Posted by Today we’re making a copycat recipe of the Impossible Meatball Sub, which has been part of the Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure for the past few years!
I’m so excited to share my version of this sub with you so that you can make it at home. I hope you enjoy! Please tag me on Instagram if you make it and let me know what you think!
This year’s Food and Wine Festival was tragically cut short, but there is a chance that the festival will be extended once the park reopens! Disneyland filed permits to keep the food stands in place until September I believe, so they have the option to extend it if they want to.
There’s still no word on when Disneyland will reopen. We’re currently in Phase 2 of California Governor Newsom’s reopening plan, with theme parks being part of Phase 3. But it’s not determined when Phase 3 will start – it could start as early as June, though! So it is feasible that Disneyland could have a July opening date to match Walt Disney World, which will open on July 11 (Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom) and July 15 (Epcot and Hollywood Studios). This is much later than some other Orlando parks; for example, Universal Orlando is opening already on June 5.
California is generally on a later reopening schedule than Florida, but only time will tell! I’ll be sure to post on Instagram as soon as we start getting news about Disneyland here in Anaheim opening. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any updates about what’s happening in Walt Disney World in Orlando, make sure you’re following @vegandisneyworld.
And now, on to the recipe!
I also made a video of this recipe, so here it is if you prefer to watch it being demonstrated as well!
Here are the components of the recipe:
- French bread (personal-sized baguette) from a recipe by Mary’s Test Kitchen – you can either make it from scratch, or use store-bought French bread.
- Plant-based Meatballs (see recipe below)
- Marinara sauce (see recipe below)
- 1/2 cup shredded vegan mozzarella (such as Daiya, Follow Your Heart, or Violife), for garnish
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Servings: 4 subs
Time: If making bread from scratch, 3.5 hours (mostly inactive time). If using store-bought bread, 30 minutes
Making the French Bread:
Head over to Mary’s Test Kitchen for that recipe! Just make sure that you start it well ahead of time, as the dough needs to rest/rise several times. Also, be careful not to overbake it! With the sauce and meatballs cooking, along with making Instagram stories and Youtube footage and my tripod breaking at some point, I left my bread in the oven a little too long and it turned out a bit dark. I should have started checking it at 20 minutes after putting it into the oven. But I’m sure you can do better than I did!
Making the Marinara Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 of a small/medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 28-oz can of San Marzano tomatoes, whole
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit for a less spicy version)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 large sprigs fresh basil
Instructions:
- In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium/high heat for about five minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients: can of tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, sprigs of basil, salt, and pepper.
- Refill the tomato can about 1/3 of the way with water, swirl it around, and add to the pot.
- Stir for a few minutes and break up the tomatoes with a large wooden spoon or potato masher as you go.
- Allow it to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium/low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add more salt/pepper to taste, and mash it to your desired consistency.
- If it hasn’t thickened up enough yet, let it simmer with the top off for a while, and/or use a slotted spoon when assembling the sub.
Making the Plant-based Meatballs:
Ingredients:
- 1 12-oz package of Impossible Meat or Beyond Beef
- 1/2 of a small/medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup of mushrooms, small chopped (I used Baby Bella)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, small chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients until well mixed.
- Form golf-ball sized meatballs (it should make 10-12 of them).
- Choose either baking or pan-frying:
- Baking: Place them on a baking sheet with a non-stick surface (a silicone baking mat or parchment paper). Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until browned.
- Pan-frying: Place the meatballs into a non-stick pan over medium heat, or use a bit of oil if your pan requires it, and fry them. Keep rolling them around until they are browned on the outside and reach your desired doneness.
Assembly:
The DCA version of this sub actually has a Mickey head seared into the side of the bread, it’s so adorable! I wanted to try to recreate that, but when my bread came out of the oven already a bit overdone, I decided not to try that. But they do sell custom bread stamps, on Etsy for example, or you could even try with a lighter! I can’t tell you if it would work, but please let me know how it goes if you try it!
If you have homemade bread, slice it down the top. Place as many meatballs as necessary, depending on the size of your bread and meatballs, to fill up the length of the sub. Spoon the marinara sauce on top, followed by the parsley and vegan mozzarella for garnish.
In the park, this is served with kettle chips as a side. I didn’t get any for my version, but feel free to add that to yours!
Finally, put on a video of Phat Cat Swinger playing at the Food and Wine Festival and enjoy your sub!
Your Guide to Vegan Options at Disneyland! 