This recipe for gluten-free and vegan meatball subs (and of course, vegetarian) uses just 5 ingredients and includes a great little hack to keep it fast and easy.
There’s no doubt about it meatball subs are delicious! What better combination than melted cheese, rich tomato sauce and juicy golden brown meatballs on a lightly toasted baguette?
If you’re vegan or vegetarian, a meatball sub can seem highly elusive but with the explosion of the vegan grocery category in supermarkets, there’s no reason why we can’t indulge in this delicious sandwich too!
I’ve tossed the meatballs in a store-bought tomato pesto to keep these vegan meatball subs quick and easy! Fresh basil is a must, and if you can’t find gluten-free baguettes, any gluten-free roll will do the trick. These super tasty vegan meatball subs will quickly find a regular spot on your lunch roster!
What do you need to know before you make this recipe?
With just 5 ingredients (plus some salt, pepper and olive oil) these meatball subs are incredibly straightforward. There’s no need to make a marinara sauce as the meatballs are tossed with store-bought red pesto. For ingredients suggestions, see the notes below.
I’ve included all the notes for this vegan meatball subs recipe at the bottom of the page with the hope of improving your experience here at blue border. If you found this useful, I’d love your support on Instagram, click here to follow.
ingredients
- 400g/14.1oz vegan mince, gluten-free
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 190g/ 6.7oz red pesto, vegan
- 30g / 1oz fresh basil, divided
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 short or 2 long (cut in half) gluten-free baguettes
- 100g/ 3.5 oz vegan mozzarella, sliced or grated
process
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Decant the mince into a large mixing bowl, add the salt, pepper and two tablespoons of the red pesto. Finely chop half the basil and add to the mince and mix through the mince. Shape the mince into 12-15 meatballs and transfer to the baking tray.
Drizzle the oil over the meatballs and add the remaining pesto. Toss the meatballs through the pesto until well coated. Bake the meatballs for 20mins.
Turn the grill on to high and lightly toast the baguettes. Fill the baguettes with meatballs and add the cheese. Grill the subs until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Roughly chop the remaining basil and scatter over the meatball subs just before serving.
NOTES: Vegan Meatball Subs
Ingredients Notes
Vegan Mince
I used Meatless Farm mince that is both vegan and gluten-free. Vegan mince tends to be a little ‘stiff’, which makes it difficult to shape, and it can often have a very soy dominant flavour. I like Meatless Farm mince as it’s easy to shape into balls and has a very pleasant flavour. I also really like the vegan mince from Aldi, but it can be harder to find.
Red Pesto
I used the Sacla Vegan Tomato Pesto. Vegan pesto is becoming much more common, and you should be able to find it in your local supermarket. Sacla also has a variety of other vegan pestos and pasta sauces which you can use instead. If you want your meatball subs with more sauce, try their vegan bolognese sauce, which comes in a 350g jar.
Gluten-free Baguettes
I used the BeFree Demi Baguettes, which are also vegan. Make sure to double-check the ingredients list as not all gluten-free bread is vegan. If you can’t find baguettes, any gluten-free bread roll will work well. Schar also makes a variety of gluten-free, vegan bread rolls.
Vegan Mozarella
I used Violife mozzarella flavour block, which melts well and has a nice flavour. Like pesto, vegan cheese is becoming easier to find, and you should be able to find vegan mozzarella in your local supermarket. Sheese, Follow Your Heart and Green-Vie all make a version of mozzarella. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the supermarket own-brand vegan cheeses.
