This homemade meatball sub is the best sandwich of any kind you’ll ever make. Homemade meatballs in sauce and melty cheese are nestled in soft sub buns for a hot, hearty, handheld Italian feast.
Meatball subs are just about the best thing on earth. Why buy them at a chain restaurant when you can make them easily at home?
This recipe uses my homemade Italian meatballs recipe to create the most flavorful, meltiest meatball sub you’ll ever eat!
Pair these sandwiches with my copycat Olive Garden toasted ravioli or beer battered onion rings for a finger food feast everyone will love.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: All you need is beef, seasonings, and a few other kitchen staples to make this recipe.
- Easy: Just mix and roll the meatballs, cook in the crockpot, and place on your buns. That’s it!
- Classic Flavor: Every bite of these subs is loaded with seasoned meatball, sauce, and provolone flavors.
- Customizable: You can easily tweak this recipe to make it your own.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Ground Beef: Lean ground beef creates meaty, delicious meatballs.
- Seasonings: Parsley, oregano, and basil give the meatballs their classic Italian falvor.
- Parmesan: Parmesan cheese adds deep, earthy, cheesy goodness to the meatballs.
- Panko: Panko breadcrumbs bind the meatballs.
- Spaghetti Sauce: Your favorite jarred sauce is perfect for this recipe.
- Provolone: Provolone cheese adds a melty, smoky flavor to the subs.
Variations
- Beef: Use a mix of ground beef and ground pork. Ground turkey will work, as well, for a sandwich with less fat. You could also use Italian sausage and eliminate the added seasonings.
- Premade Meatballs: You can use premade meatballs if you prefer. You can place them in the slow cooker with the sauce without even defrosting them.
- Sauce: Use your favorite jarred sauce or your favorite homemade sauce for this recipe.
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes to the meatballs for a kick of heat.
- Cheese: Try provolone, mozzarella, cheddar, or any of your other favorite cheeses for different sandwich flavors.
How to Make This Homemade Meatball Sub
I’ve included a brief overview of this easy recipe here, but you’ll find the exact instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Mix the meatball ingredients and form them into 1-inch balls.
- Bake the meatballs at 350°F for 15 minutes. Then, cook them with the sauce in the slow cooker until cooked through.
- Spoon the meatballs and sauce onto the rolls, top with provolone, and toast at 350°F unilt the bread is golden, and the cheese is melty. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Mix the meatball ingredients until combined, but don’t overwork the meat. Overmixing leads to tough, dry meatballs.
- If you prefer drier bread, toast it in a pan before adding the meatballs and sauce to limit how much sauce the bread absorbs.
- I recommend a smaller slow cooker to allow the meatballs to “swim” in the sauce.
Homemade Meatball Sub FAQs
Tender, juicy meatballs are the secret to a great meatball sub. Use a meatball recipe with plenty of seasonings and moisture, and mix the meatballs until they’re just combined. This ensures flavorful, juicy meatballs.
There are two main reasons that meatballs come out dry. First, not adding enough moisture or using meat with enough fat. Second, overworking the meat. Overworking the meat mixture causes the proteins to shrink too much when cooking, effectively squeezing out the juices.
Top your sub with mozzarella and Parmesan, in addition to provolone. Sauteed onions, bell peppers, and/or mushrooms are also great choices.
More Delicious Meatball Recipes
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Homemade Meatball Sub
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef
- ⅓ cup onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- ⅛ cup milk
- 1 ½ tsp parsley
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 32 oz spaghetti sauce
- 6 French rolls
- 12 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together.
- Roll into small meatballs, about one inch diameter, and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place meatballs into smaller size crock pot.
- Pour spaghetti sauce into crock pot, gently stir and turn on high for 4 hours.
- Spoon meatballs and sauce onto bread, top with Provolone cheese, toast in oven for a few minutes at 350° then enjoy!
Notes
- Mix the meatball ingredients until combined, but don’t overwork the meat. Overmixing leads to tough, dry meatballs.
- If you prefer drier bread, toast it in a pan before adding the meatballs and sauce to limit how much sauce the bread absorbs.
- I recommend a smaller slow cooker to allow the meatballs to “swim” in the sauce.
Nutrition
Here are a few pics that are the perfect size for pinning to Pinterest.
Enjoy, Terri
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