Vegan Meatball Sub Bake

My oldest daughter’s favorite meal has always been a meatball sub.

I don’t blame her, they are delicious. That said, they are also messy and I have 4 kids to clean up after. So over the years I discovered this vegan meatball sub bake makes them just as happy as a big messy sub does.

It also works great for feeding the extra gaggle of teens that are often at my house. They don’t even care that is vegan, and often go back for seconds.

If you don’t want to use Beyond Burgers, then use any plant based meatball you prefer. A little heads up though, my local Costco has started selling packs of 8 beyond burgers for around $14!! Less than $2 a burger. So even if I use 4, this meal is still far cheaper than eating out!

I LOVE making meatballs with thawed Beyond Burgers because they remind me the most of real meatball.

We top the meatballs with our perfect all purpose vegan cheese sauce, after letting it get extra thick and stretchy! It makes the perfect gooey mozzarella for this recipe. Lastly, we top it with buttery, toasty garlic bread! I’m telling y’all, this dish will more than likely be a hit with who tries it, vegan or non vegan! So forget trying to bite into a messy meatball sub, and turn it into this vegan meatball sub bake!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 4 thawed Beyond Beef burgers, or a bag of your favorite frozen plant based meatballs

• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (a mix of thyme, sage, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and oregano) if you do not have Italian seasoning feel free to add a combo of any of the listed spices

• 1 teaspoon tomato paste

• 1 flax egg

• 1 loaf french bread

• 1/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce

• 1-2 tablespoons vegan butter

THE SAUCE: ( or use a favorite pre-made sauce)

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 1 small 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes

• 1/3 red wine (optional)

• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Meatballs:

1. Mix thawed burgers, panko bread crumbs, garlic, spices, and flax egg together in a bowl.

2. Once well combined, form meatballs with a small scoop, or spoon, and place them on a baking pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean up.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauce: (you can also easily use store bought sauce)

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, sauté onions and garlic in 1 teaspoon of oil, and a teaspoon of salt, until onions are translucent.

2. Add the wine, and let it cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the cooked meatballs, and let simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes.

The Casserole:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Scoop sauce and meatballs into a 9x13 or large casserole dish.

2. Prepare cheese sauce according to directions, allowing it too cook until it is thick and stretchy.

3. Evenly top the meatballs with dollops of the cheese sauce,

4. Slice the french bread into 1/2- 1 inch thick slices and place evenly on top of the cheese sauce. Spread softened vegan butter over the bread. Sprinkle with garlic salt or any other seasoning you may like .

5. Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake for around 20-25 minutes. You just want heat the casserole through and toast the bread.

   Serves 4-6

If you like this recipe, try these:

Beyond Meatball Stuffed Challah

Savory Cranberry Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

Stewed Sauerkraut with Lentil Meatballs

Vegan Meatball sub bake using beyond meat burgers

Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s pie is not a food I grew up eating. To be perfectly honest, I had never even heard of it until I married my husband, and he expressed his great dislike for traditional shepherd’s pie. I was in full agreement that the meaty version full of peas, and carrots and what ever else was in there sounded awful. Then recently our friend Deanne had us over for dinner, and served a vegan lentil version of shepherd’s pie, and much to my surprise, I liked it. I actually really, really liked it! Savory lentils and veggies topped with creamy mashed potatoes. What is not to like!!! It took some convincing to get my husband to try it when I decided to make my own, but when I did he ate two helpings!! So the husband is now a convert, the shepherd’s Pie ban has officaly been lifted, and I will now be adding this deliciously easy dinner to our regular rotation! Thanks again Deanne for proving us wrong!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup dried green lentils

• 2 carrots, finely diced

• 1 small onion, finely diced

• 2 celery stalks, finely diced

• 2 cups chopped mushrooms

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon (optional, but adds flavor)

• 3 large russet potatoes

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• 2 tablespoon vegan cream cheese

• splash of milk

• salt and black pepper to taste (for the potatoes)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.

2. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and allow to cook unit the onions are translucent and soft.

3. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the lentils, broth, and spices and reduce the heat to simmer. Let the lentils simmer for about half an hour to 45 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils are soft.

5. While the lentils are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until they are soft and you can poke a fork through them.

6. Drain water from potatoes and mash using a hand masher or an electric hand mixer, adding in the butter, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. If they seem too thick, add a splash of milk.

7. Scoop cooked lentils into a pie dish or shallow casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the shepherds pie for about 25 minutes.

9. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley if you like before severing.

If you like this recipe, try these:

“Chicken” Divan with Jackfruit

Loaded Vegan Roasted Red Potatoes

Cheesy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes

Vegan Italian Noodle Bake

I love Italian food, especially lasagna, but don’t always feel like taking the time and energy to make it.

So when I am craving noodle filled, cheesy, saucy Italian goodness in a hurry, this quick Italian noodle bake fits the bill!

It’s delicious comfort food at it’s best! Like lasagna but easier!! And sometimes I am just in the mood for easier!!

I especially love the wide eggless ribbon noddles that we use, but if you can’t find any near you, feel free to use any noodle you like. This quick recipe also freezes and reheats well, so Its perfect for meal prep!

You can use any easy ground meat substitute you like. Vegan round sausage or beef. Store-bought or homemade ground seitan would work.

This recipe also has lots of cheese. Which I am always a fan of. You can buy vegan cheese already shred, or try your hand at making your own easy vegan cheese! We have lots of sliceable, shreddable vegan cheese recipes on the the site that would be delicious in this recipe, and even a super easy vegan cream cheese recipe that is my all time favorite !

Thanks goodness for easy comfort food vegan dinners!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz package of wide ribbon eggless noodles

• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

• 1 lb Lightlife ground “beef” or sausage, or any other ground vegan meat you like

• 1 small yellow onion, diced

• 1 small red or yellow bell pepper, diced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/2 cup non dairy plain yogurt

• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard

• 3 tablespoons non dairy cream cheese

• 1 cup vegan cheddar shreds, homemade or store bought

• 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds, homemade or store bought

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Boil Noodles according to package instructions. Drain noodles and mix in the yogurt, cream cheese, and dijon mustard. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, add a few teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and pepper to the pan. Cook until the veggies are soft. Add the Lightlife and break apart into a crumble using a spatula. Allow the meatless crumble to cook through.

3. Once the the meatless crumbles have cooked through, add the can of crushed tomatoes to the same pan. Add the thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. In a large casserole dish or 9x13, add half of the noodles to the bottom. Top the noodles with half of the sauce mixture. Next, add the remaining noodles and top with the remaining sauce.

5. Sprinkle the top with the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses ,and place on the top rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Long enough to melt the cheese and heat the casserole through.

6. This recipe works well for meal prep. You can easily freeze any leftovers and thaw to reheat for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

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If you liked this recipe, try these:

Muffin Cup Vegan Lasagna

One Pot Creamy “Chicken” Pasta

Vegan Italian Potato Roll Up

Savory Vegan Noodle Kugel

If you have ever had kugel then you know…if you haven’t, then you should, asap!!

Kugel can be savory or sweet, but I have always preferred savory. This recipe is kind of a mash up of mac and cheese, and a casserole, with the perfect blend of onion, and spices.

It might be tricky to find eggless ribbon noodles, but they do exist. I always get them at my local grocery store. They sell a store brand eggless wide ribbon noodle and that is what you need for this recipe.

Normally kugel is egg heavy. So we have replaced the egg with a combination of whipped aquafaba and starch to help bind the vegan kugel, but also keep it light and a little fluffy.

We use a combination of tofus to make a pretty convincing vegan cottage cheese, and add some savory onion and spices to round the kugel out.

If you are in the sweet kugel camp, I can not help you out there. I have never been a fan, but I am sure you could adapt the base of this recipe to create a really tasty sweet kugel.

So if it’s your first time making a kugel, please leave me a comment, and let me know what ya think!! But I think you are gonna love it!

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups vegan cottage cheese

• 1 1/2 cups vegan sour cream

• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

• 1 1/2 cups aquafaba whipped ( you are measuring the whipped product, not the liquid)

• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup melted vegan butter

• 16 oz bag of egg-less extra wide pasta ribbons

• 2-3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• esalt and pepper to taste

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Instructions:

1. Cook noodles to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat a small skillet on medium heat with a teaspoon of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sauté until they are soft and translucent.

3. In a large bowl mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, aquafaba, starch, and butter. Next add in the onions, garlic, seasoning. Finally, fold in the cooked and drained noodles.

4. Transfeter mixture to a 9x13 baking dish, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

5. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley, and extra paprika. Serve warm or at room temperature.