Today I will be showing you my homemade version of a subway meatball sub! The secret is, the meat is made from chickpeas! So yes, this is a chickpea meatball sub and it is awesome. Let me show you how I made it. If you like this recipe, check out this one! and this one too!
Chickpea Meatball Sub
We need one can of chickpeas. Drain your chickpeas and save the liquid in the can (this liquid is called aquafaba). You want about a half of a cup of the aquafaba, to that, I add two and a half tablespoons of flaxseed. I give it a good mix together, then set it aside. Time to add our chickpeas to a food processor! Pulse them up a couple times, until they are a sort of ground texture.
Adding Ingredients
Then add to the chickpeas about a half tablespoon of garlic powder, one teaspoon of onion powder, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a pinch of chili flakes. As well as about a quarter teaspoon of msg, if you don’t have or want to use msg you can substitute it for some mushroom seasoning, also a hefty pinch of salt and black pepper, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, about a half teaspoon of xanthan gum, one clove of minced garlic, a quarter of a yellow onion minced as well, and a small handful of parsley.
Mix!
I pulse that all together a few times, then add half a cup of breadcrumbs, pulse. Next add two teaspoons of soy sauce, and our flaxseed aquafaba mixture. Pulse everything together some more until it starts to look like the consistency of really smooth ground meat. At this point you should be able to pull a little out of the food processor, roll it up into a soft little meatball and onto a baking sheet. I have my oven preheated to 450ºf. If your meat mixture is too sticky to roll into balls, you can add some more breadcrumbs or some flour. I know what you are going to say but these are not falafel! They are very different!
Bake those Balls
Toss those meatballs in the oven, let them bake for twenty five to thirty minutes, turning them over about halfway through. These are done cooking and they are nice and crispy on the outside but still pretty soft on the inside. To take care of that, I toss them into a container and then into the freezer so that they can chill while we prepare our sauce.
Let’s get Saucey
First we need to add a large saucepan to the stove on a medium high heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to it. While that is heating up, I mince up a clove of garlic, and about a half of a yellow onion. Toss the onion and garlic into the pan, mix it around and allow it to soften up. Once it all becomes soft, we add in the sauce. Subway uses passata which is basically just a strained, uncooked, tomato puree. I use two cups of the passata, then also about a teaspoon of dried Italian herbs, a big pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of chili flakes, and a tablespoon of dried parsley.
Almost There
I give that all a nice stir but now it’s time to add our chilled chickpea meatballs. Which by the way, they are still not falafel! I add them to the sauce and turn them around to get them coated. Cover up the meatballs and sauce. Preheat the oven to 400ºf. Once your meatballs are nice and hot, slice your bun in half to get your bread ready! I load up my bread with the meatballs and add some vegan mozzarella cheese overtop!
We Did It!
Now toss your sub into the oven, let the cheese melt, and everything toast together nicely. Then boom! You have yourself a really tasty subway chickpea meatball sub! You would never know this isn’t real meat! Get your friends and family to try, they’ll have no clue! This tastes just like the one subway makes! The meatball is nice and soft. The flavors of the sauce are spot on, and go great with the chickpea meatball (not falafel) taste. There’s a slight kick to the sauce. It is so great! You have to give this a try! Watch the full video here!
1 Can of Chickpeas will Change the Way You Think About Subway Meatball
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2.5 tbsp flaxseed
- .5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- pinch chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp msg
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- .5 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 yellow onion
- small handful parsley
- .5 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups passata
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1 tsp sugar
- bun
Instructions
- Drain chickpeas, saving liquid. Add flaxseed to liquid, mix, set aside.
- Add chickpeas to food processor, pulse.
- Add garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, chili flakes, msg, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast, xanthan gum, garlic, yellow onion, and parsley.
- Pulse everything a few times, then add breadcrumbs, soy sauce, and the aquafaba and flaxseed mixture. Pulse until it is consistency of smooth ground meat.
- Preheat oven to 450ºf.
- Roll mixture into meatballs and put on baking sheet.
- Add to the oven, let cook for 25-30 minutes.
- When done cooking, put meatballs into container, and into freezer.
- Get large saucepan on medium/high heat. Add olive oil to pan.
- Mince garlic and yellow onion, add to pan, allow it to soften.
- Once soft, add passata, dried Italian herbs, salt, sugar, dried parsley and chili flakes.
- Give it a stir then add in the meatballs. Flip them around so they get coated in sauce. Cover everything up.
- Preheat oven to 400ºf.
- Once meatballs are hot, add into bun maybe with some cheese overtop, place in oven.
- Let cheese melt, and everything toast together, enjoy!