It’s not quite summer yet but these vegan meatball banh mi are so fresh they taste like summer in your mouth. That’s right, these babies are entirely plant-based, almost fooled you, didn’t I?

Don’t know banh mi? What, do you live under a rock? They’re a mash-up of Vietnamese herbs and veggies with a French baguette. Thanks to colonialism for bringing us what might be the world’s tastiest sandwich.

Like most things Vietnamese, this vegan meatball banh mi has got all the contrasts of flavor and texture that you need: warm, savory meatballs, fresh cucumber and cilantro, sweet and sour carrot and radish, and spicy mayonnaise all served between a crispy baguette.

You can see why the banh mi has become an international sandwich sensation.

The non-vegetarian variety of banh mi could contain a variety of different kinds of meat, but seem most often to be made with pork. A quick search of the interwebs turned up a handful of vegetarian banh mi, mostly containing tofu.

A couple that jumped out at me were veggie meatball banh mi, and it just so happens that I’ve been sitting on this amazeballs meatball recipe for a few months now not knowing what to do with it.

Finally! My vegan meatballs have met their sandwich!

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, most steps can be done concurrently – the carrots pickle themselves while you prepare the meatballs, and the mayo can be done while the meatballs are frying.

Most banh mi recipes use daikon radish, but we don’t have that in our supermarkets so I’ve used regular red radishes. If you can get your hands on a daikon, by all means use it.