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A meatball sub with marinara sauce and melted golden gooey cheese on a toasted baguette.
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5 from 4 votes

Cheesy Meatball Subs

Cheesy Meatball Subs are loaded with gooey melted cheese and homemade marinara sauce. Use frozen or homemade ground beef, turkey, or pork meatballs. These meatball sub sandwiches are classic comfort food, and so worth the effort. Toast them under the broiler to get the bread crispy and the cheese gooey, golden, and melty.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Dinner & Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: frozen meatball subs, meatball sub sandwiches, meatball subs
Servings: 10
Calories: 668kcal
Author: Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Ingredients

Cheesy Meatball Sub

  • 1 package sliced mozzarella cheese
  • 3 baguettes sliced open and cut into 3 or 4 sections (or sub rolls cut open)
  • 25-30 frozen or homemade meatballs see meatball recipe below
  • 16 oz Marinara Sauce see marinara recipe below

Meatballs

  • 3 lbs lean ground turkey or ground beef or Italian pork sausage
  • 1 small onion
  • 5 carrots any color
  • 5 celery stalks cut into 2-3" pieces
  • ½ cup finely chopped basil
  • ½ cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs or ground almonds
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Italian Marinara Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 28 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Rough chop veggies in batches and pulse in a food processor or grate on a box grater. 1 small onion, 5 carrots, 5 celery stalks. Process veggies in batches, and place ground vegetables into a large mixing bowl as you go.
  • Next dice ½ cup finely chopped basil, and ½ cup finely chopped parsley into the mixing bowl, toss together.
  • Heat a large pan or heavy skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the veggies 3 minutes on medium high heat, keep stirring, then turn off the heat.
  • Place the sautéed veggie mixture in a large mixing bowl, and cool. Next, add 3 lbs ground turkey (or ground beef, Italian pork sausage etc.), 1 cup breadcrumbs (or ground almonds) and ½ cup grated parmesan cheese.
  • Stir and completely mix with 2 forks to "fluff" the mixture.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2" ice cream scoop to portion the meatballs. The ice cream scoop makes the meatballs all the same size, and is faster than hand rolling.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown with crispy edges.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

  • Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy pan, add diced onions, saute until soft 5 minutes, then all 6 seasonings, canned tomatoes, and tomato paste.
  • Stir until the marinara sauce thickens about 10-15 minutes. Keep marinara sauce warm.

Assemble Easy Meatball Subs

  • Place 3-4 meatballs on the sliced open baguette or roll, and cover with a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce.
  • Top with slices of mozzarella and place meatball sandwiches into oven on a sheet pan under broiler until the cheese melts and turns golden about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on these under the broiler so they don't burn!
  • Serve hot and enjoy. You can add some fresh salad, fruit, or a side of chips like tortilla or potato chips.
  • Store any extra meatballs or marinara sauce in an airtight container or use your food saver and tuck them in the freezer for a fast dinner.

Notes

meatballs 

This recipe makes about forty-four 2" meatballs. Freeze extra meatballs on sheet pans either cooked or uncooked, and place them in zip bags or use a Food Saver vacuum sealer for fast easy future meals.
Grab a bag of Italian-style meatballs at the store or make some the whole family will love using ground turkey, chicken, pork, or beef.

Bread

Try to use good French baguettes or crusty rolls. Cut long rolls into portions. Hoagie buns, sub rolls, hot dog buns, soft hoagie rolls, sandwich rolls, or slider buns will all work.

San Marzano Canned Tomatoes

Make incredible chopped tomatoes for the marinara sauce, I highly recommend this brand!

Tomato Paste

Adds a deep level of rich concentrated sweet tomato flavor.

Kinds of Cheese

I used slices of mozzarella, it melts nicely and gets golden which looks great. You could use provolone, Havarti, cheddar, Monterey, or pepper jack cheese.

Crockpot Meatball Subs

For an easy marinara sauce shortcut, you can add a jar of spaghetti sauce to a crock pot or slow cooker with frozen meatballs. Add some Italian seasoning, onions, and garlic, and let it cook for 4 hours on low. Then just load the tender meatballs and sauce onto buns with cheese and put them under the broiler until melted and golden brown.

Meatball Sub Toppings

  • Slices of Provolone Cheese
  • Grated Parmesan
  • Fresh Basil Ribbons
  • Marinara Sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
  • Alfredo Sauce
  • Shredded or Slices of Mozzarella Cheese
  • Saute Onions and Bell Peppers

Nutrition

Calories: 668kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 1580mg | Potassium: 1184mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 11380IU | Vitamin C: 23.9mg | Calcium: 444mg | Iron: 6.2mg