Your family will love these Easy Meatball Subs bursting with incredibly tender meatballs loaded with big Italian flavors and topped with melted mozzarella cheese!
I love meatballs. They are like hamburger's plump round cousins, obviously on the Italian side of the family. Well-seasoned like grandma, but perfectly tender like a loving mom, meatballs are the family member everyone loves!
I guess you could think of meatballs as mini-meatloaves. They are prepared and seasoned much the same way as a classic meatloaf, but formed individually into bite-sized morsels. Perfect for making easy meatball subs!
Easy Meatball Subs
Regardless if it is someone's birthday or not, your family will love these Easy Meatball Subs. I don't typically make my own pasta sauce since it is hard to find a free afternoon to slave over the stove just to make a meatball sub. Using your favorite jarred sauce really makes this recipe simple because all you have to do is make the meatballs. If you really wanted to make your own sauce from scratch, go for it. Any good pasta sauce recipe will do.
How to Make Meatballs
When making meatballs the secret is not to overwork the meat. I can't emphasize this enough. Squishing the meat too hard with your hands will create tough golf balls, instead of tender meatballs. You only want to work the meat as much as needed to form a ball, then leave it alone. I highly recommend reading my tutorial on how to make great meatballs for a more in-depth analysis.
When baking the meatballs you want to ensure they sit on a rimmed baking sheet, otherwise the grease will drain off the sheet onto the bottom of your oven, risking a house fire. If your house burns down you won't be able to make these Easy Meatball Subs anymore, and you will be sad and homeless. So don't do that.
What Buns for Meatball Subs
Ideally, your meatballs will be exceptionally tender, therefore you do not want an overly crusty or dense bun to serve them on. The texture of the meatball will be completely overwhelmed and lost. Instead, purchase a light and airy sub bun or hoagie roll from the grocery store bakery. Freshly baked is always best. A bun with a slight chew to it is also great, as long as it isn't too dense.
What to Make with Meatballs
If you are looking for more meatball ideas, try my BBQ meatballs, cocktail meatballs in garlic sauce, or meatball kabobs.
Easy Meatball Subs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chuck (80/20 beef)
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
Sub
- 3 Hoagie Rolls
- ½ cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
- 24 oz Pasta sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Gently crumble beef into a bowl and add all meatball ingredients and work with hands to combine.
- Pressing the meat only as hard as needed to form balls, gently create meatballs with 2 tablespoons of mixture per ball. Over-working the meat will create an overly tough meatball.
- Place meatballs on rimmed baking sheet, or oven safe skillet, and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Flip meatballs once during cooking.
- Remove meatballs from oven and add to skillet with pasta sauce and heat till sauce is cooked through.
- Turn oven on broil. (Leaving it on bake also works)
- Add meatballs and sauce to hoagie roll, top with desired amount of cheese, and place briefly under the broiler until cheese melts. Be sure to watch it so the bun doesn't burn.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe originally appeared on FoxValleyFoodie.com January 19, 2017.
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Lydia
Boy oh boy!!!
Sounds good enough to eat. I'M making these this weekend and I dare anybody to stand in my way!
Later
Rachel
I love meatball subs!
Karly
Holy delicious, do these look tasty. SO simple and a family favorite that everyone will enjoy! Could be perfect for game day, too! Love this!