Cheesy vegan meatball subs

You can’t really go past a classic meatball sub especially if you’re after a hearty winter meal. This is my favourite vegan meatball recipe combined with an easy tomato sauce and smothered in cashew cheese.

The meatballs and tomato sauce also go great with spaghetti and the cashew cheese is great on just about anything!

Cheesy vegan meatball subs

Print Recipe

Servings	Prep Time
5 subs	30 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

Servings Prep Time 5 subs 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Cheesy vegan meatball subs Print Recipe Servings Prep Time 5 subs 30 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Servings Prep Time 5 subs 30 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1 400g can cooked black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 400g can cooked green or brown lentils (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp soy milk

For the tomato sauce

• 1 400g can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

For the cashew cheese

• 1 cup raw unsalted cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric

For the sandwich assembly

• baguettes
• fresh basil

Servings: subs

Instructions

For the meatballs

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the onions and garlic into the food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and process until everything is well mixed. Roll into golfball sized balls and place on the baking tray, mist with olive oil. Bake for 35-45 minutes until they have browned nicely, turning every 15 minutes.

For the tomato sauce

1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Crush the garlic and add to the pan, cook for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, herbs and tomato paste. Leave the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes or so, stirring often.

For the cashew cheese

1. Drain the soaked cashews (if you have a very high powered blender or food processor you do not need to soak them) and add them to the blender with the other ingredients. Blend until a thick, smooth sauce has formed. Tip the cheese sauce into a sauce pan and heat for a few minutes over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is warm and has thickened slightly.

For the sandwich assembly

1. Add the cooked meatballs to the pan with the tomato sauce and coat them in sauce. Spoon some tomato sauce onto the bottom of the baguette, place the meatballs on the sauce and then spoon the cashew cheese over. Place the subs under the grill for a few minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil, serve.

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