Kathy's Vegan Kitchen

Healthy Plant-Based Vegan Cooking

open menu
open search bar
×

Vegan Meatball Sub

by Leave a Comment

Vegan meatballl sub served

There's something about a vegan meatball sandwich that brings a smile to my face. Whenever I'm craving comfort food, sandwiches come to mind. In fact, I can't think of anything more delicious than a vegan meatball sandwich on crusty bread. 

But, how can you make a healthy vegan meatball sub? It's easier than you think. In fact, it's all about the ingredients and a few helpful hints. 

For instance, making and freezing Vegan Lentil Meatballs ahead of time allows for a quick and easy meatball sub. Even though I make batches of meatballs and freeze them, vegan meatballs are easy to prepare. 

First, choose your favorite vegan meatball recipe. I enjoy two different versions of oil-free vegan meatballs. 

Two different vegan meatball recipes to choose from:

Although both lentil meatball recipes are oil-free and plant-based, either recipe works for this vegan meatball sub recipe. 

Simple Lentil Meatball Recipe

  • Brown Lentils
  • Organic Vegetable Broth
  • 1Shallot
  • Garlic
  • Fresh Basil
  • Italian Parsley
  • Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste
  • Italian Panko Bread Crumbs
  • 1Salt
  • Pepper
  • Flax  Egg

Lentil Meatballs with Vegetables (Lentil loaf turned Meatballs)

  • Brown lentils
  • White or yellow onion
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Red pepper
  • Mushrooms
  • Garlic
  • Tomato paste
  • BBQ sauce of choice
  • Yellow mustard
  • Flaxseed meal
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Quick oats
  • Whole wheat bread crumbs (I used Dave's Bread and made my own)

Regardless of which recipe you choose, either recipe freezes well and can be made ahead of time. 

Step 1 to a fabulous vegan meatball sub

Saute the onions vegan meatball sub

First, I saute diced onions, garlic and wait until the onions begin to brown before adding vegetable broth. Once the pan starts to brown, a small amount of vegetable broth caramelized the onions. 

Next, I add the thawed vegetable meatballs. I used the lentil meatballs without the vegetables this time. 

Sauteed meatballs in onions

To brown the lentil meatballs, I browned them in the onion mixture and added a little more vegetable broth to prevent the onions and meatballs from sticking. 

Next, I add 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce. I make an oil-free Vegan Marinara Sauce, but any oil-free marinara sauce works well. 

Fortunately, there are many oil-free pasta sauces available in the grocery store. 

OIL-FREE MARINARA SAUCE

Add marinara sauce to meatballs meatball sub

How to enjoy crunchy  bread and reduce the amount of bread you eat

hallow out the bread meatball sub

A helpful tip for getting perfect crispy bread and reducing the amount of bread eaten, I suggest hollowing out the bread. Not only does this help avoid the bread from getting soggy, but it also gets crispy quickly when broiling. 

As a result,  the bread will be thin yet crispy. Just make sure you don't bread through the crust of the bun or bread chosen. 

vegan meatball sub without cheese

Assembling the Vegan Meatball Sub

  • First, hallow out the bread and broil on low for 3-5 minutes.
  • Remove the bread from the oven, and add a layer of fresh spinach to the bun or bread base.
  • Then, add meatballs and sauce.
  • Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and Vegan Parmesan Cheese, which is an option but highly suggested. 

Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe

Do you love healthy vegan sandwiches? Try these scrumptious sandwich recipes:

Vegan meatballl sub served
Yield: 4 servings

Vegan Meatball Sub

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Bite into a vegan meatball sub made with lentil meatballs, in a homemade oil-free marinara sauce, on a bed of spinach and wrapped in crunchy toasted bread. Add vegan parmesan cheese for added cheesy pleasure.

Ingredients

Lentil Meatball Recipe (option 1)

Lentll Meatball Recipe with Vegetables (Option 2)

Oil-Free Homemade Marinara Sauce or marinara of choice

Other ingredients

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Vegetable Broth
  • 3 cups fresh spinach

Garnish

Instructions

Bread

  1. Choose an oil-free sandwich bun, bread, or Italian loaf of bread. 1 whole-grain Italian loaf of bread makes 4-6 sandwiches.
  2. Slice the loaf down the middle, cutting the bread in half lengthwise
  3. Now, hollow out the bread by tearing the excess bread for the center of both sides.
  4. Save the bread for another recipe or discard.
  5. Set aside

Preparing the vegan meatballs

  1. Saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent.
  2. Add a small amount of vegetable broth in the pan a the onions brown, caramelizing the onions.
  3. Add the thawed vegan meatballs (12 meatballs)
  4. Carefully brown the vegan meatballs in the caramelized onions.
  5. As they brown, add a small amount of vegetable broth to prevent meatballs and onions from sticking.
  6. Be gentle with the vegan meatballs as they brown, moving them with a spatula to brown all sides.
  7. Now, add 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce.
  8. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer, cooking, and gently moving the sauce's vegan meatballs.

Making the Vegan Meatball Sandwich

  1. Place piece on a baking sheet
  2. Turn the broiler on to low heat.
  3. Place bread in the oven for 3-5 minutes, checking to make sure bread does not burn.
  4. Place each piece of toasted bread on a plate.
  5. Add a cup of spinach in the center of the bread, filling the open section.
  6. Next, add 3-4 meatballs and some marinara sauce.
  7. Then, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4 servings

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 358Total Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 18mgSodium 332mgCarbohydrates 36gFiber 12gSugar 8gProtein 21g

Nutrition facts may not be 100% accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Kathy Carmichael
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Sandwiches

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

shares