This Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich recipe is healthy and gluten-free comfort food to the max! Tender meatballs are coated in a spicy basil marinara sauce and sandwiched between a crusty baguette.
File this Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich into Things I Never Thought I Could Eat Again once I went plant based.
Happy, happy, happy to be proven WRONG on that one.
Because this Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich is saucy, hearty, spicy, and comforting. You will most definitely need a napkin for this one - in the best kind of way.
The star of this Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich are the meatballs. Er, meatless balls? What exactly do you call a meatball that is made sans meat?
Bean balls? No-meat balls? Veggie balls?
Whatever your name of choice is, these balls are flavored to taste like a sweet Italian sausage. Fennel, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and sun dried tomatoes all come to the flavor party and play oh-so well together.
Now let's chat about this sauce situation we have going on in this Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich.
This spicy basil marinara is sweet and fragrant, a little spicy, and basically the sauce that came straight out your Italian grandma's kitchen. And I say your Italian grandma, because I was not so lucky as to be blessed with a household where fresh pasta is a thing, a real THING, and marinara recipes are closely guarded secrets that have been passed down for generations. BUT my sweet Swiss grandma taught me a thing or two about cooking, and I think we hit the nail on the head with this one.
This sauce takes a lotta love. It is time consuming. The sauce has to simmer on the stove and develop in flavor. To little simmering and the sauce tastes too young, aka it will have no depth of flavor. The flavors need to be slowly coaxed out with a lot of simmering and a little stirring.
If you don't have time to make this spicy basil marinara, no harm no foul. Just use your favorite jarred sauce.
But if you do make it yourself, you will not, not, not be disappointed.
It's a two hander.
Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 90
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven
Description
This Vegan Italian Meatball Sandwich recipe is healthy and gluten-free comfort food to the max! Tender meatballs are coated in a spicy basil marinara sauce and sandwiched between a crusty baguette.
Ingredients
For the spicy basil marinara:
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- ½ white onion (, finely diced)
- 1 carrot (, finely diced)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 (15)oz can tomato sauce
- 1 (15)oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
For the meatballs:
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 4 oz crimini mushrooms
- ½ white onion (, quartered)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (15)oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup gluten free quick oats
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For serving:
- 1 large gluten-free baguette ((or other bread of choice))
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- Vegan parmesan (, optional)
Instructions
For the marinara:
- Heat the avocado oil in a medium pot. Add in the onions, carrots, and salt. Cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots have softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste has darkened in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Move onto the meatballs, but stir the marinara occasionally.
For the meatballs:
- While the marinara is simmering, start the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet tray with nonstick foil and spray with coconut oil cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed meal and 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside to thicken.
- Add the mushrooms and onions into a food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Pule until broken down into a fine dice. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add in the avocado oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the mushroom and onion mixture and the salt. Sauté until the mushrooms have released their moisture and the mixture has evaporated, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Return the mixture to the food processor.
- Add in the flaxseed mixture, cannellini beans, oats, sun dried tomatoes, fennel, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes. Process until a smooth mixture forms, scraping down the sides as necessary. Using a 2 tablespoon measure, form the mixture into round balls. If it sticks to your hands, rub your hands with a little nonstick spray. Place the meatballs onto the prepared sheet tray and bake for 25 minutes. Flip the meatballs and bake for another 20 minutes.
For serving:
- Remove the marinara from the heat and stir in the basil and parsley.
- On the bottom baguette, cover it with a layer of basil, then top with meatballs. Top the meatballs with dollops of marinara and optional vegan parmesan. Cover the top slice of bread with marinara. Close the sandwich and serve.
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