Your New Fave Meatball Sub
This might be a bold move, but I believe this is going to be your new go-to meatball sub y'all. Juicy Beyond Meat meatballs, fresh green pesto, vodka sauce, grana padano, melty cheese, and fresh basil served up on gorgeous Parmesan herb buns. So delish and addictively cave-worthy.
Ingredients
- 2 whole2 whole2 whole Submarine Rolls, I used Parmesan Herb Sub Buns - See Notes

- 1.5 cups1.5 cups1.5 cups Vodka Sauce, Store-bought
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Extra Virgin Olive Oil, For Frying

- 1 cup1 cup1 cup Mozzarella, Pizza Mozz, shredded. more if needed / desired.
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Grana Padano Cheese, Garnish
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Basil, Fresh, Garnish

- 0.25 cup0.25 cup0.25 cup Pine Nuts

- .25 cup.25 cup.25 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, More if Needed

- 0.5 whole0.5 whole0.5 whole Lemon, juice

- 2 cloves2 cloves2 cloves Garlic

- 1.25 cups1.25 cups1.25 cups Basil, Fresh, packed

- 0.333 cup0.333 cup0.333 cup Parsley

- 0.333 cup0.333 cup0.333 cup Grana Padano Cheese, cut into small pieces
- 0.25 tsp0.25 tsp0.25 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, A pinch

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Red Pepper Flakes, a pinch

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Water, Splash Cold Water
- 1 lb1 lb1 lb Plant-Based Ground Beef - Beyond Meat
- 3 cloves3 cloves3 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced

- 0.5 whole0.5 whole0.5 whole Red Onion, finely diced
- 5 Tbsp5 Tbsp5 Tbsp Parsley, chopped

- 2 Tbsp2 Tbsp2 Tbsp Basil, Fresh, chioffonade

- 0.25 cup0.25 cup0.25 cup Grana Padano Cheese, finely shredded
- 0.5 tsp0.5 tsp0.5 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

- 0.25 tsp0.25 tsp0.25 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, Desired Amount

Pesto
Meatballs
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Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results
- PESTO - Start by toasting the pine nuts in a dry skillet until they're fragrant with some golden browning. Remove them and transfer them to a small bowl as you grab the rest of your pesto ingredients. Next, smash the garlic and roughly chop it before adding it to a small vortex blender followed by the grana padano, fresh herbs (including some stems), salt, pepper, pepper flakes, pine nuts, lemon juice, and EVOO. Add a splash of cold water before closing it up and blending until smooth and vibrantly green. Add additional EVOO if needed to emulsify nicely. Cover and refrigerate until service.
- Add about 1 1/2 cups vodka sauce to a small, covered pot set to medium low and heat until service.
- MEATBALLS - Add all of the ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl and work together with your hands. Once combined, roll 1 1/2 heaping Tbsp. of the meaty mix into meatballs and transfer them to a plate. Once you have 8, divide the remaining mixture between the balls and re roll them.
- Heat a couple tablespoons EVOO in a non-stick skillet and once heated, add the meatballs. Cook until golden, flip, and continue on the other side until golden. At this point, reduce your heat and cover the skillet for a couple minutes. Remove the cover, flip them again, and cover for a few more minutes. Continue this process until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Preheat your oven to 400 F
- For assembly, split open your buns and get them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon a generous layer of pesto on the tops and spread some of the vodka sauce on the bottom. Nestle 4 meatballs onto the buns and top them with a generous amount of shredded mozz. Spoon more vodka sauce over the cheese / meatballs. Once the oven is preheated, add your tray to the oven and bake about 5 minutes until the cheese is melty and your buns are toasty on the outside but still soft inside. Remove your tray to a wire cooling rack.
- For service, garnish your sammies with a couple dollops of pesto, some finely shredded grana padano, and fresh basil leaves. ENJOY!
Notes
- I purchased these lovely Parmesan Herb Sub Buns from my local market. As the recipe made 8 larger sized meatballs, I could only make two subs based on the size of my buns. You could use smaller rolls / buns and stretch the meatballs out to 3 or 4 sammies depending on the size of the rolls.
- Alternately, you could reduce the size of the meatballs to stretch them out to an additional sandwich, but I'd sooner switch buns because the meatballs are nice and juicy at their current size.
- I made 9 meatballs for myself before realizing my buns were too large and would take 4 each. I switched it to 8 for the recipe, but again, the size of your buns will help you determine how many meatballs to make for your sammies.
Add a Note
My Notes:
About This Recipe
Show nutritional information
Coconut Free Entrées Other Pescetarian Shellfish Free Sugar Alcohol Free| This is our estimate based on online research. | |
| Calories: | 2095 |
| Fat: | 143 g |
| Carbohydrates: | 87 g |
| Protein: | 119 g |
| Cholesterol: | 208 g |
| Sodium: | 3864 mg |
| Fiber: | 9 g |
| Sugars: | 13 g |
| Sugar Alcohol: | 0 g |
| Calculated per serving. | |




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