Chickpea "Meatball" Sub Sandwiches

Oooh these were so yummy! My husband loved them; the kids loved them - I will definitely be making them again!! I served these subs with a salad and a fries. It was a tasty, easy weeknight meal.

I found this recipe on the blog Karrissa's Vegan Kitchen. This blog is really fun and I'm looking forward to trying more of her recipes.  I did make a couple of changes (I'm a vegetarian, not vegan, so I used eggs instead of making flax eggs and I used real cheese).  All of my changes are in italics.

Here is Karrissa's recipe word for word! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Chickpea "Meatballs":

• 2 cups chickpeas - reserve chickpea liquid if using canned
• 2.5 tablespoons ground flax seed *<Instead of using flax and water to make a flax egg, I used one regular egg>
• 6 tablespoons water *<see note above about egg>
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions for "Meatballs":

1. If you're using dried chickpeas, soak for 4 hours. Boil them until they are splitting, about 45 minutes to an hour. Skip to Step 2 if using canned chickpeas!
2. Drain the chickpeas & pinch the skin off as many as you have the patience for. Blend chickpeas in a blender until broken down. <I used my food processor to combine all the "meatball" ingredients>
3. Make your flax seed "eggs" - mix 2.5 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. <I used one egg instead of the flax seed and water>
4. Mix together the chickpeas and flax seed eggs <I used one regular egg>. 
5. Mix in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too sticky, add more breadcrumbs half a tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add a little chickpea liquid or oil. You want a consistency that will be easy to roll into balls without sticking to your hands or cracking. <I ended up adding 1 Tbl of the chickpea liquid>
6. Taste it - does it need something? Add more of your favorite seasonings if you want! The perk of veggie meatballs is that you can taste test before cooking! <I didn't add anything, mine tasted perfect after following the recipe>
7. Form the chickpea mixture into "meatballs" and place onto a greased or parchment-lined baking dish.
8. In a 450 degree oven, bake the chickpea meatballs for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through. They will be golden and crispy on the outside when done!

 Ingredients for "Meatball" Subs:

• chickpea meatballs
• vegan Parmesan <or Parmesan or Provolone - I used Provolone>
• sub rolls
• marinara sauce <I only use Rao's sauce- it's the best!>

Instructions for "Meatball" Subs:

1. In a 400 degree oven, toast your subs on a baking sheet until desired level of "toastiness".
2. Meanwhile, warm up the marinara sauce in a sauce pot on the stove.
3. Place the chickpea meatballs in the toasted sub rolls, top with the amount of marinara you desire, and sprinkle with Parmesan.  <OR if you want to use Provolone like I did, place the cheese on top of the "meatballs" and sauce. Place in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the cheese has melted>. Devour!