Crusty rolls stuffed with BBQ meatballs, smothered in a tangy homemade tomato sauce and topped with vegan cheese for a family favourite!

I was watching Bosh the other day in their Facebook stories where they’d been encouraged by their followers to try the new Burger King Vegan Royal.  Their overall impression of it was that it was pretty good taste and texture and great to see more and more companies catering to vegan fast food needs.  But that’s what it is.  Fast food, still better for health and morals than a regular burger but still loaded with fat and salt.  And doesn’t taste as good as anything you can make at home.  Like BBQ meatball sub sandwiches.

The inspiration …

Mine were inspired by Phil and I trying the Subway meatball marinara sandwiches a couple of weeks ago. They too weren’t bad and when time and/or energy isn’t on your side, being able to get something quick, vegan and pretty tasty is still a win.  And streets ahead of where vegan food availability was even just a couple of years ago.

These BBQ meatball subs are SO good they’re in our regular weekly meal rotation.  Do you meal plan?  I’m a painstaking planner or everything.  Do you work better with boundaries or are you more of a free styler?  I’d love to be more spontaneous but with cooking so many different things for the website every week I try and plan them into our meals so we don’t have a tonne of food for no reason!  Especially as there are only the two of us to eat it these days.  This completely falls over when it comes to cake though.  It still gets eaten, usually quicker than it probably should.

How to make easy vegan meatballs:

Put all the meatball ingredients into a food processor.  You could do this part by hand using a potato masher if you don’t have a food processor.  They may be slightly more chunky in texture but that’s probably not a bad thing at all!  Blend or mash until well mixed.

Divide the mixture into little balls.  This meatball recipe makes 18 regular sized balls.  If you make them smaller or larger the only difference is they may need a little less or a little more cooking time.

Bake these for around 30 minutes.  They should be firm, lightly golden and crisp on the outside.

While they’re baking, make the tomato sauce.  Heat the oil in a saucepan until sizzling then stir in the flour.  Then whisk in the remaining sauce ingredients until the sauce is thick and smooth.  Because we’re coating the meatballs once they’re inside the rolls you don’t want the sauce too thin.  If you think it’s too thick add a little water (in small amounts at a time) until you have the desired consistency.  You want it thick but runny so that it coats the meatballs rather than runs off all over the tray.  These BBQ meatball sub sandwiches are messy enough to eat as it is!

Split the sub rolls across the top without cutting all the way through.  Nestle in the cooked meatballs.  I used hot dog rolls and 3 BBQ meatballs per roll.

Spoon the sauce over the meatballs, coating them well.  It will seem like there’s too much sauce but it’s worth spending an extra minute making sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies between the meatballs.

Sprinkle some grated vegan cheese over the top of each roll.  Bake for a further 10 minutes until the bread rolls are just crispy and the cheese has started to melt.

All the components can also be made in advance.  Simply keep the raw meatball mixture (or pre-rolled balls) and sauce in the fridge.

The BBQ meatballs are lightly herbed, delicately spiced but so utterly full of flavour.  The tomato sauce is thick, rich and coats the meatballs perfectly.  These ARE a little messy to eat though.  But so worth the tomatoey chin and fingers at the end!

Looking for more easy vegan meal ideas?  Try these:

Instant Pot Vegetable Chow Mein with Crispy Onions

Chickpea and Potato Curry

Vegan Enchiladas with Lentils and Spinach

Creamy Lemon and Basil Pasta

I’d also love to hear from you if you make these BBQ Meatball Subs! Just leave a comment as it’s so helpful and I love to hear how the recipe worked out for you! Thank you so much!

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