Vegan Minced Meat Rolls | Romanian “Mititei” Recipe

Try these vegan minced meat rolls for your next picnic or vegan barbecue and impress even your non-vegan friends! This popular Romanian recipe turned vegan will surely become your favorite! 

This is not the first time I try to make a vegan version of the popular Romanian “mititei” recipe. I’ve made this over and over and every time I tried a new technique or a new ingredient in order to make it even better. I think I have finally discovered the perfect recipe for these vegan minced meat rolls so it’s time to share it with you! 🙂

You can see it in the video below too, though I only filmed the grilling part and not the step by step preparation. In case you need any clarifications, feel free to drop me a message!

The traditional “mititei” recipe is made with ground pork and beef and in some cases even lamb. Other than these, all the other ingredients are vegan, so the challenge was to find a good replacement for minced meat. I wanted to use a vegan substitute that would have the same texture as ground meat, so, obviously, I use textured soy protein granules which are a pretty amazing minced meat substitute (check them out in my vegan Bolognese recipe too!).

The first time I made these vegan minced meat rolls, I used the recipe below without any tofu, oil or the dry TSP granules added later to the mix. It tasted good, but it was too chewy. So I decided to improve it.

The second time I had the idea of soaking only half of the TSP granules in hot water and add the other half later so that the texture will improve. I was right. It improved a lot, but still, something was missing! They were too dry! The traditional minced meat rolls are quite fatty and this is what makes them so good, so I decided to add two more ingredients to the mix.

The third time I made these vegan minced meat rolls, they turned out just perfect! To mimic the fat pieces in the original recipe, as well as making these moister, I used tofu bits and some extra oil in the composition. The result was exactly what I have hoped for. I honestly believe this is the best vegan minced meat rolls recipe you can make!

You can either grill these or lightly fry them. Don’t forget to brush them with some oil before cooking, so they won’t stick to the grill or the pan. You can serve them with a side of fries, mashed potatoes, salad and of course, mustard! You can eat these without mustard! 🙂

If you want you can even make these in a larger batch and simply freeze them. You can defrost them whenever you feel like eating vegan minced meat rolls again.

Hope you’ll like this Romanian recipe turned vegan! Leave me a comment below to let me know how it was!

Vegan Minced Meat Rolls | Romanian “Mititei” Recipe

Gourmandelle.com

Try these vegan minced meat rolls for your next picnic or vegan barbecue and impress even your non-vegan friends! This popular Romanian recipe turned vegan will surely become your favorite!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Romanian

Servings 4

Calories 314 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS (Imperial)

 

1x2x3x

• 200 g textured soy protein – granules
• 300 g extra-firm tofu
• 1 Tbsp psyllium husks
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp carob powder
• 1 tsps thyme
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 3 Tbsps oil + 1 Tbsp extra oil for brushing before grilling
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Boil 500ml water in a small pot.
• Put 100g of the textured soy protein granules into a large bowl. Pour the boiling hot water over and mix well. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it absorbs the liquid.
• In a separate bowl, start masking the tofu with a fork. It doesn’t have to be perfectly mashed, that’s why we don’t use a blender. It has to resemble the tiny fatty bits in real meat rolls. See the photos – the white parts are tofu.
• Add the mashed tofu into the bowl as well as the other half of the textured soy protein granules. Mix well.
• Add all the other ingredients and mix. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before grilling.
• Heat the grill or a grill pan.
• Grease your hands with some oil and start making the vegan minced meat rolls. Place them on a plate. Brush them with a little bit of oil before placing them on the grill.
• Grill on all sides until crispy.
• Serve with mustard, fries and a large salad. Enjoy this traditional Romanian recipe made vegan!

Nutrition

Calories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 29gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.04gSodium: 327mgPotassium: 171mgFiber: 11gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 259IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 212mgIron: 7mg

Keyword textured soy protein, tofu

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