Be honest, when you’re at a restaurant and you see a meatball sub on the menu (vegan or not vegan depending on the stage of your life), it’s always one of your top choices. I’ve always had a soft spot for the saucy, gooey and comforting sandwich since I was a little kid.
Mom used to make meatballs all the time, usually to be paired with pasta and red sauce. Sometimes I would eat them before she could even put them in the sauce because they were so dang good! But then comes the time when dinner is over and there’s leftovers.
Shall we use it for more pasta tomorrow, or be bold and go for the meatball sub!? I usually went for the sub and devoured it the next day with red sauce and cheese if I had it.
So when we were creating this recipe, we wanted that traditional sandwich we always remembered craving. We’d recently been making a lot of alfredo, whether our cauliflower alfredo recipe or our white bean alfredo recipe, so that gave us an idea. Lets put a spin on this to spice it up even more, by swapping the red sauce for a delicious creamy vegan alfredo. And voila, our Vegan Meatball Subs were born.
It’s funny how you get inspiration from other recipes to add twists to other dishes to make them more interesting. We had also recently gotten inspiration from Whole Foods when we had one of their vegan breakfast sandwiches. It was a chickpea “egg” patty with vegan sausage, roasted campari tomatoes and arugula on an english muffin.
We loved the flavor the roasted campari tomatoes added to that sandwich, so we created our own recipe for the blog! Combine those with our healthy cauliflower meatballs, our cauliflower alfredo in a fresh hoagie roll and you have a tantalizing sub!
This Vegan Meatball Sub recipe is sure to bring a smile to your face on the first bite. Whether you call it a hero, grinder, sub, or hoagie – you won’t be disappointed tasting this delicious, wholesome sandwich.
This Vegan Meatball Sub recipe is sure to bring a smile to your face on the first bite. Whether you call it a hero, grinder, sub, or hoagie – you won’t be disappointed tasting this delicious, wholesome sandwich.
This recipe makes a completely vegan meatball sub with tangy and juicy roasted campari tomatoes smothered in creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce. The “meatballs” in this sandwich are made from cauliflower and brown rice and fried or baked until lightly golden brown. Is your mouth watering yet? because mine sure is!
There are four main components to making this recipe amazing:
- Cauliflower Meatballs: our delicious cauliflower meatball made with brown rice, breadcrumbs, and Italian seasonings. Fried or baked to crispy golden perfection.
- Roasted Campari Tomatoes: juicy, bright red, sliced campari tomatoes roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Creamy Alfredo Sauce: thick cauliflower alfredo sauce poured on top of each ball, smothering the sandwich with cheesy, creamy goodness.
- Toasted Garlic Bread: each piece of bread is lightly toasted, rubbed with fresh garlic cloves and brushed with melted vegan butter or olive oil.
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Feel free to make adjustments on toppings, like spreading some vegan mayonnaise, using marinara sauce instead of alfredo, adding caramelized onions, mushrooms, or arugula. You can even add melted vegan cheese on top, too! It’s a versatile recipe that is truly delicious.
If you make this recipe, tag us on Instagram @pastabased or leave a comment below.
100% plant-based meatball heroes on toasted garlic bread with juicy, roasted campari tomatoes, creamy alfredo sauce, and crispy cauliflower "meatballs."
- 16 vegan cauliflower meatballs
- vegan alfredo sauce
- 1 pound roasted campari tomatoes
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter or olive oil
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First, prepare vegan cauliflower meatballs, vegan alfredo sauce, and roasted campari tomatoes. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to broil. Lay hoagie rolls open-face on a baking sheet and toast until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven. Cut tip off of garlic clove and rub onto the top side of each toasted hoagie. Brush on melted vegan butter or olive oil on the inside of the toasted hoagie. Layer roasted tomatoes, vegan cauliflower meatballs, and vegan alfredo sauce. Serve warm.*
- This recipe makes 4 meatball subs with 4 vegan cauliflower meatballs per sandwich, although this depends on the size of the bread you choose.
- Warm the alfredo sauce in a small saucepan before adding to the sandwich.
- You may also warm the sandwich together in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it so the bread doesn't get too crunchy.
