These homemade meatball subs are toasty, cheesy and downright delicious. One of the best easy dinner ideas that comes together in just 20 minutes!
Whenever I make my favorite meatball recipe, I usually end up making a double batch to freeze or make these meatball subs. It’s a super simple dinner idea that takes hardly any time to make. My whole family loves them!
Table of Contents
Meatball Sub Sandwich
Meatball subs are such an easy dinner idea (especially when you have leftover meatballs). You can also use frozen fully cooked meatballs for this recipe, however just make sure to give them extra time to simmer in the sauce. If I’m using frozen meatballs, I’ll usually place them in the crockpot in the afternoon and cook them with the sauce on low for a couple hours before dinner time. You can also do this with my homemade version.
We often make mini meatball subs for parties as well, and usually skip the toasting part. We’ll just have the meatballs and sauce in the crockpot and set out dinner rolls for guests to assemble their own meatball sandwich. Sometimes I’ll make baked meatball sliders too. So easy and always a crowd favorite!
Ingredients
- Bread: I prefer to use either sub rolls or french bread. Both taste great and crisp up perfectly in the oven. Make sure to pre-toast it before adding the meatballs and sauce so that it doesn’t get soggy!
- Meatballs: Homemade meatballs taste best, but feel free to buy a bag of frozen meatballs (fully cooked) from the grocery. You could also lighten it up with turkey meatballs or chicken meatballs.
- Marinara: I love to make a quick marinara sauce whenever I’m making these subs. You can also use store bought marinara.
- Butter: This gets spread on top of the bread, adding an extra layer of flavor.
- Garlic salt: Give the bread a quick sprinkle of this before pre-toasting it. It almost makes it taste like garlic bread.
- Cheese: I like to use shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese (whatever I have on hand). You can also use sliced cheese if you prefer your subs extra cheesy.
How to make Meatball Subs
- SIMMER. In a small pan over medium heat, combine the meatballs and marinara sauce until warm.
- TOAST. Cut the rolls or bread in half and place on a baking sheet. Spread on butter and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake at 425°F for 3 minutes, until toasted lightly.
- ASSEMBLE. Place 4 meatballs on each sub, then sprinkle with cheese. Fold top over and bake another 3-5 minutes (until cheese is melted).
Favorite Sides for Serving
These meatball subs pair perfectly with roasted veggies for dinner. If I’m taking the super easy route, we’ll serve them with potato chips (my kid’s favorite). Below are some of our go-to sides to serve with them
- Homemade french fries
- Roasted broccoli
- Baked potato wedges
- Oven roasted vegetables
- Sweet potato fries
- Chopped salad
Need more meatball recipes? Make meatball soup, ziti with meatballs or meatball casserole!
More Easy Dinner Ideas
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Meatball Subs
Ingredients
- 16 precooked meatballs (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup marinara sauce , plus more as needed
- 4 sub rolls
- 2 Tablespoons butter , softened
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or provolone cheese)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a small pan, stir together the meatballs and marinara sauce over medium heat.
- Split the sub rolls in half and place on a baking sheet, cut-side up. Spread lightly with butter and sprinkle garlic salt over the top. Bake 3 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
- On the bottom half of each sub, place 4 meatballs and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Top with the top half and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Enjoy while hot!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, 30 Minute Meals, American, Beef, Dinner, Stovetop
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Very good. I used multi grain hamburger rolls and worked out fine as I had 4 meatballs leftover from what I made earlier in week. This was delicious! Hubby liked too so a keeper!
Yay! Leftovers for the win :)
Yummy! My kids love this recipe! It’s a family favorite! Can’t wait to make this again!
Everyone at my house loved this! Such a delicious meal!
My oldest son loves to order these from our local deli. I finally convinced him to let me make it for him and he LOVES it!
Your MeatBall Sub Looks Good and Delicous…
Thank you!
So good!! Easy and delicious!! This was my first time making meatball subs for my family and everyone loved it! I added olives and it was so tasty!
Excellent😊
This looks really delish! Would love to give it a try!
This is such a great lunch or dinner option!
So perfect for my lunches! This needs to happen!
Sooo easy and so delicious! This is like a better version of Subway’s meatball subs!
Such a classic – so easy and so yummy!
My entire family will love these! One less dinner I have to plan!
This looks so delicious !!