Vegan Meatball Sub Sandwiches

Better than store-bought vegan meatball sub sandwich with the best marinara sauce out there! Top with a little basil pesto and you’re flying!

Imagine hating vegan meatball sub sandwiches?? I’m genuinely finding it difficult to do, but it feels pretty bleak. The joy of these sandwiches is the ideal combo between crispy toasted sub rolls, meaty meatballs in a killer marinara sauce, melted cheese and fresh basil pesto!

No, this isn’t a subway “fakeaway”, nor is this really anything like an authentic meatball sub, but these are the guys I make at home and they are truly satisfying in ways that only the soul can understand. You ready? LET’S GO!

There are three technical processes here, so you’re learning and growing every way. You’re gonna learn to make delicious meatballs (that’s 1), stunning marinara sauce (that’s 2) AND a gorgeous sub sandwich! You can use these skills separately or combine them like a power rangers megazord in this one extremely special recipe.

Husband described this sandwich as “My favourite pasta dish but with bread instead of pasta” and that sounds about right. It’s just as comforting as pasta but maybe slightly more portable – just slightly (take about 60 napkins though).

How do I make vegan meatball sub sandwiches!?

As always, the FULL RECIPE is at the bottom of the page – scroll on down if you’re in a hurry. If not, hey! Welcome! You’re the best!! I’m gonna talk you through the process behind a perfect vegan meatball sub sandwiches right now!

1. Start with the marinara sauce!

I’ve included a recipe as part of this larger recipe, but if you’re using store-bought marinara sauce, you can skip this step. Tomatoes take ages to cook down properly and undercooked tomato sauce tastes acidic and sad. Make sure you start with your marinara sauce to give it time to cook and mature properly. 

Also, please, please use canned san marzano tomatoes if you can get hold of them. They’re simply head and shoulders above the rest and will result in a way tastier final product. 

2. Make the vegan meatballs!

Let’s talk about the mince (or “ground”) in this vegan meatball sub sandwich. Not all vegan mince is created equal. For this recipe you’ll need to fresh stuff which looks like the picture above. Brands like Beyond Meat, Impossible, Meatless Farm and Naturli all do varieties like this. It’s crucial because it contains methyl cellulose which makes it soft and malleable when raw but form and meaty when cooked.

You’ll also notice I use breadcrumbs in this recipe. Contrary to popular belief this isn’t to “pad out” the meat. It’s all about creating meaty but LIGHT meatballs. The sourdough breadcrumbs add flavour too, plus I use a traditional Italian method where the breadcrumbs are soaked in milk (soy for us!) for extra MOISTNESS (cancel him!!).

3. Form and fry your meatballs!

Forming meatballs should be done with a cookie scoop if possible. It prevents condensing the meatballs into tough little bullets by squeezing them too tightly with your massive monster/bear hands (great for hugs, bad for meatballs). 

Once formed, we’re going to fry off our meatballs. The more colour you can get on these bad boys the better. Nice and dark if possible!

4. Add the marinara sauce!

Here’s where the vegan meatball sub magic happens! We now simmer our meatballs in the marinara sauce for a few extra minutes. This helps to reduce the marinara sauce even further (making it more suitable for a sandwich rather than pasta) and it helps the meatballs to absorb more delicious flavour!

This is a good time to do a sneaky taste test. If you’ve been seasoning along the way, you should be fine. If not, this is your last chance to add some salt and pepper to the sauce n balls!

5. Assemble and toast!

Finally you’re going to assemble your sandwiches! You can use dedicated sub rolls or you can use big baguettes from the supermarket sliced into 4. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re encasing these meatballs in nice white carbs then you’re all good! 

Top the meatballs with vegan cheese and whack them under the grill. Get everything nice and toasty melted before adding your vegan basil (or fresh basil leaves if you prever) and serving!

And that’s how to make vegan meatball subs!

I’m screaming at the top of my lungs about how easy it is to make vegan meatball subs! Can we have a little power hug to communicate solidarity in this shared experience? 3, 2, 1, HUG!!!

WANT MORE LUNCHES!?

Why not try:

Easy Creamy Vegan Pasta

Vegan Bolognese

Instant Vegan Mac and Cheese

Continue to Content

Yield: 5 sandwiches

Vegan Meatball Sub Sandwich

Print

Better than store-bought vegan meatball sub sandwich with the best marinara sauce out there! Top with a little basil pesto and you're flying!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the Marinara Sauce

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 an onion, finely sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 x 400g can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• Pinch chilli flakes
• Pinch dried oregano
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Meatballs

• 400g vegan mince, aka ground in the US (see note below)
• 1/2 an onion, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced to a paste
• Small bunch of fresh parsley
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 55g stale sourdough
• 70ml soy milk, unsweetened and unflavoured
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the Sandwiches

• 5 sub rolls or small baguettes
• 10 slices of vegan cheese, make sure it's a melty kind
• 10 tbsp vegan pesto

Instructions

To Make the Marinara Sauce

1. Place a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and fry until starting to turn translucent, around 2 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes but do not let the onion or garlic brown.
2. Open the can of tomatoes and transfer to a medium bowl. Crush the tomatoes with your hands then add to the pan along with any tomato juice. Fill the can half-way with water, swill around to catch any residual tomato juice and add to the pan.
3. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat slightly. Stir in the chilli flakes, oregano and basil then leave to simmer, stirring occasionally for around 15-20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and the oil has risen to the surface and turned a bright red colour.
4. Season to taste with the salt and pepper then remove from the heat and set aside.

To Make the Meatballs

1. Place the vegan mince/ground in a medium bowl and add the onion, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands until you have a uniform mixture.
2. Place the sourdough in a blender and blitz until you have rough breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add the soy milk. Mix to combine then leave to soak for 2 minutes. Add the soaked breadcrumbs to the meatball mixture and, again, mix together with your hands until evenly combined.
3. Use a cookie scoop to divide the mixture into roughly equal sized portions (i got about 20) then use your hands to roll into balls. Set aside.
4. Place a large frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and fry for around 5 minutes, swirling the pan often to make sure they brown on all sides.
5. Once browned, reduce the heat and add the marinara sauce to the pan of meatballs. Bring to a simmer.

To Make the Sandwiches

1. Split the sub rolls in half and toast briefly under the grill/broiler. Top one side of each roll with 4 meatballs and a little extra marinara sauce. Top the meatballs with two slices of vegan cheese and then place back under the grill/broiler for a few minutes until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.
2. Spread some vegan basil pesto on the other side of the rolls then sandwich together and serve.
   

Notes

1. This recipe only really works with fresh vegan mince (aka ground). TVP or frozen mince won't hold together and cook in the same way. Look for brands like Meatless Farm, Beyond Meat and Naturli. To get nerdy, you're looking for a mince containing methyl cellulose. This just means it'll be soft when raw and firm once cooked, like real meat.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 887Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 1618mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 48g

Weirdly, this nutrition data looks rather odd to me and I can't figure out why. Ive recently switched to a different recipe hosting plugin which gives me less control over nutrition information, so while I figure out what's going on here, please take these figures with a HUGE pinch of salt.