How to make a meatball sandwich even more awesome? Add a layer of ooey-gooey melted cheese! But you don’t need meat or dairy for it. The entire sandwich is plant-based and for that, we’re making meatballs and the cheese sauce from scratch. I know you will love these Cheesy Vegan Meatball Subs!

This is the Ultimate Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub, consisting of:

homemade vegan meatballs (made with TVP=Textured Vegetable Protein, also known as soy granule)
flavorful tomato sauce
from-scratch cheese sauce (it’s nut-free and you don’t need a blender for it)
and a baguette or sandwich bread

This Meatball Sandwich SHOULD be messy. The messier, the better, actually. Just don’t wear white, okay?

Homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce

The cheese sauce is amazing:

no nuts
no blender needed
is made in just a pot by whisking ingredients together
can be made in 5 minutes

Give it a try! It’s perfect for lasagna, pizza, as a dip too!

How to make a Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub

As always, you will find the whole recipe with measurements in the recipe box below but I want to give you an overview of the main ingredients and basic steps first.

The key ingredients & possible substitutions

I know this is a long list, but don’t worry. I’m including all the ingredients if you want to make everything from scratch like I did. But you can always use the shortcut and substitute some of the items for store-bought products (such as meatballs or cheese).

Also, you can make a whole batch of my TVP meatballs, freeze them and when you want to make this sandwich, you just have to thaw them and heat them in the pan.

You will need:

vegan meatballs (sub with store-bought vegan meatballs)
- soy granule / TVP
- yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- fresh parsley
- bread crumbs
- spices: sweet paprika, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, salt, soy sauce, liquid smoke – don’t worry if you’re missing an item or two, you can play around with the spices.
- tomato sauce
vegan cheese sauce (if you don’t feel like making your own cheese sauce, sub with store-bought vegan melted cheese shreds)
- vegan butter or coconut oil
- all-purpose flour – makes the cheese stretchy
- spices – I used salt, paprika powder, curry powder, ground pepper, and garlic powder (but feel free to experiment with different spices!)
- nutritional yeast flakes – adds the cheesy flavor!
- water
sandwich bread or a baguette
fresh basil

The basic steps

Vegan Meatballs

hydrated soy granule in pan — Step 1: To rehydrate the soy granule, add it to a pan. Add water and spices (soy sauce, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, salt, liquid smoke, thyme). Give it a good mix. Cook it over medium to low heat until it has soaked up all the liquid. Then transfer it into a bowl.

onion, garlic and parsley in a pan — Step 2: Cook the chopped onion and minced garlic until translucent. Add chopped parsley. Then add it to the bowl with the soy granule.

soy granule, onion, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs in bowl — Step 3: Add bread crumbs.

shaping TVP meatballs — Step 4: Let it cool off a bit until it’s cold enough to handle. Then shape meatballs. For equally-sized meatballs, use an ice cream scoop.

TVP meatballs before baking — Step 5: Add the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spray them with oil. Bake them at 400°F/200°C for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy outside.

TVP meatballs after baking — Step 5: Add the meatballs onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spray them with oil. Bake them at 400°F/200°C for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy outside.

vegan meatballs in pan — Step 6: Toast the meatballs in a pan with a bit of oil until warm and crispy, then reduce the heat, add tomato sauce, a bit of salt, and dried oregano.

vegan meatballs in tomato sauce — Step 6: Toast the meatballs in a pan with a bit of oil until warm and crispy, then reduce the heat, add tomato sauce, a bit of salt, and dried oregano.

The vegan cheese sauce

vegan butter and spices — Step 1: Melt the vegan butter or coconut oil in a pot. Add the spices. Whisk.

butter and spices in a pot — Step 1: Melt the vegan butter or coconut oil in a pot. Add the spices. Whisk.

flour and spiced butter in a pot — Step 2: Add the flour. Whisk.

stirring flour into spiced butter — Step 2: Add the flour. Whisk.

adding nutritional yeast to spiced butter — Step 3: Add the nutritional yeast. Whisk.

stirring nutritional yeast into spiced butter — Step 3: Add the nutritional yeast. Whisk.

adding water to make vegan cheese sauce — Step 4: Add the water. Stir until smooth and creamy.

vegan cheese sauce in a pot — Step 4: Add the water. Stir until smooth and creamy.

Tip: If you don’t use the sauce immediately, it will thicken up quite a bit. Add a bit more water and whisk again. Then it’s good as new!

Assemble the sandwich

drizzling vegan cheese on meatball sub — Step 1: Slice the bread. Add the saucy vegan meatballs, drizzle with vegan cheese, and sprinkle with chopped basil. Enjoy!

More vegan sandwiches

Love it? Rate it!

I hope you enjoy these Cheesy Vegan Meatball Subs as much as I do! Let me know if you give them a try!

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Cheers, Bianca

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Shellie

Monday 13th of March 2023

Would soy curl crumbs work in place of the tvp?

Bianca

Wednesday 15th of March 2023

yes, that should work just fine as it is the same, just in a different size :)

Juliana Fendez

Thursday 22nd of November 2018

The web site taste is perfect, the articles is really nice : D. Excellent task, cheers Regards Juliana

Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub

Homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce

How to make a Cheesy Vegan Meatball Sub