Meatball Subs are a favorite recipe, perfect for a crowd and easy to make! Tender juicy homemade meatballs (or frozen in a pinch) are simmered in a flavorful tomato sauce are placed in a roll and topped with cheese. The sandwiches are broiled until golden and the cheese is bubbly for the perfect bite!
This hot submarine style sandwich – it’s meaty, saucy and cheesy! Perfect for lunch, dinner or to serve at your next game day party!
Meatball Subs for a Crowd
Lightly toasted garlic submarine buns are filled with homemade meatballs covered in a rich tomato sauce or marinara sauce then topped with loads of mozzarella cheese and broiled till hot and bubbly!
When I make homemade meatballs, I make a batch or two ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for recipes just like this one. Meatballs can be frozen raw or cooked meaning you can bake them to add to sandwiches or add them to Meatball Soup for an easy weeknight meal.
If you’re short on time, you can make a simple recipe of Crockpot Meatballs (the meatballs go in raw and are cooked right in the crockpot). It’s an easy to make dinner when you get home after a long day.
If you are feeding a crowd, prepare the meatballs and keep them warm in a slow cooker so your guests can serve themselves. Put out a series of rolls or slider buns and allow your guests to dig in.
How to Make Meatball Subs
It really is so simple to make these meatball subs! Especially when you begin with Crockpot Meatballs!
- Lightly butter submarine buns and sprinkle with garlic powder. Toast till golden.
- Add cooked meatballs to each bun. Depending on the size, 3-4 meatballs should fit.
- Spoon a bit of additional sauce evenly over each roll.
- Cover with a generous amount of cheese and broil until hot and melted.
What Toppings do you Put on a Meatball Sub
Tomato sauce and cheese are perfect together (like in chicken parmesan) and of course I love to top my meatball sub with mozzarella cheese! Like in a Cheesesteak Recipe, provolone cheese is a great choice too!
Add in onions, fried peppers, mushrooms … the sky’s the limit! Personally, I usually prefer a classic meatball sub with just meatballs, sauce and cheese.
What is the Best Bread for Meatball Subs
Any long roll like a submarine sandwich bun, a sub bun or a hoagie roll will work fine. In a pinch a hot dog bun will work, although it is narrower and the meatballs may be too big for it. I prefer white buns for this recipe, however you can use whole wheat or whole grain if you prefer. Don’t skip the Garlic Butter!
More Great Sandwich Recipes!
- Reuben Sandwich Sliders – Perfect for parties!
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Zesty Slaw
- My Favorite Reuben Sandwich
- Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Pulled Pork Recipe – Tasty!
- French Dip Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 cups pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 4 tablespoons garlic butter
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella or provolone
Meatballs (or use frozen meatballs)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare meatballs as directed on package or for homemade meatballs, combine all meatball ingredients.
- Roll into 1" balls and place on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
- Place cooked meatballs in a saucepan with pasta sauce and simmer covered 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spread garlic butter inside each roll. Heat broiler and broil rolls until golden, about 3 minutes.
- Arrange rolls in a 9x13 baking dish. Place 4 meatballs in each roll and top with a little bit of sauce and cheese.
- Broil 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with additional sauce for dipping if desired.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Using my air fryer, I toast the buttered bun, then top the bun with provolone, anchored down with toothpics – otherwie they fly away. I prefer the cheese on the bun, then the meatballs, as it seems neater to eat. Good recipe! Thanks!
My family love these vegetarian meatballs. We make subs, eat them in mushroom stroganoff and with spaghetti. They are quick, easy and delicious! Thank you.
These were fantastic!
Toddler approved! Great and easy family meal
I was looking for something different to make for my 2 teenage sons and they loved this! Thanks for the recipe
Made this for my family and they all loved it… and I made your meatball recipe, only switching out fresh minced onions for the onion powder.
To those that gave you crap for the frozen meatballs…obviously they didn’t know what they were talking about!!! Some people just like to be cranky it seems… I think mentioning frozen meatballs in your recipe gave a good option for people super short on time.
Thanks again!
The only recipe i’ll use for meatball subs! Comes out perfect every time and so so easy to make!!
Please tell me why I get this huge print? One sentence takes the entire screen on my computer. Is this a glitch?
I haven’t had this problem so I can’t say for sure. Did you use the print button?
Absolutely delicious. My husband said he would eat these every day!