Vegan „Königsberger Klopse" (Meatballs in Creamy Sauce with Capers)
I have to admit right away that I've never tried Königsberger Klopse in the traditional meat version. But for our new cookbook, „Deutsche Küche Vegan“. I took on the challenge of reworking this recipe. Julia, who had never tasted these meatballs and isn't a fan of capers, created the first version a few years ago. That gave me a head start since the base recipe was already great – but there was still room to make it even better. Some people in our office still remember exactly what the original meat version tastes like, so I had to test and tweak it more in the kitchen. Now, I'm sure this recipe will convince you, too!
The hardest part is making sure the meatballs hold together. In the non-vegan version, an egg does the job. For us, soy flour and breadcrumbs work perfectly. They hold so well that you can simmer the meatballs in the broth without them falling apart. The key is chilling the mixture for at least an hour first—it firms up and sticks together much better.
The Meatballs:
Traditional meatballs are made with minced veal, beef, pork, chopped anchovies, onions, white bread, eggs, and spices. For our vegan version, we skipped substitutes and used tofu instead. The recipe's base is crumbled plain and smoked tofu.
The Broth & Sauce:
The meatballs simmer in a flavorful salt broth with onions, allspice, bay leaves, pepper, and cloves. This gives the tofu meatballs plenty of flavor. In the original recipe, the caper sauce is made from the leftover broth after cooking the meatballs. But since tofu doesn't release much (or any) flavor, we make a separate sauce. It's a classic roux-based sauce with capers and caper brine. While capers are a must for this recipe (even called "caper meatballs" source), you can skip them if you're not a fan.
The Side Dish:
We serve Königsberger Klopse with classic boiled potatoes. You could also choose mashed potatoes, Hasselback potatoes, or rice. In some regions, people also like to add pickled beets on the side.
If this has you craving more vegan German recipes, we highly recommend our new cookbook. It's packed with everything from “Papageienkuchen” (german rainbow swirl cake), fanta cake, and “Maulwurfkuchen” (german mole banana chocolate cake) to vegan chicken drumsticks, fricassee, currywurst, onion tarte, sausage salad, and even Labskaus!
Vegan “Königsberger Klopse“
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 stale bread roll
- 1 white onion
- 400 g (14 oz) plain tofu
- 200 g (7 oz) smoked tofu
- 10 g (0.33 oz) flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp soy flour
- 6 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tsp salt
For the Broth:
- 1 onion
- 1.5 l (6.33 cups) vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 allspice berries
- 4 peppercorns
- 4 cloves
For the Sauce:
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 50 ml (0.25 cup) white wine
- 350 ml (1.5 cups) vegetable broth
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) vegan cooking cream
- 3 tbsp capers
- 3 tbsp caper water (from the jar)
- lemon juice
- salt
- pepper
- nutmeg
Additionally:
- 1 kg (2.25 lb) waxy potatoes
- flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
Pour warm water over the bread roll and let it soak for 5 minutes. Then squeeze it well, tear it into small pieces, and place it in a large bowl.
Finely dice the onion and crumble the tofu. Finely chop the parsley and add it to the bowl with mustard, breadcrumbs, soy flour, soy milk and salt. Mix everything with your hands until you can form a large ball. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.
Peel and halve the potatoes, then place them in a pot. Cover them with cold water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain them afterward.
For the sauce, melt vegan butter in a small pot. Stir in the flour, ensuring there are no lumps. Deglaze with white wine. Then add vegetable broth, cream, capers, and caper brine. Let it simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Season with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
For the broth, peel and quarter the onion. Place it in a large pot with vegetable broth, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, and cloves, and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, form firm, small balls using your hands from 1–2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture. Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat so it is no longer bubbling. Carefully place the meatballs into the broth individually and simmer for 7 minutes. Make sure the meatballs are side by side, not stacked. When done, remove them with a slotted spoon.
Finely chop the parsley. Distribute the caper sauce on plates, add the Königsberger Klopse and potatoes, and top with parsley.
