Italian Meatball Subs

Italian Meatball Subs are homemade meatballs topped with a simple Italian marinara sauce on a toasted bun with melted mozzarella cheese!

I couldn’t tell you which is better in this recipe– the homemade meatballs, or the homemade sauce!  Both are super easy and fast to make, and both taste amazing!! After eating this for dinner, my husband claimed these Italian Meatball Subs were his new favorite meal (which made me laugh because it is such a “guy” meal 🙂 )

My husband went on, and on, and on about how much he loved these and he praised me for the rest of the night–all the while I was thinking to myself how funny that he had no idea how dang easy this meal was to make 🙂 But I also really loved these. The sauce is fantastic and the meatballs have the perfect blend of spices. Plus they’re layered on a cheesy, toasted bun–what’s better than that?!

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it’s totally freezer friendly. I like to make a big batch of the meatballs and freeze half of them after they’re baked. You could even freeze the sauce if you wanted.

Consider trying these popular dinner recipes:

• Slow Cooker Pot Roast
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
• Italian Grilled Cheese
• Gourmet Baked Mac N Cheese with Bacon
• Crispy BBQ Chicken Wraps

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5 from 1 vote

Italian Meatball Subs

Print RecipeSave to Meal Plan

Prep Time

35 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

Homemade meatballs and Italian sauce on a toasted, cheesy bun.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: italian meatball recipe, meatball sub

Unit: clove, cup, large, ounce can, pound, slice, Tablespoon, teaspoon

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 585 kcal

Author: Lauren Allen

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1/2 cup saltine crackers , crushed
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or mozzarella cheese)
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 large egg , lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1 clove garlic , finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour , for dredging

For the sandwiches

• 4 hoagies or sub rolls
• slice mozzarella cheese

For the sauce

• 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

For the Meatballs

1. In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients together EXCEPT for the meat. Let mixture sit for 10-15 minutes so the crackers can soak up some of the liquid. Add the meat and mix until well combined.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Form 12-15 meatballs with your hands, about the size of golf balls, and gently sprinkle them all around with flour.
3. Place the meatballs one inch apart on the baking sheet and bake for 20 -25 minutes or until cooked through.
4. While the meatballs cook, make the homemade sauce.

For the sauce

1. In a medium saucepan combine the sauce ingredients. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Assembly

1. When the meatballs are finished baking, scrape any grease off the bottom of them and place them in the sauce. Slice the hoagies and layer with mozzarella cheese. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Place 2-3 meatballs on each sub, followed by a large spoonful of sauce.

Recipe Notes

*The meatballs work great frozen! I like to double the batch, bake them all, and then place half in the freezer for another meal.

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Have you tried this recipe?!

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