EV’s Take: A Delicious Plant-Based Twist on Meatball Night
I have only reviewed one product from the Impossible line-up: the Impossible Ground Beef. My review was largely positive, aside from the saltiness and slight bitter undertone that comes with the territory of many plant-based meats. I had high hopes when I picked up a bag of Impossible Meatballs to review. Sure enough, they delivered. I give the meatballs a slight edge over the plain ground beef because they’re so wonderfully flavored. There is no aftertaste, and they don’t taste too salty.
The highlight of the Impossible Meatballs, though, was the texture. They are perfectly juicy and bouncy but meaty at the same time. They have a toothsome texture that feels very satisfying to eat. I found myself going back for seconds! My only modification was to add a few shakes of crushed red pepper; I couldn’t help it. I just love spicy meatballs.
I tried Impossible’s Homestyle and Italian Meatballs, but I ate them both with pasta and sauce. Impossible’s Homestyle Meatballs can be used as an all-purpose meatball, which means you could add any sauce to them, like a classic grape jelly sauce or a sweet chili sauce, or you could make vegan Swedish meatballs with them. The Italian meatballs are–as the name suggests–perfect for an Italian-style dinner. Try them with spaghetti or on a meatball sub.
When I first tried these, I didn’t realize they had two different versions, and I used the Homestyle Meatballs in spaghetti sauce. Since they are an all-purpose meatball, they also work perfectly for spaghetti night.
Are Impossible Meatballs healthy?
If you google “Is Impossible Meat healthy,” you’ll often be met with articles about the dangers of eating highly processed foods with ingredients you can’t pronounce. These are claims that Impossible seeks to debunk on their website. The one thing they hammer home is the nutrition in processed foods and the “healthiness” of the ingredients in their products.
I’ve noticed that many of these complaints tend to come from meat-eaters as a “gotcha” argument. But, if you look up the ingredients of store-bought meat-based meatballs, they’re nearly identical to these vegan meatballs, except for the soy protein used instead of meat. Even meat-based meatballs often use textured soy flour as a top ingredient! To me, it always feels like this argument is a red herring. Is there some merit to some of the points? Definitely! This is especially true about the high sodium content, which is always my biggest complaint with plant-based products if you’ve read my reviews. However, it would likely be my complaint if I reviewed ready-made animal-based products. It’s just the name of the game with premade food.
All of this is a personal decision, but I usually consider limiting how much highly processed foods I eat. While I realize that nearly every food we eat is processed in some way, I find myself not feeling quite as good eating a plate of premade vegan meatballs versus making my own with red lentils. That’s not a dunk on Impossible or any other plant-based product; that’s just my personal preference.
I don’t think occasionally eating store-bought frozen vegan meatballs is inherently bad; I wouldn’t do it daily. Though, I encourage you to read the myth-busting section on Impossible’s website, which I linked above. It helps shed some light on some of the more contentious arguments that people have against plant-based brands like Impossible or Beyond Meat.
All that to say, it’s a personal decision. From an ingredient and nutritional standpoint, I don’t find Impossible’s meatballs problematic, but I’m just a layman doing my best to interpret them with limited knowledge. Would I eat something like this every day? Probably not. Once a week, yeah, maybe.
Impossible Meatballs Ingredients
Impossible Meatballs use soy as their protein source, so if you have a soy allergy, you’ll want to abstain from this product.
Beyond that, the ingredients are straightforward. You have a protein, oils, spices, and binders. Nothing scary in these meatballs!
Here’s what’s in Impossible Meatballs:
Homestyle Meatballs: Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, 2% Or Less Of: Methylcellulose, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic, Soy Protein Isolate, Yeast Extract, Spices, Food Starch Modified, Natural Flavors, Cultured Dextrose, Salt, Dextrose, Soy Leghemoglobin, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Vitamin E (Tocopherols), L-Tryptophan, Zinc, Vitamins (B3, B1, B6, B2, and B12).
Italian Meatballs: Soy Protein Concentrate, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, 2% Or Less Of: Methylcellulose, Soy Protein Isolate, Yeast Extract, Spices, Food Starch Modified, Salt, Natural Flavors, Dried Garlic, Cultured Dextrose, Dried Onion, Dextrose, Soy Leghemoglobin, Citric Acid, Vitamin E (Tocopherols), L-Tryptophan, Zinc, Vitamins (B3, B1, B6, B2, and B12).
Impossible Meatballs Nutrition
| Homestyle | Italian | |
| Serving Size | 3 meatballs (85g) | 3 meatballs (85g) |
| Calories | 210 | 200 |
| Total Fat | 14g | 14g |
| Saturated Fat | 3.5g | 3.5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | 0mg |
| Sodium | 440mg | 460mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 9g | 8g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g | 2g |
| Total Sugars | 0g | 0g |
| Protein | 12g | 12g |
For a person without a degree in nutrition, these seem totally reasonable. The sodium seems high, but it’s about 20% of your intake for 3 meatballs. This is probably similar to how much salt you’d use if you made these meatballs from scratch, maybe even a little less. As I said, I didn’t find these meatballs to taste overly salty. Sometimes, I’ve eaten premade food and felt like I’ve had to down 3 cups of water while eating them! Not so with Impossible’s meatballs. These are just a total 10/10 for me, from taste, to nutrition, to texture. No notes, Impossible!
How to cook Impossible Meatballs
My favorite part of the Impossible Meatballs is that they’re SO easy to make.
Here’s how to cook them:
- Oven: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Arrange the frozen meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through. While Impossible doesn’t note this in their instructions, you’ll want to ensure they reach 165ºF.
- Microwave: Arrange the meatballs on a microwave-safe dish. Heat on high until hot.
- 3 meatballs: 45 seconds
- 6 meatballs: 1 minute 30 seconds
- Stovetop in Sauce: Place meatballs and sauce in a pot and boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through.
How did EV eat Impossible Meatballs?
I followed the stovetop-in-sauce method. I used Filippo Berio’s roasted garlic sauce and served it with cooked penne. We were so happy with how the meatballs tasted, and we’re excited to use them in other ways. My next project is going to be vegan Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. Yum!
Where can I buy Impossible Meatballs?
Impossible is available in many retailers like Walmart, Safeway Sprouts, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods. You can buy the Impossible Homestyle Meatballs on Amazon, though I don’t see the Italian Meatballs available on Amazon. You can use Impossible’s store locator to find a retailer near you.
What do you think?
Have you tried Impossible Meatballs? Love them or hate them? After reading our review of Impossible Meatballs, will you be adding them to the dinner rotation? Let us know in the comments!
