meatballs

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Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

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Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

I love meatballs. Vegan “meatballs” that is.

I love that Beyond Meat can be used to make a deliciously convincing meatball so I can still enjoy one of my all time favorite pre vegan foods.

Before Beyond started selling the beyond meat in a 1 lb. block, I simply bought the burgers and thawed them, mixed them all up and used them as I would ground meat. It works really well and 4 burgers equal 1 lb. of vegan ground. You can use any brand of vegan mince you like. I prefer Beyond but I know there are a lot of new brands popping up these days, so use your fave or what you can find locally! What a glorious time to be a vegan!

So, that said, what do you do with your vegan meatballs? Add them to spaghetti? Sure, I guess, I do love spaghetti and meatballs. Put them on a sub roll and make a sandwich? Sure, It’s one of my favorite sandwiches. OR, you can bake up you very own homemade bread bowls and fill it with vegan meatballs.

Hear me out. These are way BETTER than a sub! For starters it’s less messy, and also you can pile up a LOT of meatballs into a bread bowl. Then you can smoother it, cover it, drowned it, in vegan cheese sauce and bake it up til it’s bubbly brown, and extra gooey. You will likely look a little more classy eating this than you would with marinara running down your chin as you chomp on a meatball sub. Just saying.

Bread bowl meatballs get my vote!

If you don’t want to make bread bowls, you can go buy some smaller round loaves of bread at the bakery and use those. I have done this with a giant round bread loaf and just made one giant bread bowl for sharing. “Sharing” sure…. if you even believe me, then yeah, I shared it.

Anyways, our all purpose vegan cheese sauce gets extra stretchy and gooey, and is perfect for topping these meatball bread bowls. Also, you are going to want to lick the pot you cook it in, so just a heads up, it’s actually that good. You can use the bread scraps to clean up the cheese pot. I am a genius like that, y’all!

So I you are a fan of meatballs, then try them in a bread bowl. Bread makes all meals better and carbs are for sure my love language. Can you even eat a meatball without bread? I would strongly argue that you for sure can not!

Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

INGREDIENTS:

You will need one batch of our Easy Vegan Bread Bowls or 4-6 store bought bread bowls

  • 4 thawed Beyond Beef burgers, or 1 lb block of Beyond Meat

  • 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

  • 1/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce

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

Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

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.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

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

  2. Cut tops of bread bowls and hollow them out. You can save the extra bread to make croutons, or just save the scraps to dip in extra sauce. No judgments from me. It’s what I do. Fill the bread bowls equally with vegan meatballs and marinara sauce.

  3. Evenly top the bread bowls with dollops of the cheese sauce, and sprinkle with some parsley if you like.

  4. Place bread bowls on a baking sheet.

  5. Place in the oven on the top rack just until the cheese starts to get extra melty and gooey.

  6. Allow to cool a bit before serving. You don’t want to burn you mouth ( I am a mom of 4, I can’t help but give this warning)

If you like this recipe, then try these:

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Vegan Meatball Sub Bake

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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!

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

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

Vegan Meatball sub bake using beyond meat burgers

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Savory Cranberry Vegan Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

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I often make meatballs wth thawed Beyond Meat Burgers.

They work very well as a meat substitute in all kinds of recipes other than just using them as burgers.

Once thawed, they can be used just as you would ground meat. This particular recipe is sweet, tangy, and savory.

The sauce screams holidays, and would make a perfect alternative to a traditional holiday meal.

The cranberries, onion, and savory spices make such a beautiful sauce for the meatballs, and wonderful topping for the mashed potatoes.

You can just as easily use a bag of frozen plant based meatballs, but I really encourage you to try a batch using the Beyond Burgers! Or use whatever homemade seitan meatball you already make!

Ingredients:

  • 1 batch plant based meatballs (Use frozen or follow recipe below)

  • 1 can whole cranberry sauce

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 yellow onion

  • 2 teaspoons Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 2 teaspoons tapioca or corn starch

  • salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Potatoes:

  • 4 - 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

  • 2 tablespoons vegan butter

  • 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese or plain vegan yogurt

  • salt and pepper to taste

  • a few splashes of plant based milk

Meatballs:

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  1. For the meatballs: If using frozen, bake to package instructions. If making meatballs with Beyond Meat Burgers, put sliced bread into a blender or food processor, and break them down to crumbs. Combine bread crumbs, thawed Beyond Beef patties, flax egg, and dried thyme in a bowl. Mix well. Form meatballs with a small scoop or spoon and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

  2. While meatballs are baking, thinly slice the onion. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add a few teaspoons of oil or vegan butter. Drop the onions in and sprinkle with a little salt. Let onions cook until they become translucent and soft. Add the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well and reduce heat to low.

  3. In a bowl, whisk together the water, Better Than Bouillon, and starch. Add to the pot of cranberry sauce and stir. Allow sauce to simmer and thicken while the meatballs finish baking. Once the meatballs are done baking, add them to the pot of cranberry sauce and let them simmer along with the sauce while you prepare the mashed potatoes.

  4. Bring another large pot of water to a boil, then add the diced potatoes. Let potatoes boil until they are soft enough to pierce with a fork. This should take about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain the water from the potatoes and return them to the pot you boiled them in. Using a hand masher or an electric hand mixer, begin to mash the potatoes. Add the butter, cream cheese or yogurt, salt and pepper. Begin adding milk, just a few tablespoons at a time, until the potatoes are your desired consistency.

  5. To serve, scoop some potatoes onto a plate and top with meatballs and sauce. Garnish with fresh time or parsley flakes.

Serves 4 - 6.

Stewed Sauerkraut with Lentil Meatballs

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I will find any way I can to incorporatesauerkrautinto a meal. So when I ran across a non vegan recipe for a dish similar to this, I knew it was something I would love. I mean come on, sauerkraut is so good for you and the tang mixed with the creamy tomatoes in this recipe is just perfection!

The lentil “meatballs” are tasty and filling, and the stew is warm and comforting. You could use any premade meatball you want if you are not in the mood to whip up some lentil balls, but they are pretty quick and easy to make.

The zesty kraut and tomatoes, coupled with the cream cheese and milk are a perfect combination. Trust me here. I just keep repeating myself about this perfect combo, but I seriously pretty much licked my plate the first time I made this meal. No lie, it was not my classiest moment. Moving on…..

This meal is delicious on its own and even better with some oven crisped potatoes. Well, because we all know crispy potatoes can make the worst day better, and an already great meal an absolutely fricking fantastic, rainbows and unicorns, kind of meal. So just go ahead and make the potatoes.

One thing I am certain of is this stewed sauerkrautand lentil meatball dish is definitely going into my regular winter dinner rotation and hopefully yours, too!

Ingredients:

Lentil Meatballs

  • 1 cup dried brown lentils

  • 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

  • 1 medium onion

  • 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powser

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Stewed Sauerkraut

  • 1 25 oz jar of sauerkraut, store bought or homemade

  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

  • 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened plant based milk

  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Add lentils to a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow the lentil to cook 15 - 20 minutes. You want then soft enough to bite through but now mushy. Drain and set aside.

  2. Peel and cut onion in half. Pop it into a food processor or high speed blender, and blend until it is nice and minced up.

  3. Next, add the lentils, oats, and remaining meatball ingredients and blend until the mixture is well combined. It should be thick and a little sticky.

  4. Scoop up lentil mixture with a small scoop or spoon, and from 1 inch “meatballs”. Place the “meatballs” on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

  5. In a large pot or dutch oven, while “meatballs” are baking, combine all ingredients for the sauerkraut stew, stirring well to incorporate the cream cheese. Heat over medium heat, reducing to low once the stew has come to a simmer.

  6. Once “meatballs” are done baking , add them to the sauerkraut stew pot, and allow them to simmer in the pot for 5 to 10 minutes.

  7. Serve in bowls topped with vegan sour cream, or with a side of oven crisp, or air fryer potatoes.

Serves 4 - 6.