vegan mozzarella

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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:

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

What’s better than homemade vegan pizza? Well how about homemade STUFFED CRUST vegan pizza!

That’s right, we stuffed our easy vegan all purpose cheese sauce right into the crust! I make a ton of vegan cheeses, even vegan mozzarella that shreds and slices, but honestly this cheese sauce is always my preference for pizza. This cheese is gooey, stretchy, cheesy perfection! No need to ever try another vegan pizza cheese recipes, I promise.

We love pizza night in our house. It’s way cheaper than delivery, plus homemade dough is super simple to make, and everyone gets exactly what they want on top! Win, Win, Win.

If you are feeling too lazy to make your own dough ( I do not judge, really I don’t ) most grocery stores sell a pre-made pizza dough these days.It’s normally vegan but just check the ingredients to make sure!

Plus when you make pizza at home get to add whatever toppings you like, all the cheese you want, and it won’t cost you an arm and leg, because we all know everyone loves to overcharge for vegan food. ( I should write a whole blog post just about how badly that annoys me)

So ditch the pizza delivery, and make pizza night an event at your house with this perfectly gooey, cheesy stuffed crust vegan pizza. I promise its totally worth the effort!!

INGREDIENTS:

The Dough:

  • 3/4 cups warm water ( around 110 degrees)

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

  • 2 cups all purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 3 tablespoons oil.

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza cheese coming out of the crust

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Start by adding warm water, yeast, and sugar to a large bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast should have created a bubbly foam on top. If the yeast did not bubble and foam it is likely that the water was too hot, and it killed the yeast. I typically just use hot tap water to get the right temp.

  2. Add the yeast mixture and remaining dough ingredients to a stand mixer and mix on medium for serval minutes to allow the dough to knead. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a few extra tablespoons of flour. Your goal is a soft dough, but one not sticky. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can mix the ingredients in a bowl and turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface to knead for 3-5 minutes.

  3. Clean out the bowl you used for the water and yeast. Dry it well. and coat the bowl with a little oil. Place the dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let the dough rise for about an hour or until it had doubled in size. I place my dough in my oven on the bread proof setting, If you do not have a proof setting, you can just place it in oven (turned off) and allow to rise.

  4. Prepare cheese sauce according to directions while dough is rising. You want the sauce a little on the thicker side for this recipe.

  5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

  6. Once dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a clean floured surface and punch the dough down. Stretch the dough into a circle using you hands. The dough will need to be and inch or 2 bigger than your pizza pan. Let gravity work for you when stretching the dough. Sprinkle the pizza pan with a little corn meal if you have it, to help keep the dough from sticking.

  7. Make a ring of cheese sauce about once inch away from the edge of the dough, then fold the excess dough over the cheese and press down well to seal. Make sure you have a nice seal with the dough, or it will pop open and cheese will ooze everywhere while baking. You may have to pinch the dough a bit to make sure it seals.

  8. Spread sauce over dough, and top with cheese sauce and whatever toppings you like. Bake on the top rack of your oven for 15-25 minutes, or until the crust has browned and the cheese is nice and bubbly and browning. Cook time vill vary depending on thickness of the crust.

  9. Allow to cool some before cutting and serving

If you like this recipe, try these:

Muffin Cup Vegan Lasagna

Vegan Italian Noodle Bake

Vegan Italian Potato Roll Up

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

Vegan stuffed crust pizza with the perrect easy all purpose vegan cheese sacue and homemade vegan dough

Easy Vegan All Purpose Cheese Sauce

Vegan cheese sauce dripping from a spoon into a copper pot

One of the most basic and useful recipes I have, is this one. Seriously, it is vegan recipe that first gave me hope that I could do this! I could give up cheese, and survive to tell about it!

This easy vegan all purpose cheese sauce is something I almost always have on hand. It is a very convincing, ooey, gooey, white cheese. It keep well in the fridge and comes together in just minutes!

The base is cashews which work really well for substituting dairy. They break down super well and are extra creamy making them a popular ingredient in vegan cheeses.

If you are allergic to nuts, you can easily sub them out with sunflower or pumpkin seeds!! It works just fine!

You can use this vegan cheese sauce for pizza, pastas, grilled cheese, seriously so many different things.

The longer you cook it, the thicker and stretchier making it work really well as a quick vegan mozzarella. I actually perfect this cheese sauce on pizza and I make a LOT of vegan cheeses, including shredded mozzarella and soft mozzarella. This sauce is just so quick and so delicious I see no need to make things harder than they need to be!

The spice profile is pretty basic and can be changed up depending on what you are using it for.

Also check out our cashew queso recipe. It has a nice spicy kick and works well for quesadillas, and enchiladas, and tacos.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup cashews

  • 2 cups water, plus water for soaking nuts

  • 4 tablespoons tapioca starch

  • 1/4 cup Sauerkraut, no juice

  • 3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (I tend to lean towards being more heavy handed with the nutritional yeast. Adjust to your taste)

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Place cashews in a microwave safe container and cover in water. Microwave for 3 minutes. Drain water and rinse. If you do not have a microwave, you can boil them in a pot of water for 5 minutes or you can soak them for a few hours in hot water.

  2. Add drained cashews, 2 cups clean water, and remaining ingredients to a high speed blender and process until the mixture is totally and completely smooth. This may take a minute or two of blending.

  3. Transfer mixture to a medium sized pot over medium heat. Heat the mixture for a few minutes, stirring continuously with a whisk until the mixture begins to thicken. Once desired consistency, remove from heat. If it gets too thick, you can add a little more water to thin it back out.

  4. Depending on what I am using the sauce for, depends on how thick I will allow it to get. If using it for pizza, then I will let it get pretty thick so I can dollop it on top of the pizza. If using it in a lasagna or in enchiladas, I will keep it at a thick pudding constancy so it’s easier to spread. You can use it as an alfredo sauce, just keep it on the thinner side. Feel free to add any extra spices depending on what you are using it for!

You can use this sauce for:

pizza, lasagna, enchiladas, as an alfredo sauce, stuffed shells, calzones, quesadillas, mac and cheese, cheese spread for sandwiches, grilled cheese, just to name a few

If you like this recipe, try these:

Cashew Queso

“Meaty” Cheddar Queso

Spicy Vegan Queso, Nut Free

My favorite vegan cookbook is “Veganize It!” by Robin Robertson. I adapted and made some changes to her recipe for cashew pizza “cheese” to create this basic all purpose cheese sauce. If you are in the market for some great vegan cook books, be sure to check her’s out. Find a copy of Vegaize It at amazon or a local bookstore. I can not praise this woman enough.

Easy all purpose cashew based vegan cheese sauce. Perfect for vegan pizza, pasta, or sandwiches!

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Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

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Who doesn’t miss cheese sticks?! Half of my kids had never even had one, so I knew I needed to try and create a vegan cheese stick recipe so I could share this snack joy with them!.

These dairy free, vegan mozzarella cheese sticks are super simple to whip together.

They are made with coconut milk, making them more allergen friendly for kids to pack in their school lunches, because the last thing we want to do is exclude anyone with a nut allergy from this tasty treat!!!

They are also made with a vegan/plant based gelatin called agar agar powder. You can find agar at Asian markets or online at amazon. I prefer Living Jin brand but use whatever brand you can find or like.

Agar is activated when heated and will solidify pretty quickly once it begins to cool. So the result is a quick set vegan cheese. It only takes minutes for the mixture to come together, and a few hours for your cheese to set.

I am often asked if the oil can be left out, and in this recipe it can not. Agar solidifies and tends to have a gelatinous texture on its own. The filtered coconut oil helps get you a firmer cheese with a more palatable and cheese like texture. There are recipes out there for agar cheese without coconut oil, but they include extra starches and typically xanthan gum to help thicken and set the cheese.

If you are not into cheese sticks, you can mold this cheese in some small bowls and slice it for sandwiches or shred it for pizza.

So don’t be afraid to try and make your own vegan cheese at home. Its super easy, and really affordable. You know every ingredient that is going into it and can feel good about what you or your family is eating!

Happy cheese snacking, y'all!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups of full fat coconut milk or cream in a can (make sure it's at room temp, and shake the can very well first. You need the liquid as well as the creamy part, and since they tend to separate, a good shake will help mix it back up)

  • 1/3 cup vegan plain yogurt

  • 2 tablespoon of lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

  • 1 teaspoons of salt

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 melted cup triple refined coconut oil

  • 2 tablespoons agar powder

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 3 tablespoons tapioca starch

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, and agar.

  2. Pulse a few times to mix it all up.

  3. Now add the milk, and agar to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens to the constancy of a thin pudding.

  4. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor, and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as agar begins to solidify at room temperature.

  5. Transfer the mixture to an 8x8 pan.

  6. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for about 2 hours.

  7. Once the cheese is set, remove from the pan and cut into sticks. Store in an air tight container for up to week.

*You can also pour the mixture into small bowls to mold if you just want a shreddable, sliceable mozzarella that will melt!

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Beyond Meatball Stuffed Challah

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 The only thing better than vegan challah may just be stuffed vegan challah! And the only thing better than a meatball sub may just be a whole loaf of soft, delicious bread ,stuffed with cheesy, saucy, meatballs.

You read that correctly! Soft, fluffy, perfect vegan challah, stuffed with vegan meatballs, marinara, mozzarella.

It’s saucy, “meaty”, gooey, vegan cheesy magic, all wrapped into a warm fluffy challah bread.

It’s a meatball sandwich you can eat without worrying about the meatballs falling out the back and into your lap, and that will feed a whole family ( or maybe still just you if you are extra hungry!) This recipe actually makes 2 loaves so you can be stingy and there will still be one to share!

I promise vegan challah is easier than it may seem, and I also promise stuffing it with vegan meatballs (or anything else for the matter) is not that hard either!

We used Beyond Brand Meat for the meatballs because it is my favorite brand to use. You can use whatever is handy or easy to find. You can also use pre-made vegan meatballs if that is easier for you. I like Trader Joes brand if going that route!

For the cheese you can use store bought vegan mozzarella or fry your hand at making your own. We have serval mozzarella recipes on the the site. This vegan mozzarella cheese stick recipe can be molded in a bowl then easily shredded for this recipe. It shreds, slices, and melts really well!

This recipe hands down my favorite stuffed challah to make and eat! If you love challah and you love meatball subs, then this is gonna be your favorite too. I have zero doubts!

Challah

Follow the recipe for my basic Challah Y'all, Vegan Challah. You will follow the instructions through the first rise, then follow the below instructions for stuffing and braiding.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 thawed Beyond Meat Burgers or 1 lb of vegan ground mince

  • 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 bag vegan mozzarella shreds, like Follow Your Heart brand

Sauce

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 1 carrot, diced

  • 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

  • 1/3 cup red wine (optional)

  • 2 teaspoons crushed garlic

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

COOKING 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

  1. Sauté onions and carrots in 1 teaspoon of oil until onions are translucent with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pot for 5 minutes.

  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.

Stuffing the Challah

  1. Once Challah has completed its first rise, remove from oven and separate dough in half. This recipe will yield 2 stuffed challah loaves.

  2. Cut each half into thirds. (each loaf will have three pieces of dough. Work with one loaf at a time, leaving the other three pieces of dough covered in a bowl until you are ready to use them)

  3. Take one piece of dough in you hand and begin to stretch it both length wise, and width wise and the same, time, letting gravity help with the length. You want the dough to be about 12 inches long, and maybe 4 inches wide. Once you have it stretched length wise, you can put it on a floured counter top and press it to get it the width stretched.

  4. Once your dough is the correct size, begin adding the meatballs in a row, it works best if you cut them in half. You can add a LITTLE sauce, but if the dough becomes wet on the edges, it WILL NOT seal together when pinched. So do not over fill. Sprinkle with vegan cheese shreds. Save the extra sauce for dipping, later.

  5. Once stuffed, bring the outside edges together, and pinch to seal.

  6. Repeat with the other two strands.

  7. Once all three strands are stuffed, and formed, carefully braid the three pieces together. If the seams begin to open, pinch them back and continue braiding. Tuck both ends of the loaf under when done braiding. Once again I will refer you to Tori Avey's challah braiding guide if you are unfamiliar with braiding challah! She does a fantastic job showing all the different ways to braid your bread, plus she has some really great recipes on her site.

  8. Repeat with the second loaf, and place both stuffed loaves on a baking sheet, and back in the oven to rise again for about 45 mintues. Once they have risen, remove from oven and pre-heat to 350.

  9. Brush tops of challah with some vegan butter.

  10. Bake both loaves for about 35 - 45 minutes. You can tap the tops to see if they sound a little hallow. It is hard to tell when stuffed challahs are done when there are wet ingredients inside, so if they do not seem cooked through after 35 minutes, let them keep cooking for 5 - 10 more minutes.

  11. Remove challah from the oven, and allow to cool some before cutting. Serve with reserved sauce for dipping.

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