Reinventing a childhood favorite with tofu to make these easy Greek tofu meatballs! Made with onions and garlic, fresh pungent herbs and protein-packed tofu, these little tofu meatballs are packed with protein and super versatile.
I kid you not, this recipe for easy tofu meatballs is probably one of my most favorite recipes that I have ever created. Growing up as a little Greek kid, our parents used to frequently make us “keftedakia” or small meatballs made from ground beef. As a plant-based eater, it has taken me some time to recreate this childhood favorite, especially because I wanted to make them without using faux meats. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with enjoy Beyond Beef once in a while (my personal opinion). However, the taste just isn’t the same. Thus, I’m calling these: “Tofudakia!”. PS: huge thanks to my mother-in-law who coined this name when she taste-tested these for me!
Tofu is honestly a remarkable ingredient because it feels like a true blank canvas to me. It’s natural taste is so bland and dim, that you can season it however you like. With extra firm tofu, the texture is perfect for creating a variety of dishes too. As usual, let’s jump into the ingredients so you know what we’re working with.
The Ingredients
First and foremost, we’re operating with extra firm tofu. Like, the most extra extra firm tofu you can buy! Brands vary due to geography and availability but my personal favorite brand is the Wildwood Organics extra firm high protein tofu. Regardless of brand in your area, any extra firm tofu should do!
We’re going to drain the tofu from it’s liquid and press the tofu to get rid of as much of the liquid from inside as we can. You can wrap the tofu in a towel and set something heavy on top of it, like a heavy skillet or pot. The other and my preferred option is to invest in a tofu press and it will do all the work for you without a mess! I have a bamboo one but I will give you a second popular option, just in case bamboo isn’t your jam.
1. Bamboo Tofu Press
2. Adjustable BPA-free Tofu Press
Stella, what happens if I don’t press my tofu? Your meatball mixture will be too most, requiring more flour/breadcrumbs which will result in 2 things: making the meatballs harder to press into ball shapes and drying them out when they cook because they’ll be full of flour. I recommend pressing the tofu for at least 30 minutes. If you have a tofu press, you can even press it in the fridge so it stays cold. If you don’t, press your tofu manually and then add the tofu back to the fridge to get cold while you prepare the other ingredients.
Second, fresh parsley and mint are huge additions to these meatballs. In my family’s traditional meatball recipe, we wouldn’t think about skipping the fresh herbs. Thus, I would never even dream of omitting them here. They add so much flavor. Dried herbs can work too but I highly, I mean highly, recommend fresh parsley and mint for the best flavor.
In the typical recipe, an egg is used as a binder. If you are eating eggs, you can certainly add one but you don’t need it! Our binder comes in the form of chickpea flour. The protein in chickpeas is remarkable and works like eggs as a binding agent. It’s perfect for these easy Greek tofu meatballs.
The Process
After pressing your tofu, store it in the fridge to get cold. It will be easier to shred when it’s firmer from the cold. To shred, the tofu, I cut the block in half and then use a grater, like this one, to shred the tofu into little pieces.
For the onions and garlic, we’ll dice those and sauté with olive oil and add them to a skillet. We’ll sauté those until nice and soft and translucent. I also highly recommend this because if you add raw onions to the mixture, it will be harder to roll the onion into the ball shape with the tofu. It’s also way more kid friendly because the onions and garlic will incorporate better and won’t stick out like a sore thumb.
This is also true for the fresh herbs. If you rough chop the herbs, you’ll have large leaves which can be harder to roll into the mixture. If you fine chop, however, the herbs will blend in far better! You can add those fresh or sauté with the onions and garlic. Totally up to you.
Creating the Ball Shape
My first tip for rolling the tofu into meatball-style shapes is to use a cookie scoop. This will ensure you have the same amount of mixture for each ball and that they will cook evenly. Of course, you can always eyeball it but I much prefer using this 1 tablespoon cookie scoop.
While tofu is a great ingredient to replicate the ground beef texture, it isn’t a 100% exact match. Ground beef is generally easy to roll into a ball. With the tofu mixture, it’s more of a pressing and squeezing motion. We squeeze to incorporate the mixture and bind it. Then using the palm of our hand, we press the mixture into a ball-like shape. Naturally, these will firm up as we cook them. I have a video on Instagram on how to do this exact thing. You can find that video here.
To cook them, we have a few options. My personal recommendation is to air fry them. It’s easy, fast, and painless. I use the Ninja Air Fryer, linked here. You can bake them in your oven – similar process to the air fryer but may take a tad bit longer. You can fry them in olive oil which will give you a nice crispy exterior, however, it’s the least healthy option.
How to Eat the Tofudakia
These easy Greek tofu meatballs can be eaten in a variety of ways! The most popular is in a bowl of pasta! Add marinara, alfredo, or pesto sauce; they all pair wonderfully. How about a meatball parmesan sub/grinder/hoagie? Get a sub roll, add some cheese, some marinara sauce and meatballs, and voila! Another way to eat them is to add them to a wrap, similar to falafel, with some lettuce, pickled veggies and either a tahini sauce or a tzatziki sauce. If you need a recipe for vegan tzatziki, check out mine! You can also add these meatballs to a power bowl with a healthy whole grain like rice, farro or barley, with some veggies! You can add them to a soup; Italian wedding, anyone? Add them to a veggie stir fry as your protein, too! Or plop them onto a loaded salad!
There are so many possibilities, making these easy Greek tofu meatballs super versatile. They hold beautifully in the refrigerator. You can even freeze them and have some on reserve for quick dinners, lunchboxes, etc. I usually make 2-3 batches at a time and use them in various dishes throughout the week. I can’t wait to see how you all use these easy Greek tofu meatballs!
Easy Greek Tofu Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 1 tablespoon cookie scoop
- Grater
Ingredients
- 16 ounces extra firm tofu drained
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup chickpea/garbanzo flour
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Drain and press the tofu for at least 30 minutes. The more, the better. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- Cut the tofu in half and shred each block into a big mixing bowl. Use the larger grating size to achieve little strands (not little crumbs).
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add to a frying pan with the olive oil and sauté 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the sautéed onions and garlic to the shredded tofu, using a spatula to get the oil too.
- Finely chop the fresh herbs. Add the herbs, spices, soy sauce, chickpea flour and breadcrumbs to the tofu mixture. Using a spatula, mix until well and thoroughly combined, folding and pressing the mix with the spatula. Pressing will help it combine and bind.
- Preheat the air fryer (or oven) to 400.
- Using a cookie scoop or measuring spoon, take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and squeeze and press the mixture into a little ball. If you try to roll it, it will likely crumble. Add all the tofu meatballs to the pan.
- *optional: lightly spray with olive oil for an extra crispier exterior.
- Bake 20 minutes and then carefully flip them over.
- Bake another 10-15 minutes (perhaps longer if using an oven) or until browned and crispy on the outside.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thewholescoopblog
