting us know. How did you find the flavour?

Lucy

Chia instead of flaxseed??? And ive added

Maria Koutsogiannis

Hello! I’m not sure what you mean hun? You’ve added chia instead of flaxseed? That shouldn’t be a problem but the flax seed add fun texture and add that more meat like crunch.

Let me know how that worked for you!

4.19 from 60 votes (59 ratings without comment)

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