Vegan Meatball Subs

I made you plant based meatball subs because I love you and I love anything that’s a vehicle for marinara sauce atop a toasty bun. You know my Easy Vegan Lasagna is the best thing since sliced bread. I’m the girl that asks for a side of tomato sauce with, um, everything. One of my all time favorite meals in Columbus was this stupendous eggplant meatball sub from a vegetarian restaurant called Whole World that sadly closed. This is my closest attempt at replicating that glory!

How to make oven baked vegan meatball subs

The key to making the meatballs is pulsing the beans, walnuts, veggies, and spices plus enough breadcrumbs to help them hold together and have that hearty texture. Flax helps, too!

Key ingredients and tips

These taste like pizza in the best way. Try topping them with extra nutritional yeast or whatever mozzarella cheese you love!

Pinto beans: I love pinto beans as the base, but white beans, chickpeas, or black beans would all work just fine. Italian breadcrumbs: Panko adds fab texture and helps the vegetarian meatballs stick together. If all you have is plain breadcrumbs, go heavier on the Italian seasoning. Mushrooms: for meaty texture and extra umami flavor. White mushrooms, baby bella, and cremini all work. Walnuts: Even more meatiness, toasty flavor, and textural intrigue. Yum! Onion and garlic: Essential for plenty of deep flavor in our bean balls. Flax: For extra binding power. Nutritional yeast: For cheezy flavor. Italian seasoning: So these taste like meatballs! Marinara: Use your favorite jar of marinara sauce to top off these subs. I like Rao’s, Silver Palate, or the Kirkland organic one from Costco. Buns: You’ll need nice and soft sandwich buns to finish off the subs. Regular or whole wheat buns work!

How to store meatballs

Store any leftover meatballs in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These freeze great, too! To reheat, warm meatballs in the oven at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. You can also reheat them on a skillet in a bit of olive oil.