I remember seeing signs for Vietnamese hoagies outside restaurants back when I moved to Philly. It sounded like a really weird concept to me at first. But then one night I visited a Vietnamese cafe that seemed to be the only place open for a few blocks. There was nothing on the menu I could eat as a vegetarian. I explained this to the server and got ready to leave, when she assured me that they did have veggie food and would hook me up. That’s just what they did, placing a big, beautiful, tofu stuffed sandwich in front of me. This is what my fellow Philadephians had been calling a hoagie, but the correct name was actually a banh mi.
Oh man, it was gooooooood. And it was four bucks! I switched apartments a handful of times while living in the city, but every time after that I looked for a place near that cafe, hoping I could stroll down the street for four-dollar banh mis on a regular basis. It was only recently that I discovered such a thing as a meatball banh mi. I never really thought about what might go into one of these things other than tofu, so I’m not surprised I missed this. Generally when I veganize recipes I like to make some kind of fun twist on the dish. Meatballs are always fun to veganize. I’d found my twist!
How to Make a Delicious Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich
Veggie meatballs come together a lot like veggie burgers. You need something hearty and binding to take the place of the meat. Beans usually do the trick! I used cannellini beans here, along with walnuts for texture, some fresh basil, soy sauce and chili paste to kick up the flavor a bit.
Mix everything up by pulsing it in a food processor, then roll into balls and bake. When the meatballs are almost done baking, pop them out of the oven and glaze them with hoisin sauce for some extra flavor.
These banh mi sandwiches are dressed with a super simple vegan sriracha mayo and quick pickled veggies — carrots, cucumbers, daikon radish and jalapeños soaked in some water, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. If you have time, I recommend making the veggies a day ahead of time. If not, go ahead and mix everything up while the meatballs bake.
Stuff everything into baguette sections with some fresh herbs, then enjoy!
Good bread is everything! Make your sandwiches on a nice quality fresh baguette. Save time on the day of serving by preparing the bean mixture for the meatballs a day in advance. Then, on the day of serving, just roll and bake. Also prepare the pickled veggies ahead of time — in fact, they’re better this way! Can these sandwiches be made gluten-free? Yes, with a few substitutions! Use a gluten-free baguette, gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce, a gluten-free variety of hoisin sauce, and gluten-free panko breadcrumbs (oat flour might work as a substitution too). Are these spicy? The chili paste, sriracha, and jalapeño peppers give it a little kick. If you’re not into spicy food, just leave these ingredients out. Is there any way to reduce the calories in this recipe? It is on the highish end, calorie wise, and it’s meant to be indulgent. But if you’d like to cut back a bit, try using less walnuts in the meatballs and less mayo. You can also put fewer meatballs in each individual sandwich. How about reducing the sodium? Try low sodium beans (or cook them from scratch — you’ll need about 1 ¾ cups), low sodium soy sauce, cut back on the salt in the pickled veggies, and go easy on the hoisin sauce.
Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
