Meatball Sub Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1

Servings: subs

Calories: 840cal

Author: Ashley Fehr

These homemade Meatball Subs are made with juicy meatballs, simmered in marinara sauce, and topped with melty mozzarella cheese. They’re quick to put together, satisfying, and perfect for busy weeknights or a laid-back dinner with family and friends!

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Ingredients

Homemade Meatballs

¾ cup fresh bread crumbs (or ¼ cup dried)
2 tablespoons milk or water
½ lb ground beef
½ lb ground Italian sausage
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Meatball Subs

2 cups marinara sauce
4 sub buns
¼ cup garlic butter (optional)
2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Homemade Meatballs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with tin foil — optional but helps with clean up!
Stir together bread crumbs and milk or water and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, Parmesan, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and soaked bread until just combined — don't overmix!
Shape into 1½" meatballs (I get about 20 this way) and place 1" apart on the baking sheet.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick spray. Add the meatballs and sear in a single layer on each side, about 2 minutes per side. (You can also bake them for 10-12 minutes).
Add the sauce to the pan, reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer until a meat thermometer reads at least 160 degrees F in the largest meatballs (a meat thermometer is your best chance at having perfectly cooked meatballs!)

Meatball Subs

Optional: slice open sub buns and spread with garlic butter. Place in a 9x13" baking dish, open, and toast until lightly golden.
When buns are toasted, remove from the oven and spoon meatballs into each sub bun.
Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
Top with an equal amount of mozzarella and Parmesan. Return to the oven and bake until warmed and toasted, about 10 minutes. Serve.

Video

Notes

Ingredients and Substitutions:

Bread crumbs: You'll need roughly 1 slice bread to make 3/4 cup bread crumbs.
Ground beef and Italian sausage: you can use lean meat if you're looking to reduce fat, but they may not be as juicy. You can also substitute the Italian sausage for ground pork.
Sub buns: I also love making half size subs on little crusty rolls for the kids!
Garlic butter: the toasting isn't necessary, but I do find it takes this sandwich to the next level.

Make ahead:

This recipe uses a half recipe of my Classic Homemade Meatballs. You can easily make a full batch and save some in the freezer for another day.

Nutrition