Nate's Meatless Meatballs Archives

The other night just seemed like an appetizer night. Every once in a while we’ll peruse Whole Foods, or Sunflower Market for some vegan appetizers for dinner. We had never tried Nate’s Savory Mushroom Meatless Meatballs before and anything that says “savory mushrooms,” we’re all over it. I’ve had Nate’s Zesty Meatless Meatballs, and we weren’t that impressed. They had no flavor—even with marinara sauce and cheese on them. I was willing to give these a try, however.

There are three methods of cooking them listed on the back: stove top, oven or microwave. We went with the oven: 375 for 10 minutes. They come with zero saturated fat, no trans fat, no cholesterol, 8 grams of protein, and only 4.5 grams of total fat. So onto the taste . . . they weren’t good. Not only did they have NO FLAVOR, the little taste that they did have, was not good at all. They tasted very fake. All three of us tried one and none of us liked them. Bummer. We were hoping for more. You’re better off making your own.

Now, on to better news . . .

These were outstanding! I usually have a problem with fake chicken products that taste too much like the real thing—it really grosses me out, but for some reason, these don’t do that to me—and the consistency and taste are pretty close to real chicken. We all loved these, especially with the vegan ranch dip. Gardein makes many varieties, and the Chipotle Lime flavoring is just right—not overpowering. We baked them at 450 for 20-25 minutes. They have 6 grams of fat (0.5 grams of saturated fat), no cholesterol and 16 grams of protein. These would be ideal cut up for a “chicken” salad.

The guys wanted onion rings and vegetarian tamales as well. I made some hummus to go on pitas and crackers and it was a fun and delicious (minus the “meat” balls) appetizer night.

I was never a meatball sandwich kind of gal—something about eating balls of meat that didn’t quite appeal to me. The men of my household, on the other hand, seem to gravitate toward these kinds of cancer-licious subs (or at least, they used to). Here we are coming up on a year of veganism and this is the first time I’ve made “meatball” sandwiches. I’ve made seitan meatballs before, which are pretty damn good, but this time, I needed something quick, so I went with Nate’s Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs. Of course, I forgot how much I paid for them since I bought them (frozen) last week, but I’m pretty sure they were under $4 for 12 oz.

So here’s what I did:

Opened a jar of marinara sauce, poured it in a pan and then dumped the meat-free balls in.

Let simmer about 10-15 minutes. Toast some French rolls for a couple of minutes under the broiler and bada-bing, you’re done.I recommend using your absolute favorite marinara and/or adding some spices because the “zesty Italian” I was expecting wasn’t all that zesty. They needed some kick–not that flavorful. With that said . . . they were very “meat-like”, but without the grossness of real meat. 🙂 The consistency was much like beef and they certainly didn’t have a weird “fake” taste. Quite satisfying.

I sliced them in half using tongs and a serrated knife–you can try doing this while they are frozen. They stack better in the bread if sliced.

Layer on some vegan mozzarella on the rolls, then some sliced “meat” balls and then some more cheeze—that easy.

Product Reviews: Nate’s Savory Mushroom Meatless Meatballs & Gardein Chipotle-Lime Crispy Fingers

Product Review: Nate’s Meatless Meatballs (Meatball Sandwiches)

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