Description
These Vegetarian Meatballs Subs with Vegetables are perfect for a quick and easy, minimal ingredient vegetarian dinner that the entire family will enjoy! Serve with a side salad for a complete meal that can also be enjoyed for lunch. Busy nights call for easy dinners, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to be delicious, like these Vegetarian Meatball Subs!
Ingredients
- 1 (12.7 oz) bag of prepared vegetarian meatballs, or about 12 homemade vegetarian meatballs, completely THAWED
- 2–3 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium sized zucchini, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce, or pasta sauce
- 2–3 teaspoons crushed Calabrian chilis, if desired
- 4 sub sandwich buns
- 1 cup shredded, or fresh, mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley or basil for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- You will want the meatballs completely thawed though, so if you are using frozen ones, thaw them in the refrigerator, or on the counter, overnight so they are ready to go for dinner in the evening.
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. I like to start by browning the vegetarian meatballs. This step is totally optional, but I like them to have a little color and crispiness to the outside before I add them to the sauce.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, zucchini, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix everything together. Cook veggies until softened, and starting to brown, 7-10 minutes, and then add in the garlic and dried oregano. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until garlic is fragrant. I like my veggies to be pretty cooked and browned, but you can cook them to your desired doneness.
- Add the marinara sauce to the vegetables, mix together and then add the thawed/browned meatballs. Allow everything to cook together for just a few minutes.
- Assemble your meatball subs. Place your sandwich buns on large baking sheet. You can toast them for a couple minutes before adding the toppings, or add them immediately. Toasting the buns first will help them not get soggy with the marinara sauce.
- I like to add a couple spoonfuls of the veggie sauce to the bottom of the bun, next add about three of the meatballs and top with another couple spoonfuls of the veggies and sauce. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and place meatball subs in the oven. Cook until cheese is melted and and buns are crispy, 7-10 minutes. Top with fresh parsley or basil, if desired and enjoy!
Notes
There might be some of the veggie sauce leftover, it just depends on how much you decided to put on each sub sandwich. Sauce can be reused with pasta or even on pizza.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dinner, Vegetarian
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American