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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!

vegan minced meat rolls

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!

vegan minced meat rolls recipe

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

Yield: 4 servings

Vegan Minced Meat Rolls | Romanian "Mititei" Recipe

vegan minced meat rolls mititei vegani mici grill

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!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200g (2 cups) textured soy protein - granules
  • 300g (10.5 oz) extra-firm tofu
  • 1 Tbsp psyllium husks
  • 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp carob powder
  • 1 tsps dry thyme
  • 1 tsp ground 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

  1. Boil 500ml water in a small pot.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the mashed tofu into the bowl as well as the other half of the textured soy protein granules. Mix well.
  5. Add all the other ingredients and mix. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before grilling.
  6. Heat the grill or a grill pan.
  7. 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.
  8. Grill on all sides until crispy.
  9. Serve with mustard, fries and a large salad. Enjoy this traditional Romanian recipe made vegan!

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Amount Per Serving Calories 305Total Fat 4.6gCarbohydrates 31.2gProtein 34.6g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

vegan minced meat rolls grill

Huong

Tuesday 23rd of August 2022

It looks delicious, thank you Ruxandra 👍👍

Ruxandra

Tuesday 15th of November 2022

Thank you! :D

Valerie

Wednesday 13th of January 2021

In Vietnam, when we make fake sausage, we use extra oil and large tapioca bubbles to mimic the fat in the meat. Works especially well when making a mortadella type sausage.

Ruxandra

Friday 12th of February 2021

Great tip! Thank you, Valerie!

Alina

Saturday 5th of January 2019

Extraordinary taste! These rolls are some of the very few things I still miss due to being vegan, but now I was really able to enjoy the flavours and texture the way I remember them from over 15 years ago, before i stopped eating meat. You are a true magician, Ruxandra! :)

Ruxandra Micu

Tuesday 22nd of January 2019

Thank you, Alina! So happy you liked them! You should try my vegan steak as well and I am currently posting some vegan bacon recipes. Hope they'll remind you of the real thing as well. :D

Kim

Sunday 29th of July 2018

Surprinsingly good! I bet these are so much better than the meat version. Extremely flavorful and easy to make!

Ruxandra

Thursday 2nd of August 2018

Glad you liked it!

Elina

Saturday 2nd of June 2018

Made these for bbq today - they are delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe! Even meat eaters enjoyed them. The only thing is that it was difficult to make the mince stick together, and the rolls were quite fragile and a couple fell apart on the bbq. I have a lot of mince left too as the recipe makes lots, so am looking forward to making these again tomorrow and perhaps frying or baking in the oven, and maybe they stick better together after being overnight in the fridge. I was tempted to add an egg to make them stick together better, but then they wouldn't be vegan. Thanks again! Love your recipes - tried a few and always a success!

Ruxandra

Wednesday 13th of June 2018

Yay! :D Next time you make these, leave them in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping and grilling them. When I grill them on a pan I usually cook them right away and they're ok, but on a BBQ grill, I always let them sit in the fridge for a while so that the composition gets extra-sticky. Don't add eggs. I did this once because I didn't have any psyllium husks and it was a mess. Add more psyllium if you want or even some flour but don't overdo it because they will get gummy. So happy to hear you like my recipes! :D Thank you, Elina!

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