The only thing better than vegan challah may just be stuffed vegan challah! And the only thing better than a meatball sub may just be a whole loaf of soft, delicious bread ,stuffed with cheesy, saucy, meatballs.
You read that correctly! Soft, fluffy, perfect vegan challah, stuffed with vegan meatballs, marinara, mozzarella.
It’s saucy, “meaty”, gooey, vegan cheesy magic, all wrapped into a warm fluffy challah bread.
It’s a meatball sandwich you can eat without worrying about the meatballs falling out the back and into your lap, and that will feed a whole family ( or maybe still just you if you are extra hungry!) This recipe actually makes 2 loaves so you can be stingy and there will still be one to share!
I promise vegan challah is easier than it may seem, and I also promise stuffing it with vegan meatballs (or anything else for the matter) is not that hard either!
We used Beyond Brand Meat for the meatballs because it is my favorite brand to use. You can use whatever is handy or easy to find. You can also use pre-made vegan meatballs if that is easier for you. I like Trader Joes brand if going that route!
For the cheese you can use store bought vegan mozzarella or fry your hand at making your own. We have serval mozzarella recipes on the the site. This vegan mozzarella cheese stick recipe can be molded in a bowl then easily shredded for this recipe. It shreds, slices, and melts really well!
This recipe hands down my favorite stuffed challah to make and eat! If you love challah and you love meatball subs, then this is gonna be your favorite too. I have zero doubts!
Challah
Follow the recipe for my basic Challah Y'all, Vegan Challah. You will follow the instructions through the first rise, then follow the below instructions for stuffing and braiding.
INGREDIENTS:
4 thawed Beyond Meat Burgers or 1 lb of vegan ground mince
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (a mix of thyme, sage, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and oregano) if you do not have Italian seasoning feel free to add a combo of any of the listed spices
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 flax egg
1 bag vegan mozzarella shreds, like Follow Your Heart brand
Sauce
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup red wine (optional)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Meatballs
Mix thawed burgers, panko bread crumbs, garlic, spices, and flax egg together in a bowl.
Once well combined, form meatballs with a small scoop, or spoon, and place them on a baking pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean up.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Sauce
Sauté onions and carrots in 1 teaspoon of oil until onions are translucent with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pot for 5 minutes.
Add the wine, and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the cooked meatballs, and let simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes.
Stuffing the Challah
Once Challah has completed its first rise, remove from oven and separate dough in half. This recipe will yield 2 stuffed challah loaves.
Cut each half into thirds. (each loaf will have three pieces of dough. Work with one loaf at a time, leaving the other three pieces of dough covered in a bowl until you are ready to use them)
Take one piece of dough in you hand and begin to stretch it both length wise, and width wise and the same, time, letting gravity help with the length. You want the dough to be about 12 inches long, and maybe 4 inches wide. Once you have it stretched length wise, you can put it on a floured counter top and press it to get it the width stretched.
Once your dough is the correct size, begin adding the meatballs in a row, it works best if you cut them in half. You can add a LITTLE sauce, but if the dough becomes wet on the edges, it WILL NOT seal together when pinched. So do not over fill. Sprinkle with vegan cheese shreds. Save the extra sauce for dipping, later.
Once stuffed, bring the outside edges together, and pinch to seal.
Repeat with the other two strands.
Once all three strands are stuffed, and formed, carefully braid the three pieces together. If the seams begin to open, pinch them back and continue braiding. Tuck both ends of the loaf under when done braiding. Once again I will refer you to Tori Avey's challah braiding guide if you are unfamiliar with braiding challah! She does a fantastic job showing all the different ways to braid your bread, plus she has some really great recipes on her site.
Repeat with the second loaf, and place both stuffed loaves on a baking sheet, and back in the oven to rise again for about 45 mintues. Once they have risen, remove from oven and pre-heat to 350.
Brush tops of challah with some vegan butter.
Bake both loaves for about 35 - 45 minutes. You can tap the tops to see if they sound a little hallow. It is hard to tell when stuffed challahs are done when there are wet ingredients inside, so if they do not seem cooked through after 35 minutes, let them keep cooking for 5 - 10 more minutes.
Remove challah from the oven, and allow to cool some before cutting. Serve with reserved sauce for dipping.
