Phatveggie's Big Balls

When I first became a vegetarian, I did not try to have meat substitutes. It was simple to provide enough protein in my diet with beans, nuts, cheese, and eggs (ovo-lacto vegetarian that is). During these last couple weeks at our house, we have tried out “meat” ball recipes for spaghetti. It has become somewhat of a contest to see which recipe will be the best. At the end we will declare our winner.
The first contestant is from an old book that I found at a used bookstore called Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler. It has recently been republished in a 25th anniversary issue. The recipe is for Tofu Spaghetti Balls.

Tofu Spaghetti Balls

Mix together well:
¾ lb. tofu, mashed (we used the hold pound)
½ cup flour, bread crumbs, rolled oats, or corn flakes ( we mixed bread crumbs and oats)
1 ½ Tbsp. peanut butter
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
½ tsp dry mustard (we didn’t have any so we used prepared)
1/8 tsp. black pepper


Roll into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll balls in flour and fry in ½ inch oil over medium heat until browned all over. Turn each ball about every 3 minutes.

Serve with hot spaghetti and Italian style tomato sauce.
Makes 24 1 ½ inch balls (my balls are bigger)