Beanball Sub - Vegan

I have never been fond of meatballs, but honestly have always wondered what the appeal of a meatball sub was.  This is why I was so happy to find this recipe, which uses kidney beans instead of ground meat.  Making this on a cold snowy spring day really helped me forget about the conditions outside.  My fiance described this as food he loves but made in a way that is healthy.  I found this recipe in Veganomicon.  Much of this recipe could be made in advance for weeknights.  If you will be in a rush I would suggest making the sauce and preparing the bean balls and storing them in the fridge in an air tight container until ready to use.

Make the sauce before preparing the beanballs as you will need some of the sauce to cook the beanballs.

Marinara Sauce

I made a caramelized onion version of the sauce.  You can also make a plain marinara sauce as well, if this is what you are doing, use only 2 tsp of olive oil and begin with sauteing the garlic over medium-low heat.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Sweat 1 cup of finely chopped onion for about 15 minutes (cook over low heat, covered, stirring every few minutes - make sure the onion does not brown).  Uncover and cook for about 10 minutes over higher heat, about medium-high until browned and caramelized.

Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano and pepper and simmer over low heat.

Beanballs

1 19oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs, I used panko
1/4 whole wheat flour or regular flour
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mash the kidney beans in a mixing bowl, using a fork or potato masher, they should still resemble kidney beans.  Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, bread crumbs, flour and spices, mix everything together until well combined.
Roll the mixture into beanballs, about the size of walnuts.  You should have about 15 beanballs.

Place the bean balls on a foiled lined rimed baking sheet.  Add about 1 cup of the sauce over the beanballs, ensuring all are covered.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Use hoagie buns to serve.  I added daiya cheddar cheese and spinach to my subs.
To assemble place the desired amount of beanballs on each sub, add additional sauce, dairy free cheese (if desired) and some spinach.