Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Keep meatballs in your freezer to make these easy meatball sub sandwiches. Everyone loves them!
How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: saucepan, baking sheet
Servings: makes 4 sandwiches
Pizza in a Bun
I know you all love pizza! And you know I love pizza. Just a quick search of my site will reveal that. Pizza pasta, pizza chicken, BBQ chicken pizza, pizza sliders, pepperoni pizza dip, grilled pizza, and that’s just a sampling. For a quickie pizza, try English muffin pizzas, pizza quesadillas, or air fryer bagel bites!
While there are many variations of pizza, there’s nothing quite like a meatball sub. It’s kind of like pizza in a bun. A pizza with meatballs, that is.
So, meatball subs it is! Make them for dinner tonight. They’re a big hit on game day, too. A meatball sub satisfies even the most hungry appetite.
Any Meatball will Do!
Homemade or already made. Any of your favorite meatballs will work for this recipe, whether they’re homemade from your grandma’s recipe, or store-bought frozen ones.
Turkey meatballs. I like to use homemade baked turkey meatballs. Made with ground turkey, they are a little leaner than beef meatballs, have great flavor, and are easy to make. I almost always have some in the freezer which simplifies making this sandwich by a long shot.
Classic meatballs. If turkey isn’t your thing, I have a great recipe for classic meatballs made with a mixture of ground beef and pork. They are really good, too!
Air fryer meatballs. I really like to make air fryer meatballs. They cook up perfectly and in no time at all. Even frozen meatballs can be cooked quickly in the air fryer without thawing them first!
Ingredient Notes
- Sub buns: You need a hefty bun for a meatball sandwich. Submarine sandwich buns are perfect.
- Meatballs: Your choice, turkey, beef, homemade, frozen, whatever. They do have to be cooked first though!
- Marinara: Buy a jar (spaghetti sauce works too), or use your homemade pizza sauce.
- Cheese: Top your sandwich with lots of shredded cheese. Use a mixture of provolone and mozzarella for ultimate gooey goodness.
How to make meatball subs
Prep meatballs. Begin by warming the meatballs up in marinara sauce. Frozen meatballs will take a little longer to warm.
Prep buns. If you like, hollow out the bottom half of the bun just a bit so the meatballs fit right in there, snug as a bug. For utmost flavor, spread garlic butter on the buns and toast them under the broiler for a few minutes before filling. This easy step adds so much to your sandwiches.
Fill buns. Place the meatballs with a spoonful of sauce in the bun and cover with lots of shredded cheese.
Broil. Broil a few minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Garnish. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley if you’d like a garnish. Enjoy!
Side Dish Suggestions
Since meatball subs are pretty filling, you don’t need a lot of side dishes. I like to serve a salad, like creamy coleslaw, arugula salad with a bright lemony dressing, or simple cucumber onion salad. Fresh fruit is always a good side, such as sliced apples, citrus fruits, or pineapple or mango. Serve the fruit with cream cheese fruit dip.
Recipe Variations
- Add veggies. Sauté sliced bell peppers, onions, and/or mushrooms, and add them to the sandwich on top of the meatballs, then top with cheese.
- Add pepperoni. Add a few slices of pepperoni to the sandwich for more pizza flavor.
- Not in the mood for pizza? Try chipotle honey glazed meatballs on a bun instead!
Meatball subs really are best eaten immediately. If you do happen to have leftovers, wrap and refrigerate for up to one day.
To reheat, wrap in foil, and reheat in oven for 20 minutes at 350°F or until heated through.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #59. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.
More great big sandwich ideas
Don’t you just love a big sub sandwich, sloppy Joe, pulled pork sandwich, or burger with all the fixings? I sure do! Here’s a few more recipes for you:
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
- Cuban Sandwich Recipe
- Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burger with Tomato and Basil
- Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- The Best Easy Turkey Burgers
- Easy Sloppy Joes
- Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Turkey Sliders, i.e. Rachel Sandwich Sliders
- Best Ham and Cheese Sliders Recipe
Meatball Subs
Ingredients
- 12 pre-cooked or frozen meatballs (see notes for recipe links)
- 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara or pasta sauce (see note)
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 sandwich buns (I recommend sub buns, hoagie rolls, or French rolls)
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup freshly shredded provolone cheese (see note)
- fresh Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place meatballs in a large saucepan and add marinara sauce. Bring to a simmer over low heat until meatballs and sauce are heated through. (This will take a bit longer if using frozen meatballs, but they don’t need to be defrosted first.)12 pre-cooked or frozen meatballs, 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara or pasta sauce
- Preheat oven broiler to high. LIne a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Meanwhile, combine melted butter and garlic salt in a small bowl. Slice buns along the side and gently open, being careful that the bun stays intact. Place buns on a baking sheet. Brush open face of the buns with the butter mixture. Coat well (you may not use all of the butter). Place in the oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes or just until bread begins to toast. Remember that the edges of the buns will brown further during the next steps. Remove buns from oven.¼ cup salted butter, melted, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 4 sandwich buns
- Fill each bun with three warmed meatballs, spooning a bit of the sauce over the top. Top each sub with ¼ to ½ cup shredded cheese. Put the filled subs back on the baking sheet.1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup freshly shredded provolone cheese
- Broil the subs for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until cheese is melted. Watch closely, and remove the subs from the oven as soon as the cheese is melted.
- Serve meatball subs hot, sprinkled with a bit of freshly chopped parsley, and with extra sauce on the side. Makes 4 sandwiches.
Notes
- Marinara sauce: Instead of a jar of sauce, you can use 3 cups of homemade spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. There will plenty of sauce to use for dipping.
- Cheese: Omit provolone and use all mozzarella if desired.
- Meatballs: Try my classic meatballs, baked turkey meatballs, or air fryer meatballs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Wow. . . I would leave all of your side comments/notes out of the recipe description, because it makes this blog and you sound very unappealing and definitely blond as you stated.
You probably could have said that in a nicer way, but you’re right. This was one of my very first recipes that I posted on my blog and if you refer to one of my more recent recipes, you’ll see that I do a lot of things differently now. I just haven’t had the opportunity to go back and update the older recipes. Thank you for your feedback.
Whoa – these look awesome. I'll be making these!!