Copycat IKEA Veggie Balls
If you don’t have an Ikea nearby, try our copycat Ikea veggie balls recipe. We added eight different vegetables, the same as in the original, with a tasty mix of spices and herbs to get the flavors just right.
Are you into veggie balls? Try our other recipes, such as our vegan eggplant meatballs, vegan chickpea meatballs, vegan mushroom meatballs, tofu meatballs, and TVP meatballs.
What to expect?
To say that Ikea’s Huvudroll vegetable balls are veggie-packed is an understatement. Ikea describes them as “Clearly visible chunks of chickpeas, green peas, carrots, bell peppers, corn, and kale in a beautiful array of colors.”
According to the packaging, the ingredients are chickpeas, green peas, carrots, red bell peppers, corn, kale, pea protein, onions, rapeseed oil, seasoning (salt, dried cane syrup, yeast extract, dried onion, spices [rubbed sage, black pepper, bay leaves], dried carrot, dried parsley, natural extracts of black pepper, turmeric, and pea starch.
What does our copycat version contain? We tried to make it as close to the original as possible and added as many ingredients as possible. However, we opted to make them oil-free, so no rapeseed or other oil of any kind. Not to mention, we have no idea where to buy pea protein or pea starch, but we can do that without them just fine. 🙂
The heart of all dishes is the spices and the herbs, aka the flavor. We tested several combinations of seasoning to make these veggie balls taste similar. In the end, we found that the mix of dried ground sage, dried ground parsley, turmeric, nutritional yeast, cane sugar, black pepper, and salt works the best.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas – canned or precooked
- Frozen spinach
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper – any other color will do
- Sweet corn
- Green peas – We recommend frozen since they are always sweeter and have a better texture. The canned ones are too soft.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Oat flour – or all-purpose flour
- Spices: sage, parsley, turmeric, nutritional yeast, cane sugar, black pepper, and salt
? You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
Preparing the veggies
- Peel the onion and cut them in quarters. Peel the garlic cloves.
- Wash, peel carrots and cut them into 2-3 parts.
- Wash and cut bell pepper into 2-3 parts.
- Drain canned chickpeas.
- Add all chopped vegetables to a food processor.
- Pulse until they are finely chopped. No need to puree them entirely. You can see the reference in the picture below.
- Take a large frying pan and heat it to medium-high heat. Add a bit of olive oil and spread the chopped veggies evenly. Cook them for 10 minutes until they are tender and soft, but not mushy.
- Now add frozen but thawed or fresh spinach, the dried sage, and the dried parsley.
- Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes. Set aside to chill them.
Making veggie balls
- Depending on the size of your food processor, you should work in batches. Add the canned chickpeas (without the water) and the pre-cooked vegetable mixture (chilled, not too hot).
- Pulse until they are combined. The chickpeas should be cut up in small chunks (close to puree, but with “clearly visible chunks of chickpeas,” as Ikea would say).
- Take a large bowl and add the veggie ball dough mix from the food processor, the cooked green peas, the canned sweet corn, and all the remaining seasoning (turmeric, cane sugar, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper).
- Mix well with a spatula or spoon until combined. Depending on the moisture you have from the veggies, you need to add oat flour. Start with 1/2 cup and add more to get the consistency shown in the below picture. The mixture should be soft if you press it, but firm enough that you can make balls easily.
Let’s bake!
To make IKEA-sized small veggie balls, I used the Tablespoon measure spoon. I scooped up a ball like ice cream and then finished forming it with my hands. Look how lovely, vibrant yellow and perfectly rounded are they while standing in well-behaved order on the parchment paper (see below picture). They are the size of a golf ball.
Take your frying pan, add a bit of oil and fry them on medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. If it is a truly non-stick like, then you wouldn’t need to add any oil and the vegetable balls will still get a crispy brownish crust. However, we prefer to keep it oil-free or at least minimal oil. Therefore, we recommend baking them in the oven on a parchment paper or baking sheet.
Serving ideas
When your veggie balls are ready, you can serve them in many ways. In the Ikea Food Court, they also offer it in different variations. Not like the iconic Ikea Swedish meatballs, which always goes together with lingonberry sauce and mashed potato.
- Our favorite way to enjoy them is with potatoes: either French fries, or vegan mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes.
- You can also choose other side dishes like fried rice, or any combination of veggies like roasted asparagus, sauteed carrots, sauteed mushrooms.
- Drop them into our homemade vegan marinara sauce and serve it with spaghetti.
- Top them with lots of grated cheese to turn them into a pasta bake or casserole.
- Put them on a stick or skewer, add a dip, and serve them as appetizers. They go great with tomato-based sauces like chunky salsa sauce, or sweet dips like spicy sweet chili sauce, or smoky vegan BBQ sauce.
Storing ideas
You can keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days tops without any problem. We recommend storing the Ikea veggie balls alone and not dipped in any sauce.
We recommend freezing after frying or baking, not as an uncooked mixture. They can moisten up after thawing. If you are ready to enjoy them, pop them back in the oven or warm them up in a frying pan to get the crispy crust back.
More veggie balls recipes
Copycat Ikea Veggie Balls
Ingredients
- 1 can Chickpeas (canned) 400 g / 14 oz
- 1 cup Frozen spinach
- 3 Carrots (medium)
- ½ Bell Pepper
- ½ cup Sweet corn (canned)
- 1 cup Green peas (fresh, frozen or canned)
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 cup Oat flour start with 1/2 cup and adjust depending on the moisture content of the mix
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
Seasoning
- 1 tsp Cane sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Ground black pepper
- ½ tsp Dried sage
- ½ tsp Dried parsley
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
Instructions
Preparing the veggies
- Peel the onion and cut them in quarters. Peel the garlic cloves. Wash, peel carrots and cut them into 2-3 parts. Wash and cut bell pepper into 2-3 parts.
- Add all chopped vegetables to a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. No need to puree them entirely.
- If you use fresh green peas, cook them in salted water or veggie broth until soft. If you use frozen ones, thaw them before using them.
Pre-cook the chopped vegetables
- Take a frying pan and heat it to medium. Add a bit of olive oil (or water/veggie broth if you follow a WFPB diet) and spread the chopped veggies evenly.
- Cook them for 10 minutes until they are tender and soft but not mushy.
- Now add frozen, but thawed or fresh spinach, the dried sage and the dried parsley. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Making the veggie ball dough
- Add the canned chickpeas (without the water) and the pre-cooked veggies (chilled, not too hot). Pulse until they are combined. The chickpeas should be cut up in small chunks (not puree).
- Take a large bowl and add the veggie ball dough mix from the food processor, the cooked green peas, the canned sweet corn, and all the remaining seasoning (turmeric, cane sugar, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper). Mix well with a spatula or spoon until combined.
- Depending on the moisture you have from the veggies, you need to add oat flour. Start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed. The mixture should be soft if you press it, but firm enough that you can make balls easily.
- To make IKEA-sized small veggie balls, I used the Tablespoon measure spoon. I scooped up a ball like ice cream and then finished forming it with my hands.
Frying
- Take your frying pan, add a bit of oil, and fry them on medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. If it is truly non-stick, then you wouldn’t need to add any oil, and the vegetable balls will still get a crispy crust.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 390 Fahrenheit (ca. 199 °C). Place the balls on parchment paper or a baking sheet. Bake them for 20 minutes until they have a crispy crust.
faefsd
I expected to do a ton of work and to like these fine, I did not expect tgem to come together so easily and to be blown away by the taste. These are delicious! My 3-year-old LOVED helping me roll the balls. My 5-year-old vegetarian devoured these and asked for 4 servings, though I’m not sure how he held them all. I’m glad I decided to double the recipe to freeze some. I will definitely be making these again.
The blog text says “we opted to make them oil-free, so no rapeseed or other oil of any kind” but then you fried it in oil.
I also share how to bake them as an alternative option.
can i use almond flour?
I haven’t tested with almond flour, but it should work. The taste will probably slightly nutty since you need one cup. Let me know how it goes.
Super easy recipe but sadly, totally lacking in favor. I followed the recipe and even increased the seasonings but found the cooked veggie balls flavorless and unlike IKEA veggie balls. What am I missing?
Hi Anne, I am not sure what could have happened. We heard so far positive feedback.
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Hi Heather, yes you can use fresh spinach. We recommend wilting it a bit or blanching it in hot water before adding the the mixture.
My husband and I just loved this recipe ! I can’t believe it was so easy to make! You folks really did a great job of copying it!
These veggie balls were outstanding! They were quite close in terms of taste to the ones in IKEA. I didn’t have chickpeas at home, so used canned black beans in a pinch. Also, I didn’t have oat flour, so I used chickpea flour as suggested. I skipped nutritional yeast as well. Still tasted delicious!
We are so happy you tried our recipe and loved it. Thanks for letting us know.
Hello, I don’t have a food processed, think I can use my vitamix?
If you just pulse it a couple of times and not puree it, then absolutely.
If I have rolled oats can I somehow use this instead of oat flour?
If you pulse it with food processor to make a course oat flour, then yes. Otherwise, rolled oats may change the texture to more crumbly and the balls may not hold together. You can use other flours instead of oat flour to make sure that you can form the ball from the batter.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I love yummy food regardless of its title. IKEA’s veggie balls are my favorite menu item. I get them every time I go. I look forward to making these. Especially since reviewers swear they taste just the same, maybe even better.
i did everything as the recipe said but found it difficult to roll into balls after adding corn and peas, so blitz’d it again in my food processor and found it much easier ….delicious
I can’t consume Corn, what can I substitute it with?
I’m so excited about this recipe!
Hi Molly, you can skip corn and add the same amount in green peas.
Never has a copycat recipe come out EXACTLY like the original but these do in texture and taste!!! Exactly like the ikea ones, and maybe even better! Will be making these in bulk and freezing them for easy lunches and meals.
We are so happy that you loved the recipes. We tweaked it so many times to make it the closest and tastiest possible.
These were wonderful! Used regular flour and baked them. Next time will add more red pepper and decrease pea amount. Big hit with the family.
We are so happy to hear you and your family like it. Thanks for trying our recipe.
I dont have nutritional yeast, can I omit this?
Yes, you can.
I can’t believe I’ve never had these before! We just moved and our new IKEA is so far away so making them at home will be so much easier for me, thanks!
I’ve never had them but they look absolutely delicious and I would totally dip them in marinara!
These look fantastic! I love the food from IKEA, but I just don’t feel safe going there just yet, plus I’ve seen the queues at our local IKEA, round the whole car park twice! Until then, I’m going to have to recreate IKEA classics at home and these are just perfect to add to our dinner rota!
No I’ve never tried them, I am always keen to start shopping! I will look out for them now. No forget that, I will use your recipe and make them instead. They look lush! Sharing these!
This recipe was fabulous! The taste was so good and it was really easy. A new go-to dinner idea, I will make often!