What do you use in place of meatballs when making spaghetti?

If you are going totally meatless then I would saute some veggies like zuccini, carrots, black olives and pretty much any other veggie you like. It's more of a primivera but it works just as good.What do you use in place of meatballs when making spaghetti?
bean balls. that sounds really gross, doesn't it? It's not. take the white beans of your choice, mash them with some cooked vegetables (whatever you like in your spaghetti sauce), mix with bread crumbs, spices and eggs (or potato starch + water if you're vegan), shape into balls and saute as you would meat balls...or you could bake them. You could also use tofu in place of the beans, but I find that beans have more flavor, better texture and hold up a little better (meaning more cohesive) in a recipe like this. Sorry I don't have proportions for you, but I bet you can just feel it out. Another option is that yummy baked tofu that you can just cube and add to sauce.What do you use in place of meatballs when making spaghetti?
Try these:





1.Grilled or pan fried Haloumi cheese


2.Homemade falafel balls(make a little smaller than usual)


3.Red kidney beans.


4.Mini Potato patties.fried or baked first.


5.fry cubes of eggplant in olive oil


6.Saute baby button mushrooms in butter,salt,pepper.





Prepare and set these on top of spaghetti just before serving.


Remember to sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley- YUM!





Another favourite of ours is some baked beans added to the tomato sauce along with garlic and chopped chili.


Then stir fry some onions and green capsicum and serve with.


ENJOY!!!!!!!
You can make a great sauce without meatballs. Use more sweet peppers, onions, and garlic as your base. I would also add mushrooms to make it more hearty. I always put about a half cup of parmesan cheese for flavor and of course all your Italian seasoning. This makes a great sauce.
Eggplant,peel and chunk into usable size,soak in salty water a couple of hours to remove bitterness,drain and rinse.Parboil in fresh water until tender.Add to sauce and simmer until you can't stand it any more!Great with penne pasta,ziti or regular noodles.
I sometimes use Gimme Lean to make ';meat'; balls with.





Just be careful that you get the regular Gimme Lean. I wasn't looking one day and accidentally grabbed the ';sausage'; Gimme Lean. My scuggs (spaghetti) was AWFUL! SO salty!!
The list is endless, carbonara, tomato sauce, bolognaise sauce, steamed vegetables, chicken etc...spaghetti wasn't invented just for meatballs!.
Try mussels or even tuna fish. I'm not use it's an equal substitute for a meatball but it sure is tasty.





If you want a meatball then just use the Morning Star crumbles and a regular meatball recipe.
If you are wanting vegitarian I would use veggie burgers. Cut them upo in peices and fry them. Thrwo them in. It is tasty.
We are not vegetarian, but we rarely have meatballs with our spaghetti! Why not just have a lovely marinara sauce and not worry about a meat substitute?
Nate's meatless meatballs (they are vegan!)





http://www.elenasfoods.com/mb_italian.ht鈥?/a>
i use morningstar farms meal starter.......it looks and tastes just like ground beef!!! really yummy when added to spaghetti sauce. yum =)
Yes they make veggie meatballs. I get them at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I'm not sure where you live but they may ship to you.
I think they have vegetarian meatballs? If not, just cut up veggie meat into bally forms! Wa-la! A fake meat-ball! Lol. THats what I do.
I don't use meatballs... Pile heaps of cheese on and no one will notice :P
Kidney Beans? Lentils? Or that substitute meat product.
Turkey! Or tofu.
Mushrooms and eggplant. (diced)
I'm Itallian. My grandmother cooked every piece of meat in sauce! She'd put steaks, chicken (yuk) and even roast in that sauce.





I prefer mild or sweet Italian sausage if no meatballs.
grilled chicken, pork chops, sausage, anything
Italian Sausage, or ground turkey, if your a vegetarian then you would try tofu
chicken apple sausage


shreaded chicken breast


some sort of chunky vegatable
chicken, or tortolinis, or shrimp
I just use ground hamburger, and have even used ground turkey. I hate meatballs :/.
cut-up smoked sausage


browned ground beef
VIENNA SAUSAGE OR BRATWURST (any kind of Bratwurst).
Chicken? Like Chicken Parm. :)
ground hamburger.
grilled chicken
hamburger, ground beef.
sausage, ground turkey