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How to make a meatball sandwich even more awesome? Add a layer of ooey-gooey melted cheese! But you don’t need meat or dairy for it. The entire sandwich is plant-based and for that, we’re making meatballs and the cheese sauce from scratch. I know you will love these Cheesy Vegan Meatball Subs!
This is the Ultimate Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub, consisting of:
- homemade vegan meatballs (made with TVP=Textured Vegetable Protein, also known as soy granule)
- flavorful tomato sauce
- from-scratch cheese sauce (it’s nut-free and you don’t need a blender for it)
- and a baguette or sandwich bread
This Meatball Sandwich SHOULD be messy. The messier, the better, actually. Just don’t wear white, okay?
Homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce
The cheese sauce is amazing:
- no nuts
- no blender needed
- is made in just a pot by whisking ingredients together
- can be made in 5 minutes
Give it a try! It’s perfect for lasagna, pizza, as a dip too!
How to make a Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub
As always, you will find the whole recipe with measurements in the recipe box below but I want to give you an overview of the main ingredients and basic steps first.
The key ingredients & possible substitutions
I know this is a long list, but don’t worry. I’m including all the ingredients if you want to make everything from scratch like I did. But you can always use the shortcut and substitute some of the items for store-bought products (such as meatballs or cheese).
Also, you can make a whole batch of my TVP meatballs, freeze them and when you want to make this sandwich, you just have to thaw them and heat them in the pan.
You will need:
- vegan meatballs (sub with store-bought vegan meatballs)
- soy granule / TVP
- yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- fresh parsley
- bread crumbs
- spices: sweet paprika, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, soy sauce, liquid smoke – don’t worry if you’re missing an item or two, you can play around with the spices.
- tomato sauce
- vegan cheese sauce (if you don’t feel like making your own cheese sauce, sub with store-bought vegan melted cheese shreds)
- vegan butter or coconut oil
- all-purpose flour – makes the cheese stretchy
- spices – I used salt, paprika powder, curry powder, ground pepper, and garlic powder (but feel free to experiment with different spices!)
- nutritional yeast flakes – adds the cheesy flavor!
- water
- sandwich bread or a baguette
- fresh basil
The basic steps
Vegan Meatballs
The vegan cheese sauce
Tip: If you don’t use the sauce immediately, it will thicken up quite a bit. Add a bit more water and whisk again. Then it’s good as new!
Assemble the sandwich
More vegan sandwiches
- Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich
- Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
- Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich
- Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich with Smoked Tofu
Love it? Rate it!
I hope you enjoy these Cheesy Vegan Meatball Subs as much as I do! Let me know if you give them a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub
Bianca Haun | Elephantastic Vegan
How to make a meatball sandwich even more awesome? Add cheese! But you don’t need meat or dairy for it. The entire sandwich is plant-based and for that, we’re making meatballs and the cheese sauce from scratch.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Main Course, Snacks
Cuisine American, Vegan
Servings 2 people
Calories 938 kcal
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Vegan Meatballs (makes 12 meatballs – you can freeze the rest!)
- 1 cup soy granule
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 cup parsley chopped
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Tomato Sauce
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Ingredients for the vegan Cheese Sauce
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- ground pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup water
Additional Ingredients
- 1 baguette cut in half and sliced open
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil chopped
Instructions
Instructions for the Meatballs
To rehydrate the soy granule, add it to a pan. Add water and spices (soy sauce, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, salt, liquid smoke, thyme). Give it a good mix. Cook it over medium to low heat until it has soaked up all the liquid. Then transfer it into a bowl.
I am using very fine granule so it takes only a minute until it has soaked up the liquid, it may take a bit longer when your granule is bigger.
In a pan with olive oil over medium to high heat, cook the chopped onion and minced garlic until translucent and slightly brown. Then add the chopped parsley. Give it a quick mix. Then add it to the bowl with the soy granule.
To the soy granule and onion-garlic-parsley, add the breadcrumbs.
Let it cool off a bit until it’s cold enough to handle. Then shape the meatballs. For equally sized meatballs, use an ice cream scoop.
Add the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spray them with oil.
Bake them at 400°F/200°C for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy outside.
Toast the meatballs in a pan with a bit of oil until warm and crispy, then reduce the heat, add the tomato sauce, a bit of salt, and dried oregano.
Instructions for the Cheese Sauce
Heat the coconut oil or butter in a small pot over low heat.
Add the salt, curry powder, garlic powder, ground pepper, and paprika powder. Whisk.
Add in the flour. Whisk.
Add nutritional yeast, whisk again until clumpy.
Add the water and whisk on low heat for a few minutes until it gets gooey. If the cheese gets too thick you can add a little bit more water and whisk again. Set aside.
Additional Instructions
Add the saucy meatballs to the baguette (I used 4 meatballs for 1 sandwich for 1 person), drizzle with the cheesy sauce, and sprinkle with fresh basil. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 938kcalCarbohydrates: 129gProtein: 28gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 15gSodium: 2674mgPotassium: 888mgFiber: 16gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 290IUVitamin C: 5.9mgCalcium: 223mgIron: 9.8mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan!
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