What’s not to love about this easy Meatball Subs recipe with flavorful meatballs served in a toasted bun with melted provolone cheese and marinara sauce? Easy and delicious! I
Meatball Subs to the rescue.
Meatball Subs to the rescue.Anyone looking for a crowd-pleasing dinner recipe (no matter the age or size of the crowd) could confidently settle on Meatball Subs. I always double the recipe because the meatballs freeze great (raw or cooked), saving me so much time another day. Did I mention everyone LOVES these?
And if serving potluck style you can warm them warm in a crockpot and let people build their own sandwich. We typically serve them with a green side salad, or cucumber salad. Some coleslaw, potato chips or fruit salad would also be great.
Any if you love hot sandwich recipes, try my French Dip, BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, or Sloppy Joes.
How to make Meatball Subs:
Meatball mixture: Mix crushed saltine crackers, beef broth, spices, and egg (everything except the meat and flour) until combined and set aside for 10 minutes so the crackers can soak up the liquid. Add ground meat and mix until incorporated.
Shape and Bake: Divide and form 15 meatballs, then lightly coat each in flour and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Make Sauce: Combine crushed tomatoes, oregano, sugar, basil, and garlic salt in a saucepan then stir to combine. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Assemble: Slice each hoagie roll in half and lay provolone cheese on top. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted. Arrange 3 meatballs on each sub and spoon sauce on top. Serve meatball subs immediately.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Store cooked meatballs in sauce in the fridge for up to 2 days until you are ready to rewarm and assemble meatball sandwich recipe. Sauce can be made several days in advance and raw meatballs could also be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days until ready to cook.
To Freeze: You can freeze the meatballs raw or cooked: flash freeze them uncovered on a parchment lined baking sheet for an hour, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before baking or rewarming. The sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Sandwich Recipes:
- Patty Melt
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Greek Burgers with Feta Aioli
- Pizza Sliders
- Meatloaf Sandwich
- Pimento Cheese BLT
- Lobster Roll
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Recipe
Italian Meatball Subs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1/2 cup saltine crackers , crushed
- 1/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons Dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour , for dredging
Sandwiches:
- 5 hoagies or sub rolls
- 10 slices Provolone cheese , or mozzarella
Sauce:
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Meatballs: In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients together EXCEPT for the meat; saltines, beef broth, parley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, crushed red pepper. Stir and rest for 10 minutes so the crackers can soak up the liquid. Add the meat and mix just until combined (don't over mix).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet, or line with aluminum foil.
- Form 15 meatballs, about the size of golf balls, and gently sprinkle them all around with flour. Place the meatballs one inch apart on the baking sheet and bake for 20 -25 minutes or until cooked through.
- Sauce: Add sauce ingredients to a saucepan and stir to combine. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. When the meatballs are finished baking, transfer them to the sauce.
- Assemble: Slice the hoagie rolls in half and layer each with 2 slices cheese. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Place 3 meatballs on each sub, followed by a large spoonful of sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe in June 2014. Updated April 2019, October 2021 and January 2025.
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These were amazing followed the recipe exactly but I did add a little more garlic but other than that everything stayed the same was a big hit for dinner tonight thanks for the recipe it’s a keeper!
I’ve made and eaten a lot of meatballs in my life and these are some of the best and easiest to make. My whole family loved the subs, even my persnickety children. So glad I found this recipe!
I made the meatballs tonight! I cheated & didn’t do the sauce. I used Rao’s marinara sauce that I spiced up with Italian seasoning & garlic. My boys said it was the best meatball subs they’ve ever had! Thanks for the recipe!! Definitely a keeper!
I was able to make 21 1 inch meatballs with this recipe. It was great for a dinner and some leftovers for my gf and I, one tip in my opinion too many red pepper flakes, the amount suggested made the flavor overpowering. We both like spicy foods but all we could taste with every bite was red pepper, if someone wanted to make this i suggest cutting the measurement in half to make it perfect. Also when preparing this yourselves do much smaller amounts of flour at a time and refill if needed,, i had to throw away nearly 1/2 a cup of flour. Will try again with these suggestions myself in the future.
These were an ABSOLUTE hit today on Mother’s Day for my wife! We are originally from Ct where subs are on every corner, but here in Az it’s all tacos! I made them exactly to the recipe, only difference is I didn’t flour them and I added meatballs into the sauce when out of the oven.
Very Good!!! Easy to make! I used ground turkey, the whole family loved it!
This is my husbands favorite!!!! We now make this once a week! Quick and easy to make! 🙂
I don’t normally leave reviews on recipes I try out but I Love this recipe! I just did a few things different but Thank you for this recipe!!! I skipped baking the meatballs in the oven and fried them in a little bit of olive oil in a large pan so I could just skip the extra dishes lol Most of them held up but some did crumble since I was a bit rough with them! After they were browned I added the sauce stuff! but Instead of 28 oz of crushed tomatoes I used 1 can diced and 1 can sauce! I added a little bit more garlic to it than what was called for, and ended up making subs out of a white bread recipe! Turned out delicious!!!! Definitely a recipe worth writing down!!!!
This is a great recipe! I made it for my family with just a few modifications. I used ground chorizo in place of beef to make spicy pork meatballs (I don’t eat beef), I substituted breadcrumbs for crushed saltines, and I served the meatballs with homemade, straight out of the oven, sourdough. Highly recommend this recipe for a delicious dinner anytime of the year, and it is also very flexible.
I loved this dish. And my partner liked it just as much.