Easy Meatball Sandwich Recipe – Made with Fresh Veggies and baked in the oven. Who said vegan subs are not drool worthy? This sub is really easy to make and you can eat it anytime of the year.
Its hard to find a good, hearty vegan sub, so, I decided to make my own!
Have you noticed how many a day you hear about meatball sandwiches?
Lately, I have noticed that I am hearing about meatball sandwiches about 10 times a day. There are online ads, banner ads on buses, old tv shows that used to be popular on Thursday nights.
Even magazine recipes at the checkout line in the grocery stores have meatballs on the front cover
When all signs point to a sub, I think its time to make it!
I had a funny thing happen when I was photographing this recipe.
My tv was on and a certain food channel was showing Giada. You will never believe what episode of Giada was airing at that time: “Meatball Madness”. I had a good laugh. Talk about a good sign, right?
Today’s recipe is all about Italy and fresh tomatoes. I just can’t resist those two things. Sure, I haven’t been to Italy but it is on my bucket list. I hear that there are tomatoes growing on trees as far as the eye can see and then some more!
Someday, I must go see it for myself.
The key to this recipe is the fresh veggies. I stayed away from tofu, soy curls, tempeh and seitan which are common ingredients in vegan meatball subs. I am not really a fan of any of the artificial vegan products in the market.
Using freshly roasted veggies makes this one of the best subs ever made! My favorite veggie to include in this is the sweet potato which I baked using my 5 quick tips on baking the perfect sweet potato.
The sweet potato acts as good binding agent, along with the flax seed meal. This way, the vegan meatballs don’t fall apart easily.
For texture, I added cauliflower crumbles which are very popular in my vegan alfredo sauce recipe. If you can’t find ready made crumbles, take 6 cauliflower florets and grind them in a food processor.
If you have leftover cauliflower, make this vegan cauliflower rice biryani and you won’t go back to eating regular rice.
I always make these meatball sandwich when I feel like a little down. Its a great pick-me-up type of sandwich. I dare you not to have a smile on your face and a tune in your heart when you are biting into this sandwich!
So, what is your favorite topping for this easy meatball sandwich? I like tomatoes and cucumber in my sandwich.
Easy Meatball Sandwich
Easy Meatball Sandwich Recipe For Vegans
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red bell pepper Finely diced
- 2 celery sticks Finely diced
- 1/4 red onion Finely diced
- 1 carrot Finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic Finely diced
- 6 florets cauliflower Finely diced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp dried Rosemary
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup flax seed meal.
- 1 tsp lime juice Freshly Squeezed
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Mezzetta Italian Plum Tomato sauce For the meatballs
- 1 Cup of Mezzetta Italian Plum Tomato sauce For the sandwich
- 7 Hoagie Rolls (vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees and bake one sweet potato in the oven
- In a pan, heat the oil on medium for 30 seconds
- Add all the finely diced veggies
- Add the dried oregano, dried parsley, dried basil, rosemary, salt and pepper
- Mix well and cook the veggies until they are soft (7-9 minutes)
- Let the veggies and the potato cool for a few minutes
- Unwrap the sweet potato, remove skin and place the pulp in a large bowl
- Add panko breadcrumbs and flax seed meal
- Add the cooked veggies, lime juice and apple cider to the bowl
- Add Mezzetta Italian Plum Tomato sauce and mix well
- Make small balls out of the mixture (about 22-25)
- Place the meatballs on an oiled baking tray
- Bake the meatballs in the oven for about 10 minutes or until browned (oven temp - 450°)
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes
- Take a vegan hoagie roll and cut the top out. It should look like a kayak boat.
- Add the Mezzetta marinara sauce in the hollow part of the hoagie
- Put about 2-3 vegan meatballs in the hoagie
- Top with more marinara sauce and bake for 2 more minutes
- Serve this easy meatball sandwich immediately
